29/07/2009

Im back!

Well, its been a tough few weeks. On top of everything else, my wife managed to prang the car (in to a stationary metal gate of all things!) and then i broke my airbrush. In the same day the valve went on my double action brush, i broke the feed on my suction feed single action brush and my compressor packed up! All in all it was a bit of a disaster!

So, I've decided that its time to get a new airbrush. My original airbrush (the one that packed up) was a cheap Chinese clone - it came as a set with a double action, a single action and a compressor in a box for about £50 on eBay. Whilst it was good for learning how to airbrush, I did become annoyed with the amount of time I have spent fixing it since i purchased it a couple of years ago. By the end i would avoid airbrushing things because I would have to spend an hour or so taking the entire thing apart to refit parts that would become stuck or would not clear properly.

Although i've been airbrushing for a few years now, I'm not really "up" on what i should be looking for in an airbrush. I know that I want a double action gravity feed brush, but beyond that I'm at a bit of a loss - so I'm asking about for advice from any experienced airbrushers out there.

I've been looking at the Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH airbrush after seeing it on a modelling video - the MAC valve looks very useful, especially given the amount of Armour that i airbrush. Does anyone have any experience of this brush? The other option that i have looked at is the AB-180 Professional Precision Double Action Airbrush Kit (about half way down the linked page). This looks like a cheaper version of the Iwata brush - its about 1/3 of the cost. But I'm a little worried about buying another cheap "knock" off again! Again, does anyone have experience of this brush?

On to a compressor - here is where i am totally lost! My only real requirements here are that the unit is small and *very* quiet. Given the small space available in the flat and my working hours, I often want to airbrush at night, so a quiet compressor is definitely needed! The two models that i have looked at are the AB-AS176 Finespray Pixie Mini Piston type Compressor and the SilentAire Scorpion IW-C. Both provide about the same pressure levels, although I'm not 100% sure what the CFM scales are about (can anyone advise on this one?). The AB Finespray unit is slightly quieter at 47dB (although they dont specify if this is A weighted), but either should be fine given they are both below 60dB. Can anyone suggest a small, cheap compressor that is quiet that would suit me for occasional armour airbrushing?

It's good to be back. Hopefully i can get some more work done on the Tau base for you guys to see!


2 comments:

Blaise said...

i use a paasche VL dual action and it's a reasonable brush.

I'm posting about compressors though. I have a tankless "airbrush" compressor right now and frankly i'm not thrilled. It's a higher pitched noise than my big ole' tool compressor I had previously and i find the "pulsing" i get from the air supply to be distracting. It also doesn't keep it's pressure for long, so i set it for 25psi (for example) and it's down to 15 within seconds because that's all it can put out continually.

So whatever you get, make sure it has a nice big tank and a good regulator. You could get a big enough tank that you can fill it once in a while and then just use the tank gas when noise is an issue. Kinda shoots your "small" requirement out the window though...

Paul Chana said...

Hi Blaise, thanks for the post. I think im gonna be going with the H+S Infinity airbrush. I did look at the Paasche VL, but when i tried it in my local art shop it just felt wrong in my hand - like the balance wasnt right for me. Just a personal thing tho

As for the compressor, I totally understand what you mean about the pressure, thats exactly the problem i used to have with my old one. I'm finding that choosing a compressor that matches my budget and specs is very hard!