Airbrushes allow you to give depth and precision to your work. They give you the ability to go over an area several times, to give it shade or shadow without brush strokes being on your art. Using an airbrush means that you aren’t losing a portion of your paint in a paintbrush or sponge.

Some of the best airbrushes for models can also be used on t-shirts, paintings, and painting metalwork. You can also use some airbrushes for cake decoration. Being able to use an airbrush allows you to get the fine details with color on to your model; a process that you may have had to use several colors to pull-off with a paintbrush. The ability to switch out needles or nozzles so that you can get a more detailed work rather than having to use another brush, sponge or possibly a toothpick to pull-off makes an airbrush a great product to have when painting.

This buying guide will show you what works for a beginner just using an-airbrush Vs. a long-time user who knows how to control the airbrush flow. Find out what kinds of needles will work best for your level or ability. Also, find out which airbrushes are most versatile compared to the airbrushes that will work airbrushing for painting models or certain art.

Furthermore, there are seven e-books available on the internet for download that provide a guide for using this product. The guides direct you into using the airbrush correctly, ensuring that you get the most out of it. The kit has a DVD with comprehensive instructions on how to use this airbrush correctly. Real Flames & Fire Airbrushing Templates Stencils FREE!! FREE Realistic Flames Stencils Templates and Shields Free Images Photos Pics. Saved by Antonio Cuevas. Free Stencils Stencil Templates Stencil Patterns Templates Printable Free Hand Embroidery Patterns Skull Stencil Stencil Painting Flame Art Wood Carving Patterns. Addeddate 2015-12-31 22:29:34 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier AirbrushStepByStepMarch2016EU Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t1pg5k419 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 11.0.

1. Harder & Evolution Silverline Airbrush 2 in 1 – Editor’s Choice

• 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm nozzle set
• 2 ml and 5 ml paint cup
• Cleaning Brush Set Included

The Evolution Silverline is a high-quality airbrush that is made in Germany. It has a small nozzle of 0.2mm that allows you to do incredibly fine detail work to your models or art. There is a 2ml paint cup on the bottom side of the airbrush that makes it possible to siphon your paint through the brush instead of sucking it up into the pen from an external cup.

This airbrush has a silver body with nickel plating. The Evolution Silverline has solvent-resistant PTFE seals, which are seals that protect against high temperatures and pressure, this is something that all Harder & Steenbeck airbrushes have. These airbrushes are easy to handle with a futuristic design. You can use universal pieces along with this airbrush but you can find different add-on pieces from the Harder & Steenbeck website.

• Great control
• Well-made
• Can do very fine-detail work

2. Badger Air-Brush Co. Sotar 2020-2F – Best Airbrush for Scale Modeling

• Gravity feed 2ml cup
• 19 mm nozzle
• Has an extra-fine needle

The Sotar 2020-2F is a professional grade airbrush with a 19mm nozzle that will allow you to do incredibly fine detail on your model work. The pen is black with a button on top and the 2ml cup underneath. It has an extra fine PTFE needle, that is able to handle the high pressure and temperatures from this airbrush.

These airbrushes are made to use finely pigmented, properly reduced paints, watercolors, inks, dyes, and low viscosity acrylics. The body of the airbrush is made so that you can hold it comfortably which makes it easy to handle. Badger Sotar airbrushes are made in the USA.

• Easy to use
• Runs well
• Makes fine details
• Easy to handle
• Inexpensive

• Hard to clean
• Easily damaged
• Not meant for beginners
• Doesn’t come with an air hose

3. PointZero Dual Action Airbrush Kit with 3 Guns – Best Airbrush Kit for Models

• Premium airbrushing set
• Multipurpose use
• Includes 7 exclusive downloadable e-Book airbrushing guides.
• Airbrush Essentials – Master the Basics DVD and access to exclusive airbrush knowledge base downloads
• Braided 6 ft. air hose

The PointZero Dual Action Airbrush Kit with 3 Guns is an airbrush pen that comes with a multi-purpose kit that allows people to paint not only models but also crafts, auto & cycle graphics, taxidermy, photo retouching, t-shirts, murals, fine art & illustrations. The three different airbrush guns that come in this kit are a fine-detail dual-action, internal-mix, gravity-feed with a low-profile 2cc and a pre-installed 0.2mm nozzle set.

