I didn’t have a decent airbrush set-up, and decided to do something about it. I got fed-up of trawling through modelling forums about what equipment to get – so many posts asking the same damn question.
I wanted a small, quiet compressor with an air tank and a reasonably cheap dual-action airbrush. I found the answers after reading this and this (which is what I’ve essentially ended up with). If you can’t be bothered to look at those links, essentially they give favourable, no nonsense reviews of low cost airbrushes and airbrush set-ups that you can get for around £100. As long as you’re not expecting something of the quality of the Iwata’s, these cheap airbrushes do a perfectly good job. I got the compressor from the nice bloke at Affinity Models in Longton for just a touch over £100. I could have got it cheaper on the net, but I’ve had a good experience at this shop and I’m more than happy to give my support. Also, a big factor was noise, and I wanted to hear it to see if I could use it without waking up the whole house. The compressor is quiet enough to use in the attic room without waking my baby daughter across the landing. Next, I got a BD 130 airbrush from the Absolute Airbrush Ebay shop. Looking through there, they have some fantastic deals on spraying kits. It arrived next day for £18. Yes, £18 for a gravity-feed, dual-action airbrush. It has an adjustable needle stop at the back of the handle, so I can get consistent results until my technique improves (or not).
I connected it all up, filled up with some drawing ink and got stuck in. Fantastic. Thick lines, thin lines, really thin lines – everything I’ll need to get some of those half-finished, waiting-for-paint kits back on the road.
Why didn’t I do this earlier? Dithering, that’s why. Wondering if I could justify spending hundreds of pounds on a top-end airbrush and compressor. Would I be better saving my money and putting it towards some tasty spray set-up? Well, possibly, but now I’m spraying away and getting results I’m more than happy with, without breaking the bank. Hell, last month’s mileage expenses pretty much covered the cost! I was afraid of wasting money on some junk that was unusable, but I was reassured by some of the aforementioned reviews and a bit of time sourcing information on the net.
The way I look at it is that I can learn to use a dual action airbrush without having to spend money I haven’t got. The little amount of time I’ve had to practise has produced results I’m really happy with, and I’m sure it will give good service until my skills and bank balance can justify pro equipment.
Born again modeller 