Looking to get a decent airbrush and wondering about a few things. Do you prefer gravity feed or siphon feed and why? Do you like single action or double action? And do you think the Aztek airbrushes from Testor are as good as other brands i.e. Anthem (Badger) and Paasche

Thank you

BugNerd
I use a Badger 150.
Mostly with the medium nozzle.I work in 1/72 and am looking into getting a fine nozzle for doing those Luftwaffe mottle schemes.
Its a double action brush with siphon and gravity feeds.I use the gravity cup now as I can mix up small amounts of paint.Infact,,a cup is more than enough to do the top surface of a fighter.
Hope this helps.
How goes the Storch?,,lets see some in progress pics
Nige

I prefer double action, gravity fed airbrushes as you have more control over the paint. As for the Aztec's vs the rest i can't comment as i only used an Aztec. They are easy to use and clean and i like it, but some people hate them. Its a matter of personal choice, see if you can test an airbrush before you buy one.
Andy (++)

Hello there..

I have a Badger Cresendo 175 and its a good all around airbrush, but nowadays I use mostly my Bager 360 universal, its the same as the antheim 155 except that the color cup rotates so you get the best of both worlds, both siphon feed and gravity feed. I like the siphon feed for base coats and such where i'm going to do a bit of painting with 1 color. and I like the siphon feed when i'm trying to touch up something or paint something fairly small where I only need a little bit of paint..

when I started teaching myself airbrushing around 4 years ago I started out with azteks.. had a couple of single actions and a couple of double actions and although some people swear by them, I never had any luck in using them well.

I would really say that as well as getting advice from all here, it is important if possible that you go and try various ones in your hand. See how they feel and try to imagine using them for some minutes at a time.

Now doubtless the Cresendo is a great airbrush, but I could never get mine to feel comfortable and sold it.

I have used Badger and like them, but currently have two Aztec, the 470 and all metal model + and my main brush is the Paasch Millenium,with medium and fine assemblies. I have had great effect with the Aztec, but prefer being able to field strip the brush in its entirity like I can with my Paasch.

It is a little bit 'horses for courses' as you may try many before finding just the one that suits you and your style of modelling.

Regards,

John

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can find a place that will let me try them. I've got a friend that has a body shop, but I don't think he does detailed graphics. I'll ask him though and chances are that he'll know someone that does. Do art supplies stores normally let you try them?




Ordered some paints and just waiting for them to get here Will definitely post pics when I start.

Hey there BugNerd,

To answer your questions:
Gravity every time. I have used both and fine that generally the gravity feed is more general purpose than the siphon feed. Also you can do touch-ups with 2 or 3 drops of paint in a gravity feed brush.

Double action definitely, simply it is far more versatile.

Short answer no. I owned and used an Aztek A470 for year and my current Iwata HP-CS beats it hands down in every department. I can't talk about Anthem (Badger) and Paasche as I've never used them.

Cheers
Darren

[quote] Do art supplies stores normally let you try them?[quote]

In my experience any quality shop that keeps airbrushes will be willing to let you get your hands on the goods as they will understand that this is quite an investment on your part.
Having had the experience of others that I have known and in looking through a couple of threads in the past here; I would consider getting a unit that is reasonably priced unless you have unlimited funds, as although the likes of the Iwata is the cream of the crop aimed at by many of us, not everybody finds that an airbrush is to their liking. In event of this happening it is sad to have an expensive investment lying dormant in a dusty cupboard, or indeed find yourself selling it at a loss.

Good luck in whichever you choose to try.

John

I guess it really depends on how much you are willing to spend. With airbrushes, like everything else, you get what you pay for. I currently use an Aztec 470 for primer coats and general large area coverage. For the rest I use an Iwata Custom Micron SB. I like gravity feed as well, but like the option of syphon feed too, thats why I chose the SB over the B.

Check out this site, they carry all sorts of AB stuff and are great to deal with!

http://www.dixieart.com/IwataMicrons.html

I'm a guy to say... STAY AWAY FROM AZTEK! Thats from being station in Japan when my aztek 470 died on me. Now go get an Iwata/media Airbrush I have 2 an HP-B and HP-C Japanese models different in the states, but the difference was there by a long shoot. The Iwata on the first time out performed like a dream and worked wonders couple of kits done with the Iwata...




