Which airbrush to buy

[Tom Miller]

Hello,
I am building A Panzer III ausf L.
I have read all the threads on air brush makes and am now thoroughly confused. Can someone just tell me which make and model to buy? The threads I read mention the make but not the specific model. I will use it mostly for detail and camo work. I owned a Badger many years ago and am used to a siphon type air brush. I will need a complete system, compressor, water filter, hose, double action air brush, nozzles and needles, the works. I know this a pretty broad question but when you don't know much about this equipment it is impossible to make an intelligent decision without wondering if you got the right thing. I would like a good quality system and will pay accordingly. Thanks in advance for any help.
Tom

[Stephen White]

Tom,

You may well get a variety of opinions reflecting personal experience so it's as well to know what to look for. I wrote a guide to choosing an airbrush in the Knowledge Base, here:


http://www.armortek.co.uk/Forum3b/viewt ... 975e59a9d3


If you're looking for quality and performance, Harder and Steenbeck and Iwata are widely regarded as the best of the bunch. The Harder and Steenbeck Infinity CR Plus is superb and ideally suited to our models. I use three needle sizes, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6mm. The latter is perfectly OK for applying a base coat and there is no need to resort to rattle cans or an airgun. The middle size meets most needs and you could do without the smaller size, which is ideal for the finest detail more usually found in plastic

https://www.harder-airbrush.eu/en/infinity.html

A compressor is essential. Sparmax make very acceptable units, particularly their Professional range, such as the TC610H or 620X.

[Pete Nash]

Hi Tom.

As Steam says, you might well end up needing re than one airbrush.

have three.

A 100ml gravity fed spray gun, A 'Badger Type' suction airbrush with a small glass bottle under the gun, and an Iwata with a small gravity fed cup on top.
I use the 100 ml Gravity fed Spray Gun with a Tank compressor for painting the complete model and large areas. Amount of pain to be deposited and air volume can be adjusted on the gun, air pressure via the compressor. This type of spray gun is designed for touching up in car body repair shops.
The 'badger type' for medium areas as the bottle takes about 20 ml of paint and the nozzle can be adjusted for large or small areas.
The Iwata has a small cup on the top that takes about 5ml of paint so is used for detail and touch ups.
The latter two are run from a continuous running small compressor.

The larger compressor for the spray gun is missing in the image. You are not likely to need a large compressor for the type of gun I use, a 10 tr to 20 ltr compressor capable of giving 5/10 cubic feet a minute will suffice.

Pete

[Pete Nash]

Early Morning.....

My Compressor is a 8 H.P model, 24 ltr Tank, 7.5 cfm air supply, max pressure 116 psi.

Water traps are usually fitted to these compressors.

[Stephen White]

Tom, to clarify my post, Harder and Steenbeck offer a range of needle and nozzle sizes for the Infinity CR Plus. You can cover all your needs with a single airbrush. They also offer various cup sizes. The larger automotive touch-up brushes Pete shows are a very useful addition but not essential. I prefer to apply base coat to each assembly as I go along and for that, the larger guns are overkill.

There is also a myth about using small tins or jars of model paint, such as the Tamiya XF range. There is a common misconception about coverage with an airbrush on one sixth models. By the time you’ve thinned the paint, you can cover an Armortek model with about six jars, maybe less.

[Tom Miller]

Stephen,
Thanks for the info. Very helpful. I have a small touch up spray gun and compressor I used to paint small parts on my model locomotives. I intend to use it to prime everything and paint the larger parts. The air brush will be used to paint the small parts and small quantities of parts as I go along. Plus do all the detail and camo painting.
The infinity CR plus comes as a top load and siphon type. My thinking is you can get more paint in the small jars with the siphon type thus less stopping to reload. Is there other reasons to go with one type of the other?
I see in other threads there are many methods for when to start painting these models. My intent is to prime sections as I go along. I am getting ready to prime the basic shell tomorrow. As for finish paint, I intend to wait till the model is mostly assembled and paint the whole thing. Or maybe paint the hull once the electronics are installed The reason for this is I intend to apply milliput welds and fill all the countersunk screws. If I apply finish paint too soon I will have to repaint those areas. What do you think?
Tom

[Tom Miller]

Thanks Pete, looks like you and I think alike.
Tom

[Stephen White]

Tom,

There is no significant functional difference between the various cup positions. If you intend to do large areas at a time, it makes sense to maximise the cup size. The Infinity CR Plus is as you say, offered with up to a 5ml gravity cup and a siphon option. If you need to go to the latter, there is an adaptor which allows you to fit a siphon bottle, such as this:

https://www.everythingairbrush.com/airb ... -15ml.html

I do a lot of mixing in the cup, putting in some thinner first to run through the nozzle to check it's clear then mixing and thinning to taste. I find it's easier to do that with a top cup but a siphon bottle would be useful for larger quantities. You may be surprised at how little paint you'll use with an airbrush. I find a top cup does most of my needs.

There are as many ways of painting these things as there are owners. That said, it's best practice to prime everything before assembly where it makes sense. Obviously if there is likely to be a critical fit issue, such as with an interference fit, it's better to assemble and then prime the complete sub-assembly. The principle is to prime at the lowest level of breakdown.

As each sub-assembly is completed and mounted onto the model, I apply basecoat, largely because it gives a better sense of completion and progress but also because the coverage tends to be more thorough. That's purely a personal view and doing the whole basecoat thing in one go is perfectly valid. It depends on how much detail you're going to add and therefore how long your project might last. As for the interior, some leave it in primer, others apply the relevant scale colour(s). Again, a matter of choice.

Your point about Milliput is interesting. One thing I've found with these models is that the quickest way to kill enthusiasm is to leave too much of one thing to do in one go. For that reason, I try to do repetitive things like welds and filling as I go along. I wish now I'd started weathering on my Centurion a lot earlier as it's now a long flog to keep up the level of detail.

Enjoy your model. j