This kit comes with a DVD that will help a new airbrush user know how to use the airbrush. It also shows the different methods and techniques that can be done with the airbrushes. It has guides that teach you how to decorate a cake with an airbrush, how to clean your airbrush and how to do letter-work with your airbrush.

• Can also be used to airbrush cakes and many other art mediums
• Works for beginners
• Comes with three brushes
• Inexpensive

Airbrush Dvd Downloads

• Can be difficult to clean
• Needs to be cleaned often

4. Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS Dual Action Airbrush Gun – Best Airbrush for Beginners

Download Airbrush App

• 35mm spring steel needle and drop-in self-centering nozzle
• 7ml sized gravity-feed cup is created with a new funnel shape
• Single cut-away handle
• Spray pattern – hairline to 2″ (50-mm) round
• Head cap snapper

The Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS Dual Action Airbrush Gun gives you 5 possible ways you can spray your paint. You can spray all the way from extra-fine detail work to extra wide. This airbrush accommodates both airbrush beginners and airbrush experts.

It’s a gravity feed airbrush that has a 0.35mm needle and nozzle to pull-off the fine detail work. This airbrush can spray premixed paints, along with heavier acrylics and Medea textile colors, which makes it very versatile. This is a multi-purpose, high-detail and high paint flow airbrush that has a 1/3oz size cup to hold the paint.

• Well-made
• Easy to clean
• Easy to use
• Makes great detail work

5. Paasche H-100D Single Action Airbrush & Compressor Package – Budget Pick

• Single action airbrush
• Compressor with regulator and auto-shutoff
• Includes 7 brush cleaning kit
• Great beginners kit

The Paasche H-100D Single Action Airbrush & Compressor Package is a great beginner airbrush kit that comes with 7 different cleaning brushes. This airbrush pen has 3 spray heads that allow it to spray almost any kind of paint. The compressor gives 20-35 PSI which is a great power behind the paint spraying.

The body of this airbrush has a chrome-plated finish and at 1.1 lbs, it is a very lightweight airbrush. The compressor for this airbrush makes it incredibly quiet compared to other airbrushes. This airbrush is great for model work and other pieces of art.

• Well-made
• Great for an airbrush novice
• It is quiet
• Great directions
• Works well for small projects
• Low power use
• Lightweight

Gravity Feed Vs. Siphon Feed Airbrush

The major difference between a gravity feed and a Siphon Feed Airbrush is the method with which paint is passed from the cup to the mixing area.

With a Gravity feed airbrush, well, it does what the name says. The paint cup is located on top of the airbrush, and therefore, paint is pulled into the atomizing chamber of the airbrush. The major advantage of the gravity feed method is that it allows for lower air pressure to be used to operate the airbrush.

Also, A Gravity feed airbrush allows you to paint fine lines and details on very small figures and models while avoiding an overspray.

The Con of Gravity feed airbrush is the fact that they utilize small cups for storing paints to reduce the weight on the spray gun. Therefore, you will need to refill your paint cup more often when working on large scale models.

Siphon Feed Airbrush systems have their paint cups located at the bottom of the whole paint unit. The paint bottle is connected to the mixing chamber with the use of a connecting tube. When air is passed into the tube to the mixing chamber, it also siphons paint int.

Since the paint cup is at the bottom, the siphon system allows for a larger amount of paint to be stored. This will be an advantage when you are painting larger models.

The major advantage of the Siphon delivery system is that it allows large spray areas to be covered very quickly.

The downside of using a siphon system is that it requires more time to perform cleanups, and it also uses more paint than a gravity system.

Single Action Vs. Double Action Airbrush

In the simplest of terms, the difference between a single action and a double-action airbrush lies in the manner in which paint is delivered by the mechanism.

In a Single Action Airbrush, the paint is delivered with only one press a button. What this means is that you have minimal control over how much paint is delivered at a given time. However, this means that a single action Airbrush is pretty useful for painting solid colors or coats as it allows a broad or thick layer of paint to be painted at once.

In a Double Action Airbrush, there are two mechanisms used for the paint delivery system. The first button allows air to pass through the delivery mechanism when it is press down. The second action performed by the trigger is paint flow. When you slide the trigger backwards, the paint is allowed to pass through the delivery system, and the further back the trigger is pulled, the more paint is allowed to pass through it. A double Action airbrush is mostly used for its ability to allow the size of the paint stream to be adjusted, as well as how much paint is being delivered.

