SPA Modeler

I started with a siphon feed, external mix, single action Badger 350 and used that for close to 20 years before I finally wore it out and bought my first replacement airbrush a used internal mix, siphon fed, Thayer & Chandler airbrush… In all honesty I could still use the Badger 350 as my primary if I had gotten it rebuilt and not bought a more advanced brush instead. I had it mastered and was more than content with the results that I could get with that airbrush.
So no, one does not need an expensive high end airbrush to get great results.

Hmm I haven't thought about Co2 before, but I will look into it. As for the Iwata Eclipse...


HAHAHAHA!!! Yeah not happening.

Holly crap. I think I paid $125 for mine, that has been probably 10 years or more. So yeah look into badger I know they run specials a lot.

Another good place to look is TCP Global. Nothing wrong with a Master brand airbrush. Pretty commonly found at Harbor Freight stores. Anyhow… here’s the link:

www.tcpglobal.com

Yeah… that’s kinda high for an Iwata Eclipse. Why not go with an Iwata Neo instead?

Stikpusher wrote: So no, one does not need an expensive high end airbrush to get great results.

- Kari

I bought my Paasche H around 1988 I think. So far, it's the only airbrush I've seriously used. I do have a few others, including a SOTAR 20/20 that I've only experimented with a little. I used an ancient rattling old compressor that pulsed out 30psi for years before it crapped out and then switched to CO2. As mentioned, it's always dry and quiet!

I have some nerve damage in my hands, especially the right, that makes handling and operating a double-action AB kinda difficult. I do want to play around some more with that SOTAR; it is an awesome tool capable of very fine work. Just not in my hands...

There haven't been many paint jobs I couldn't tackle with that old Paasche H though. It is a true workhorse, basically unchanged since the 1930s. With experience, one can achieve great results with it too.

I think unless you are doing weird airbrush designs like lines with varying widths and /or continuously changing fading effects that a single action gravity feed with an adjustable needle is best for modeling work. That's what I've become most comfortable with.

I have four airbrushes. Two are Iwata Neos, one Iwata HP-C+ and a Badger Renegade Chrome. The Neo's are different needle sizes, .35 and .50. Their great starter airbrushes but they can be impossible to clean well. Both of mine are out of commission right now cause I didn't clean them as well as I had thought.

I started with a cheap Master brush and small compressor. I didnt want to spend a ton of money on a brush if I wasnt comfortable with using one. Some say you have to have an expensive brush if you want to do things right. I, personally, don't think that is the case, I did just fine with the Master brush for a long time. I then graduated to a Paasche Talon that I picked up for under $70 US. I liked it for awhile and then I decided to try my first Badger and got the Renegade Krome, that was my main brush for a long time. I then added the Badger Sotar 20/20, then a Badger Patriot Extreme 105. I have to say I wasnt as impressed with the Extreme 105 as I'd hoped, I didnt notice that much benefit from having the MAC valve at the nozzle of the brush. Most recently, I have been using the Krome and the Sotar for almost everything. If I'm going to spray a thick primer like Stynylrez, I'll use the Paasche with a larger needle, mainly because it has a larger paint cup. I did just pick up a 105 Patriot with three different needle/nozzle sizes, I've yet to set it up yet. I see a bunch of guys praising the Iwata and Harder & Steenbeck, but for me, the Badgers work just fine in most situations.

Stikpusher wrote: So no, one does not need an expensive high end airbrush to get great results.

But Carlos. The air is compressed so much more professionally in expensive compressors. It also smells like Unicorn farts if you take a really expensive one.