Aircraft Modeling

[djnocturnal]

Not AI but plastice plastic models...i'm looking to start building models and was looking for suggestions on a airbrush setup as well as recomended brands. I've seen some people on here that were into this and was hoping to get some more info.

[Cowboymarine1593]

air brush set ups come with time, some people like the ones like mine with the paint bottle underneath and some like them with the cup on top, its a comfort thing you have to find in lookin at them and seein how they sit in your hand, and i will suggest gettin different size spray tips, a fine spray tip can be a life saver in difficult paint jobs suck as the alaska aggressor i built not long ago, but what its also amounts to is how much mess do you want to have to clean up when your done, the cup has not top on it so that is the down fall but it is gravity fed so thats its perk, and the bottle is easy to clean and less mess. but requires air pressure from inside the brush and can be fairly finiky if not cared for properly,

[djnocturnal]

is there one brand that you would recomend? I don't want nothing too cheap, but at the same time not too much $$.

[Cowboymarine1593]

badgers are decent, dont know how much they are running right now but i did see a off brand double action that was modeled after the badger model 200 bottle feed for roughly 100 at hobby town usa, i remember there was one in grand forks of columbia and 32nd but i dont know about minot, was up in grand forks for 2 1/2 years and never went to minot for anything.

[scottr5213]

I found one on e-bay about 2 yrs ago its an Air Pro PS800 gravity fed dual action that works great and it also came with a hose and extra needle.

[djnocturnal]

do these things come with compressors? Hobby town is no longer here, I figured I would get everything online.

[Cowboymarine1593]

compressors are sold separately, how ever mine came with an attatchment to put it on a car tire and use the car tire for air

[scottr5213]

I use my porter cable pancake compressor and just turn down the air pressure, you can pick up one of these at a pawn shop for about 30.00

[james84]

1) airbrush
Basically you can have two kinds of AB: the first comes with a gloss container from which the paint is sucked. They are generally called "single action" as you can only spray the colour, NOT air. On the other side, "double action" ABs allow you to spray air too, they are generally gravity-feeded with a cup on the upper part (not always) and are very common and easier to handle IMHO.
I have bought 2 airbrushes in three years, both double action and gravity-fed: a cheap one in Madrid (about €45), which was not that easy to clean but was good enough to learn how to paint, and a more expensive one, an Iwata HP-BR with a 0.5mm nozzle, a real bomb! Cleaning takes just a few minutes and you don't even need to disassemble it!
My advice would be to get something relatively cheap to start, because the first thing you have to do is knowing your AB and understand how it works and how to clean an maintain it. A relatively good compromise might be an Aztek model, which doesn't even have a needle, only plastic plugs with a nozzle, and it's extremely easy to use and clean. A basic model should cost around €50.

2)compressor
In my opinion, it is the most important thing.
You can use any kind of compressor, but make sure you have a moisture filter with a manometer to adjust the air pressure or you will spray drops of water along with the colour and ruin your paintjob.
A basic modelling compressor without an air tank costs around €150 and it has the strong disadvantage of easily overheating and being noisy. I've never experienced problems with this kind of machine so far though.
A good alternative might be a CO2 tank, always with a filter+manometer (you can get it on the web or at a modelling or bricolage shop), which you just need to fill when empty. No compressor, no overheating, no noise.
Anyway, if you can afford it, get an Iwata airbrush and a modelling compressor with an air tank, you need around €400 but you'll get top-quality stuff!
Don't know if AB and compressor come together, but there might be some good kit providing them both. Anyway, any compressor can be attached to any airbrush whatsoeverwith no trouble, though sometime nyou might need an adapter.
Here is a well stored supplier just to make an idea
http://www.airbrushes.co.uk/

Happy new year!

[BadPvtDan]

[james84]

IMPORTANT: get a brand for which it' easy to get spares.

[djnocturnal]

lol, what is this about?

[delbydoo]

lol, what is this about?

Stick with paint brushes?

[BadPvtDan]

I know you guys aren't too young for Revenge of the Nerds! LOL!