Double Action Airbrush offers incredible precision and flexibility as it can perform the job of a single action spray too.

Internal Vs. External Mix Airbrush

All gravity feed airbrushes make use of an internal mix system for painting. While a siphon feed airbrush can make use of either an internal or external mix system.

An internal mix system is one in which the air and the paint are mixed together internally before it is sprayed through the nozzle of the airbrush. Therefore, in a gravity feed airbrush, after the paint is drawn into the barrel of the airbrush. The air passing through the airbrush is mixed with paint in the barrel of the airbrush. This mixture is then delivered through the nozzle of the airbrush onto the model.

In an internal mix airbrush system (which is limited to the siphon delivery system in this case). Air is allowed to pass over the tip of the needle, which then draws the paint from the paint cup through the tube. Air mixing with the paint at the delivery point right before it lands on the model.

A condition known as dry tip happens more often with an external mix airbrush system. Dry tip is a situation in which some of the paint coming out of the nozzle of your airbrush dries on the exit point of the needle, therefore, blocking the delivery system.

Airbrush Accessories

After choosing the right airbrush type and compressor to go with it, you might also need to get various kits, also known as accessories to help improve your airbrushing experience. Some of them are listed below:

• A Spare Airbrush: it is almost a general knowledge at this point that the airbrushes that come with airbrush compressor kits are not usually great. They are the cheap kinds and will perform properly for a little while before they start to fail. However, you don’t have to go for the expensive paintbrushes just yet. You can use some cheap ones as practice brushes and when you are comfortable with handling an airbrush, you can make the transition.
• Airbrush Compressor: An airbrush compressor is also considered an accessory. Actually, this is more of a necessary equipment than an accessory. The point here is to get an air compressor that produces less noise. If you want to go for an overkill option, you can get an automotive air compressor, this one has a large tank. Which means you can store compressed air in its tank for days without needing to run the motor again. However, an automotive compressor is way louder than a dedicated airbrush compressor.
• Airbrush Wash Station: This is one of those accessories that would be considered very important for your airbrush system. This is very useful and cheap as well. It allows you to stand your airbrush when you are not painting with it. This is very important since you cannot lay an airbrush down while it is still full of paint.

The major function of the wash station is to allow you to spray the waste paint in its container while you clean out the airbrush. This will help to prevent you from causing a mess when you have to clean your airbrush and spray the waste out of the nozzle.

Airbrush Compressor

Without a compressor, you will be unable to push air and paint through the delivery system of an airbrush for painting. An air compressor produces compressed air that is used to push a liquid medium such as paint through the airbrush. An air compressor is used to supply consistent airflow to the airbrush.

An airbrush compressor is the most essential part of an airbrush system, but it is also the most expensive and power-hungry part of an airbrush unit.

When looking to buy an airbrush system, here are some of the things to look out for:

• Auto-off function: An airbrush compressor with an auto-off function will automatically shut off when you are not spraying. This will help to reduce the noise produced by your airbrush system. This, however, will make an airbrush compressor more expensive.
• Power: Power is an important factor as it determines how effective and efficient your compressor unit will be for you. If you perform little painting jobs like nails or something in that size range, then a compressor with 10 LPM rating is sufficient for you.

However, for larger jobs like modeling and body art, you might want to step up to a compressor with 20 LPM rating. For really large painting jobs like trucks and cars, then you should opt for one with a rating of 30 LMP.

Wrapping it up

This list is the best on airbrushes for models. It also includes the best airbrushes for scale modeling, for model cars and for plastic models. An airbrush is a pen-shaped product that uses pressure to spray paint on your art surface instead of you having to manually do that. You can keep your airbrush in one spot to get precisely in on a spot or you can continuously move your airbrush to get color all over at different amounts.

This list may only have five airbrushes included in it but they all are amazing modeling airbrushes. The Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS Dual Action Airbrush Gun, PointZero Dual Action Airbrush Kit with 3 Guns and the Badger Air-Brush Co. Sotar 2020-2F are the best of this group.
Not only do they give you that fine detail work that an airbrush pro would love, they are also easy to handle and have great versatility. No matter which airbrush you choose, this group includes the best airbrushes for miniatures and are fantastic airbrush kits for models.

The airbrush is a tool that provides artists and artisans with enormous advantages and convenience.