I now use the Gravity feed AB for most of my work. I usually only need about one cup per colour per kit if that. But, I still use my siphon feed though. Testors bottles fit right upto the iwata sipohon cap so it lets me do LARGE area of one colour with having to mix more paint. this is good for 1/32nd jets and 1/350 and somethimes larger ships. When i build Tamiy'as Tiger 1E in 1/16th It was a life saver as i could just switch out fresh bottles of paint ( I killed 3 of 'em) HTH you make you decission. STUG

For ease of cleaning, I prefer a top feed.
For better control, I prefer a top feed.
I guess I prefer a top feed.... my own personal preference.
Although I still use a Badger 150 for a lot of the basic coats, if I decide to spray them at work. (My 150 is at work, in my locker) At home I use a badger 100G and an Iwata HP-B. I also have a cheap gerneric brand, that I won't mention, and not very happy with. (Real pain in the butt to clean, and not really the quailty of the model it's suppose to represent--- proves you get what you pay for!)

Over the years I've had various types of airbrush but the best thing I ever did was to get a gravity feed one, an Iwata HP-C. So much better in every respect than syphon feed ones.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm not sure I'm ready go for an Iwata yet , but I'll definitely let you know which one I choose.

Thanks again

I use the Paschee single action. It´s robust, easy to clean, cheap and works perfectly. For me it´s a great airbrush. I use it with a compresor. Normally I use the No 3 set, but if I need very thin flow or the paint is very diluted I use No. 1 set.

I also use a Paschee single action but today I finally picked up a Paschee double action. I love my single action but wanted to get the d/a for the more complicated camo schemes I'm starting to do. Why Paschee you ask? Well, this is what my LHS carries and they also have a very wide selection of replacment parts for Paschee.

By the way, I paid $63.00 for my single action last year and today I paid $89.00 for my double action. Not a bad price for a very good airbrush.

Hermon

Thank you all for your help! I'm leaning toward the Badger 150 with a fine tip $55. I'm completely open to any others that may be similar in cost but better quality/options.

Thanks again, I'm sure you have all gotten tired of reading through my indecisive posts

Oh, the paints I ordered came today...unfortunately, I had fallen asleep on the couch LOL and missed the FedEx guy by ten minutes! I had no idea he had even been there..went ouitside and saw the note stuck to the door :-)

Badger 150 will you will be happy with.

I would also reccomend the Badger 360, which allows you to rotate to either a siphon feed or gravity feed.

(++)

Good choice for starting with a 150.
You can eventually pick up a medium and large heads and needles as the need comes up, and parts are easy to get, and affordable.

Good luck, and remember, the biggest challenge is to practice...practice and more practice. The more you practice with it, the better you'll get. Try learning on some poster board/cardboard, getting the feel of the airbrush, learning the various mixtures and air settings.

Looking forward to seeing your work.

I have used a single action, siphon feed Paasche H for the past 24 years most of my painting tasks. About 4 years ago I bought an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS, gravity feed, double action brush. It's great for very fine work, but requires a good deal more practice to get good results. I find that my reliable old Paasche handles 80% or more of the work I need to do, and costs (now) a quarter of the price of the Iwata.

My first a.b. is a Badger 100, c.1974. Still have it though the air attachment slips out of the plastic all the time.

Then I got a badger 200. Thirty years later, it is still useful.

Ten years ago I decided I needed an internal mix double action and bought a Passche VL.

The VL has been my tool of choice since, until just recently. About 6 years ago II was given a Aztec A470 set, never used it. Never, until I ruined another tip and needle and didn't have a spare for the Passche. I have been using the Aztec exclusively now for about 4 months and have not even tried the Iwata Eclipse that I bought over Christmas! With the Aztec's tan fine head I am getting as tight a freehand acrylic spray as I could ask for.

I shoot Polly Scale acrylic from small paint cups 99% of the time.

I like the big, heavy feel of the Passche better than any of them so far, and think the Aztec's ergonomic design is odd. Haven't tried the Eclipse yet, but it feels good.

FWIW, for the money and easy of everything, Aztec can't be beat.