Model Railway Forum

Greetings, on/off modeller here who lacks the space for permanent layout but is happily occupying himself with kits and weathering bits so one day I'll have a head start.

Been weathering to OK effect with paints and powders for a while but feel increasingly tempted by an airbrush for more gradual and fainter build up on coaches etc.

As mentioned, space is a limit and as it would be just an interest/occasional-play thing I don't want to spend too much just yet (being able to put away in a box easily is attractive). Does anyone here have experience of some of the starter kits available both with/without tanks under the hundred quid mark?

What is the reality of something like this vs the conventional set up?

Is there an accepted minimum standard the knowledge base of the forum would recommend. (i'm coming to this knowing nothing - and looking to tread the line of getting something that functions and does the job to 'a' standard, but that I accept may get totally upgraded in the future)

Honest thoughts appreciated

Welcome to the forum.

There are plenty of these starter kits available at very cheap prices - mainly Chinese ‘knock-offs’. My main concern would be the consistent delivery of air from what looks more like a fish tank pump - a compressor with an air reservoir would be preferable.

The other thing I would question would be the availability of spare parts - from what I read, they are pretty much non existent. Maybe not an issue if you are prepared to throw it away as a complete replacement cheap airbrush may be an alternative.

I was fortunate when I bought my airbrush as I already had a decent compressor but I still only bought an Iwata Neo which is probably one of the cheapest from a known manufacturer (although they are produced under license for Iwata) and have a guarantee and full spares availability.

I do intend to try out one of the cheap copies as it could be handy for those odd occasions where I want to use different colours in very quick succession. So yesterday I ordered a 0.2mm version and only paid £7 including postage. At that price it would have been rude to say no.

Same here I have been searching for a few weeks now and the advice on here has been valuable up to now, I also have manages to keep away from the cheaper versions on flee bay and are looking for something with the tank as recommended but they are like hot cakes at the moment on the flee bay site so will wait until the new year and keep the research going.

There are quite a few like this on eBay at present. The reviews look quite promising.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2409255686

Yes I've been looking at similar things on Amazon, but I know nothing about them to know what to look for. Also I've read in the other thread about the standards and being a cyclist a know how they can render functional things useless so also would like to be future proofed as much is possible.

How standard are airbrush fittings?

I believe that there are a few options when it comes to fittings - I made the mistake of ordering the wrong size air hose but adapters are available. I believe you will struggle with spares for much of the cheap Chinese stuff but this supplier has a lot of info on their website which may help. They gave me an excellent service when I was buying my set up.

https://www.air-craft.net

Well in the end it turns out its going to be a birthday present so I went with https://www.everythingairbrush.com/airb ... h-kit.html

similar thing to above, and the kits I'd been looking at on amazon, but from a UK distrubuter which feels a bit safer (maybe be illfounded).

we shall see. I will share my thoughts once I've lived with it a bit.

Thanks

J

Looks to be a good way to test the water. Remember to get plenty of practice before committing to anything expensive to paint.

What paints are you planning to use? For what it’s worth, I decided on Vallejo Air - already premixed for airbrush use. Found a good few suppliers on eBay that work out at £2 per bottle when bought in ‘bulk’ ie they will supply 5 or 10 of your choice at that price as a bundle. And don’t forget airbrush cleaner either.

Hi Steve, thanks, I'll look at those, paints was something I've only half thought about, I have some acrylics so was planning on watering those down, but some airbrush ready will help me sate my impatience safely, and show me what concentration I want - I have some low grade models and kit builds for practice. Cheers

Yes I got some cleaner, and a cleaning bottle which looks like a very useful thing.

Looking forward to see how you go on, I also have seen the set up you show and very tempted myself, also as you stated uk seller which helps should there be any problems (fingers crossed)