From illustrators performing at the highest level of realism, to make-up artists creating HD ready seamless applications, to T-shirt artists rapidly producing of eye-popping custom designs…the possibilities of putting an airbrush to good use are endless!

Purchasing a new airbrush should be a fun and exciting experience. However, with so many models available it can also raise a lot of questions for those not in the know. This can often turn the experience into one that is a bit confusing or even overwhelming. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the available features and specifications of airbrushes so that you can choose with confidence.

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Single Action vs Double Action
Single-Action airbrushes operate by simply pressing down on the trigger to spray both air and paint simultaneously, much like a can of spray paint. Double-Action airbrushes operate by pressing the trigger down for air and pulling back for paint (the further back the trigger is pulled the more paint is sprayed.)

Single-Action airbrushes are some what easier to learn and generally less expensive then double action models. However, they do have limitations. Contour lines and dagger stroke lines are only possible with a Double-Action airbrush. That being said if you plan on just painting solid colors or filling in stencils Single-Action may be just what you need. If you want to create fine art, T-shirt lettering, Special FX etc. it’s best to jump right in and learn airbrushing with a Double-Action airbrush.

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Gravity-Feed vs Bottom-Feed vs Side-Feed
Gravity-Feed airbrushes are the most commonly used airbrushes today. These are great for detail because they provide the best paint flow by using gravity to their advantage. They also have less clogging issues due to the short path from paint reservoir to spray tip. This design also requires less PSI and CFM from a compressor or air source. We recommend gravity-feed airbrushes to most beginners because it is a bit easier to keep clean and requires a smaller investment in compressor size. Popular among illustrators, make-up artists, cake decorators etc.

Bottom-Feed (aka siphon-feed) airbrushes allow the user to change colors quickly and easily. They can also carry a lot of paint when a large bottle is attached. These work great for T-shirts, murals, temporary tattoos etc. Some artists who have developed their airbrush skills through painting T-shirts professionally, go on to use the bottle-feed style in other applications because they get so used to the feel of it and its color changing system. To each his own!

Side-Feed airbrushes are similar to bottom-feed except that the paint cup or bottle is attached to the side of the airbrush rather than the bottom. A major advantage side-feed airbrushes have is that the paint reservoir can be rotated. This allows the airbrush to be sprayed at any angle; including upside down. This design is great for projects that may require painting in odd positions such as ceilings, auto interiors or motorcycles. Some illustrators, modelers and others also like a side-feed airbrush because it does not block their line of vision the way a gravity-feed airbrush can.

Nozzle Sizes
Airbrushes have the ability to produce wide spray patterns as well as lines that are as thin as a single hair. Some airbrushes are specifically designed to produced tiny details. These models will have a very small nozzle opening in the range of 0.15mm to 0.23mm. On the opposite end of the spectrum, airbrushes that have a wider spray pattern which is great for coverage and spraying thicker paints. Then there are mid-range airbrushes which cover a wide array of spray pattern sizes. If you are not sure what size you need or foresee needing a variety spray sizes you should consider an airbrush and with multiple nozzle sizes available.

Handling and Ergonomics
One of the things you will notice when using a higher end airbrush is how nice and comfortable it feels in your hand. In addition to performance and reliability it is this attention to balance and handling that makes these airbrushes much easier to use than a generic model.

Airbrush handling also comes down to a personal preference. Those who are heavy handed are more inclined to use a rugged model such as the Paasche VL or Iwata Eclipse well those with a softer touch may prefer something like the Iwata Custom Micron or the Harder Steenbeck ALplus. Artists seeking an airbrush that will minimize hand cramping and arthritic symptoms will be happy with a specially designed ergonomic airbrush like the Grex XGi or Harder Steenbeck Colani.

Preset Needle Stop Handle
The preset needle stop is a dial at the back of the airbrush handle that can be adjusted to restrict the trigger and needle from being pulled back further then needed. This feature can be helpful in preventing over spray in small detail work or in projects where precise spray patterns are needed. Well this feature is very helpful is not completely necessary for most applications.

Micro Air Control (MAC) Valve
The Micro Air Control Valve or Fine Pressure Control Valve allows you to adjust your airflow directly form your airbrush. MAC valves can be either built into the airbrush or they can be added as an accessory between the airbrush and the airline. A very handy device!

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