I'm trying to find a better airbrush then my current one (a Master Airbrush Model G22) for painting my X-Wing and Warhammer 40k figures. It's decent for basecoating, but has clogging issues and is practically useless for finer detailing. I was wanting to know what others' experiences were with other airbrushed, and what might be a good model to invest in for details application to miniatures.

To help with said input, the factions I'm going to be focusing heavily on are Rebels for X-Wing, Tau and maybe Chaos Marines for 40k, and Skaven for Warhammer Fantasy. I've had a hard time finding good concrete information on what airbrush is good for what, but from what I've been able to gather, this one seems to be a step in the right direction: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/bad/bad105.htm

Ive been using an airbrush for about 10 years now. I did start off with a cheaper airbrush but it was more work to get it to work well. I would recommend an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. Dual action is the easiest to get going. It is a great airbrush. I still use it today and i've the heck out of it. I do have two Harder & Steenbeck airbrushes but I still use the Iwata.

I'm just getting into X-wing but I have been playing 40K for 18 years or so. I started at the beginning of Second Ed.

My airbrush is a generic, ultra-cheap double-action one that I got at a hardware store. It works fine for what I use it for, which is basecoating, painting over masks, and a bit of feathering/fading here & there.

I guess I'd ask yourself what features are really important to you in choosing a brush? Personally, I like a bottom feed and I prefer detachable/swappable paint reservoirs (I used to paint a lot of camo!). You obviously have some experience with an airbrush, so are you looking for information on flow rate, ease of cleaning/use, width of spray, etc? I don't have the artistic ability to freehand anything with an airbrush, so I'm afraid I can't help you there. Badger & Iwata seem to be the top names in hobby brushes, but you probably already knew that.

Gravity-feed and double-action, definitely. I'm looking for one that can do really thin/accurate lines, but can also be used for basecoating on at least smaller figures.

I prefer my Revell Master Class double-action. It's perfect for scale models and thus very precise.

I second the opinion on the Iwata. They're really good airbrushes. Easy to maintain & reliable little machines.

Something else to to keep in mind is: don't cut corners on your compressor. Ideally your compressor should have an internal air tank that supplies the air to the airbrush. Some of your air compressors feed directly into the brush & you'll get "pulses" in the air stream that makes the paint come out in minute

puffs. Some people may not even notice, but as small a scale as we're working with...

I second the opinion on the Iwata. They're really good airbrushes. Easy to maintain & reliable little machines.

Something else to to keep in mind is: don't cut corners on your compressor. Ideally your compressor should have an internal air tank that supplies the air to the airbrush. Some of your air compressors feed directly into the brush & you'll get "pulses" in the air stream that makes the paint come out in minute

puffs. Some people may not even notice, but as small a scale as we're working with...

Yeah, need to get the tank that goes with my compressor. @_@ but thank you! I'll try to look more into Iwata.

That's the problem, getting into airbrushing will be expensive, but very well worth it.

WT

Look carefully at what you can find at Hobby Lobby. They carry the Iwata Neo and the Paasche VL, both of which I have used to great success. The Iwata Neo is more suited for fine detailing, but is gravity feed. The Paasche VL is overall the best, but you'll use more paint as it uses a color cup.

The best part is that Hobby Lobby always has a 40% off coupon available online at any given time. That knocks down the airbrush price to something much more reasonable. Bottom line is that you really can't go wrong with any type of double action airbrush.

An air compressor is a different story and is much more expensive. However, there are some cheats. If you have access to a pneumatic compressor for tools, a simple $2 adapter and you can use your airbrush with that. If not, you can often get a simple one for about $40 at Harbor Freight, or a more dedicated one at Hobby Lobby for --again-- the 40% off coupon. Once you invest, though, it will have tons of uses and will last you a lifetime if properly cared for and cleaned.

I have used airbrushes for a lot of years, and I really like my Passche talon tg. Double action, and very reliable.

Look carefully at what you can find at Hobby Lobby. They carry the Iwata Neo and the Paasche VL, both of which I have used to great success. The Iwata Neo is more suited for fine detailing, but is gravity feed. The Paasche VL is overall the best, but you'll use more paint as it uses a color cup.

The best part is that Hobby Lobby always has a 40% off coupon available online at any given time. That knocks down the airbrush price to something much more reasonable. Bottom line is that you really can't go wrong with any type of double action airbrush.

An air compressor is a different story and is much more expensive. However, there are some cheats. If you have access to a pneumatic compressor for tools, a simple $2 adapter and you can use your airbrush with that. If not, you can often get a simple one for about $40 at Harbor Freight, or a more dedicated one at Hobby Lobby for --again-- the 40% off coupon. Once you invest, though, it will have tons of uses and will last you a lifetime if properly cared for and cleaned.

I have a nice little compressor already; would just be nicer if I could get an air tank for it. I'll look into that suggestion though - there's a Hobby Lobby about an hour's drive away!

I had just finished buying all of my airbrush stuff when I decided to quit playing/painting 40K/Fantasy (the irony) I have stuff I've never used but I did a LOT of research on the subject before I spent any money on it. The airbrush that I ended up buying is an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. Another forum member recommend that one as well. This brush is supposed to be a good middle range brush allowing you to do everything you would want an airbrush to do without the hefty price tag. Iwata is a major company and replacement parts are easy to come by if you should ever need them.

The thing I was told over and over was get the most expensive brush you can and cheap out on the compressor. I didn't exactly want to do that so I got an Iwata and a relatively decent compressor (both are in storage now still in their boxes!). But one thing I can say is whatever you do make sure it's gravity-fed and a dual-action brush. If you're using single action you may as well just buy a can of spray paint.