Rowan is right on about subjective, one modeler loves an airbrush of one kind another can not tolerate in any way the same airbrush. Funny how it works out that way, but true. Russell

Mal was talking about setting the stop. Obviously my astek doesn't have this feature. Is it a common one? Do Iwata Eclipses have it?

No they don't. Iwata HP-Cs have it though.

sorry to threadjack, i have trouble with this. Which harder and steenbeck has the stop? I can't find it in specs.

Evolution Silverline, Infinity, Grafo, Hansa have stopper screws. It is located on the end of the grip.

Some of my more expensive airbrushes have the ability to set the stop on how far back the needle travels but that is the most useless feature I have ever seen for painting scale models and I would not base my decision on what airbrush to buy based on if it had it or not.
Mac valves and and the pre-set handle features are way over hyped, you don't need one of those mega expensive airbrushes for painting scale models, most any low priced gravity feed airbrush will do the job just fine.

An example of what can be done with a simple low cost airbrush is this paint job on my Monogram 1/48 scale Me 410, the camouflage scheme was painted freehand with no masking with my Iwata Revolution BR, the BR is about as simple as an airbrush can get.



I have several other airbrushes and some of them are expensive with all kinds of fancy do-dads on them but they are actually no better at putting paint on my models than the low cost Revolution BR!

You would be far better off buying a good quality low cost gravity feed airbrush and spend some time practice painting with it instead of getting one of the more expensive airbrushes with all the fancy gadgets that will give you trouble whilst learning how to airbrush...no airbrush no matter how fancy it is will replace experience gained from practicing.


Matrixone

Les is correct on the learn the airbrush idea. Practice is the only way to acquire the skills necessary to get the finish you want. Russell

Well I would not say the stopper screw or the choke valve were completely useless (I like to use them in fact) but I absolutely agree on practicing with the airbrush.

I also agree that a simple gravity feed airbrush would do 99% of the job we may encounter in scale modelling. The ultra-precise airbrushes like Infinity or Sotar are made for graphic artists who illustrate anatomy books or herbary atlases with inks. With the pigmented opaque hobby paints we use we cannot make full use of the capabilities of these airbrushes anyway.

Hi,

I can say that the SPARMAX DH-2 airbrush is great and cheap !

You can find it at www.hobbyeasy.com

Cheers Pierre.

I used an airbrush I got in Spain branded Artisania Latina with a 0.3mm nozzle in tha past. It didn't cost much and it was a good way to learn the basics of airbrushing. I then shifted to an Iwata Revolution HP-CR. Though being the cheapest of the Iwata airbrushes, it was a revolution indeed comparing to my old tool: ultra high quality, extremely easy to clean (and unassemble when necessary) and, last but not least, spares available everywhere.
It comes with a 0.5mm nozzle, which is a bit too big, so if you are not planning to paint in complicated camo schemes such as the German and Italian WW2 ones it's a good choice.
The price is around €120-130, it was my second biggest expense in modelling for me (first is the compressor) but I'm very satisfied.
Anyway, I agree with the fact that first you have to learn and practice will help you much in understanding, for example, which pressure to thinning ratio you have to use to do a certain scheme and/or prevent you from achieving an unsatisfying result.
I'd begin with a cheap airbrush, but make sure you can get spares easily, it's not nice to find yourself with a broken needle tip for which you can't find a replacement!

Hello gents,
Just my personal experiences, having seen the stellar work done by Brett green and Chris Wauchop I got myself the Aztec 470 ( the alloy edition in the nice mahogany case with extra tips and cups ) complimented by a delta compressor ( with reservoir )
Rather an expensive set up to have granted, but I figured I love modelling, it's pretty much my main ( only ) hobby ( just wish I had more time to indulge in it ) and I reasoned if those guys got they're results with this particular airbrush, with enough practice, so should I ( or at least I could rule out poor equipment if my results were not good )
I bought a 1/48 hasegawa fw190 to practice on and was very encouraged with my first ever airbrushing attempt
I then tried this set up on italeri's 1/35 schnellboot, and while the model won me two trophies in my states model expo in 2009, the results were hard to achieve, I found my Aztecs performance very ( VERY ) inconsistent, it didn't matter which brand of paint/thinners, air pressure, distance from model I sprayed, any manner of permutations, you name it, it was just hard work and frustrating
So I bit the bullet and bought an iwata hp c, what a revaluation !!!, precise and repeatable results time after time, and I'm sorry, but I fined my iwata just as easy to clean ( either in between colours, or when I have finished for the day ) as the supposed easy to clean Aztec is
It seemed to me ( in the beginning ) airbrushing was a black art, magic, but I guess if you find the tools that are right for YOU ( which can be expensive ) and you persevere and practice enough, you will get there
To summaries, I absolutely love airbrushing, you simply cannot achieve the same subtle results any other way, and its FUN, it may take awhile in the beginning, but don't give up, you will get there
Hope this helps