Airbrushing - Where to start?

[Rocket]

Hi guys, as a result of the Archangel Chrome Wings Thread, Justin and I are thinking about getting ourselves set up with an airbrush, tools, paints etc and the plan would be to get to a level where we could confidently chrome parts of our collection such as Archangel's wings, or the Ultron Mb....

So, we are coming in on this totally blind.
What do we need to know?
What brands are the best?
What should we be prepared for?
What is a reasonable price for each item?

Any and all advice would be GREATLY appreciated

[Jesse321]

Buy a good book on air-brushing, make sure is thick and solid.

Take book and repeatedly pommel yourself over the head with it until comatose, repeat as necessary until the thought leaves your mind.

You think statues and original are a slippery slope!! Pfft ... you have no idea what you're getting yourself into now!!

[Rocket]

Originally Posted by Jesse321

Buy a good book on air-brushing, make sure is thick and solid.

Take book and repeatedly pommel yourself over the head with it until comatose, repeat as necessary until the thought leaves your mind.

You think statues and original are a slippery slope!! Pfft ... you have no idea what you're getting yourself into now!!

[Jack8022]

Originally Posted by Jesse321

Buy a good book on air-brushing, make sure is thick and solid.

Take book and repeatedly pommel yourself over the head with it until comatose, repeat as necessary until the thought leaves your mind.

You think statues and original are a slippery slope!! Pfft ... you have no idea what you're getting yourself into now!!

LOL!

[Tomcatvf84]

Originally Posted by Jesse321

Buy a good book on air-brushing, make sure is thick and solid.

Take book and repeatedly pommel yourself over the head with it until comatose, repeat as necessary until the thought leaves your mind.

You think statues and original are a slippery slope!! Pfft ... you have no idea what you're getting yourself into now!!

Lol, agreed, Airbrushing is a VERY slippery slope!, it's expensive, time consuming and fiddley.

That said....

If you wanting to airbrush I would get myself a decent compressor, prefferably a silent one as the constant buzzing of a compressor can be really off putting, especialy if your doing it indoors. You can get small cans of compressed air to run an airbrush, however these are expensive and run out really quickly (More so if you just learning).

What brush you get depends on how fine a detail you want to get into.

A single action brush will allow you to control the amount of paint coming out of the gun.

A double action brush will alow you to control the amount of paint and air coming out of the gun (these will give you greater control and allow for finer lines)

What brush you choose is a personal choice, there are loads to choose from, personaly I use a dual action Iwata brush.

[dechirico7]

I just started airbrushing this winter. I got a a Craftsman 3 gal. air compressor combo at Sears for a good sale price, I think it was under $90. I have watched a few airbrush videos and a lot of the pros suggest getting a compressor with an air tank. Especially if you want to airbrush for longer periods of time. It can be noisy, but I usually just stick it outside while it is pumping up and then bring it inside. I could let it inflate inside too, but I have a small dog that I don't want to scare.


I decided to get a dual action Badger airbrush from a local craftstore after a friend, who is a experienced airbrush artist recommended them. I have no issues with this airbrush. It is easy to clean and easy to use.

I also picked up as many books on airbrushing as I could find around town.

The major thing that I found to learn is paint consistency and coordinating air pressure. The orange peel effect is a downer. I am working on my first resin kit and I've had to strip it 3 times now due to an orange peel look of the paint. But I think I have it under control now and it is becoming a blast.

[Rocket]

Thanks so much for the advice guys!! I will put it to good use