Beginner's Guide: First Airbrush Set Up For Under $50

Hello there, fellow model makers!! For years I have had viewers tell me that they too would like to airbrush their kits, if only they had thousands of dollars to spend. Well, in this video I will show you that it doesn't even take 50 dollars to start you airbrush set up. I hope you like the video and that it provides some useful information :)
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[@aaronhay761]

Do you have a place where you link to all the products you use in your videos?

[@DarthCrumbie]

That looks like a Masters G22 airbrush... And with a little bit of work it can be easily adjusted to produce fine details on par with some of the bigger brands.. polish the needle with some Tamiya polishing compound and a cotton bud.. and replace the nozzle o-ring with a touch of beewax. Remove the needle guard and you can get really fine detail... this is my go-to airbrush. But I will admit, I don't have any experience with that compressor... I use the slightly more expensive noname brand compressor with the regulator. I have not yet added an air tank to it yet.

[@jillobbeek7765]

I always enjoy your upbeat videos, and I absolutely love the way you don't always "follow the rules book"..nothing in life should be TOO serious, it's all about fun at the end of the day ! Keep the videos coming, please ! 😁

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Jill, very kind of you :)

[@philkitching4152]

Really helpful. Thinking of starting. Unsure about manufacturer to choose. Looking at Academy. You are very good and clear. Thank you. Phil K

[@krestonkurotani3231]

Oh hey a singaporean, for once i m dont neeed to converting currencies

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Lol....yup. Represent :)

[@phillipcunningham8865]

Great vid i am just starting out and looking for a decent cheap set up, i was worried about buying one till i saw this thank you

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Glad I could help

[@jaybarua7095]

Care to share which exact compressor/gun kit you bought? I am going to try airbrushing after having hand painted for years and a starter kit is the way to go I think. You have a great channel and I'm surprised you don't have many more subscribers. Please keep making videos if you can. Always look forward to them.

[@RobertMCotter]

What is this product? Where is it online? Does your friend in China sell them? How do I order?

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Hey Robert, this is an unbranded product which I bough off Lazada in Singapore. When I said 'friends in China' I meant it was made in China, I don't actually have any friends there. You may not get this exact product, since there is no way to identify it, but you will surely get a similar cheap product on several platforms on the net. Hope that helps.

[@donsnel2269]

Thanks for doing this, I'm learning so much from your efforts 👌

[@davidjahn4280]

This is good to know. As much as I love hand-painting, airbrushing makes those camo schemes more realistic-will have to try one of these days. Should have a good spot once it gets warmer. Btw, on a recent Me-109 build, i used oil paints to post-shade with a brush. Turned out really nice, dont know what ur thoughts are or if you ever tried

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Hey David, to be honest I have not done a mottled camo scheme with oils yet. But I have every intention to do it, since a lot of people have asked me how to get a good mottled finish while hand painting. The only way I can think of achieving that effect convincingly is with oils. So, I will be experimenting soon. Will upload my results :)

[@davidjahn4280]

@@scalemodellingmadness4114 I wasn’t talking about mottling (tho plan is to try that soon) I used the oils to highlight the panel lines on a North African paint scheme. Wish i could post a picture to show, but gave it great tone variation in the colors. Took the idea from Plasmo channel on his Me-109

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

@@davidjahn4280 Oh ok...well I regularly use oil paints for post shading and tonal variation. It is one of the most forgiving media to use and blends really well. What I was saying was that there is not good way for hand painters to paint mottling or even feather edge camo schemes. I want to try that with some oils.

[@allanrichards6448]

A great video. That airbrush seems to perform very well and the compressor seems to give a good steady air flow. I am impressed with the set up. Some years ago I bought a really cheap airbrush from China and it is really good and has lasted well. It was £12 UK pounds. Another different one I bought later was complete rubbish and wouldn't work so it is a bit of a risk. As for paint I stick to Tamiya acrylic paint. I am used to it and it is easy to use, dries quickly and, being water soluble, easy to clean stuff. I often buy one bottle of paint for brushing and one for spraying then thin the whole of the spraying bottle. That way you can just tip any surplus paint back into the bottle which saves wasting paint. I also found that a really good airbrush cleaner for Tamiya acrylic paint is carburetor cleaner which you get in large aerosols much cheaper than airbrush cleaner. Tamiya acrylics thin with their X20 thinner, IPA or water, as a last resort.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Hey Allan, you are right...as with most things Chinese...it is always a gamble. I too was not expecting this airbrush set up to work so well. Pleasantly surprised. I usually thin Tamiya with X20, as Tamiya is not really a 100% acrylic paint. I have never had good results thinning it with water. I sometimes used to make a thinner, 70% water and 30% IPA, with a drop of easy flow. But I guess for me X20A works best. For cleaning I usually use Mr. Tool Cleaner, as it works with Tamiya and with Mr. Color, both my preferred paints. For acrylics, like Vallejo or Mig, I use water and then some standard airbrush cleaner :)

[@ryansta]

Refreshing to watch a video where x4 times as much is spent on paints, blending shades etc etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it's easy to fall into the trap of not doing anything until you've bought that one piece of essential kit here n there. It can sometime pay off buying a cheaper tool but buy a bad cheap tool and it is a recipe for poor results, confusion and maybe even quiting. Got to be realistic in expectations and build up over time, sometime the urge to just get one (airbrush and compressor in this case) can backfire. Good vid though.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Ryan :)

[@frankenscale6549]

Nice video, clear steps and a positive and enthousiastic narration. I like it! Maybe it's a good idea to also mention safety precautions in future video's? When spraying with laquer based acrylics it's better to use the right masks/filters and or a spraybooth.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Franken...yes you are right. I should have done that :)

[@kenjohnston8173]

Excellent as always

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks again!

[@stevemcintyre4398]

Nice work, just goes to show that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars for a good result.

[@hogflies3208]

Amazing content, what is the difference between Tamiya and Mr color thinner?

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Tamiya paints are said to be acrylic or water based (they are not a 100 percent though) so the thinner is alcohol based. Many people also home mix a Tamiya thinner substitute with 70% water and 30% alcohol. Mr Color paints are lacquer based so the thinner is very different from Tamiya Thinner. By the way, I am talking about Tamiya X-20A Acrylic thinner, which is the most common Tamiya thinner. Tamiya also has range of lacquer thinners.

[@scale_jelly_lydon5813]

Fantastic video with loads of great advice, love it.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching :)

[@franktozier3184]

Very nice how to for all of us Nice looking paint job.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Glad you liked it!

[@wonsworld61]

thank you . . well worth thinking about for someone like me who is coming back to model making after a break of 40 years :)

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Best of luck!

[@MarkM22]

Hi, first of all I want to day that this is a great video. Secondly I would like to ask where you got this. Is it from amazon or aliexpress for example. Thank in advance.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Mark. I got this kit from Lazada, which is an online shop in Singapore. It was listed at 45 Sing Dollars, delivery included. However, many similar kits are available on several other platforms. Hope that helps :)

[@MarkM22]

@@scalemodellingmadness4114 Thank you so much. I have been looking for a starter airbrush. This will help me greatly. :)

[@chilarai1]

I'm glad my friend pointed me to this channel! I'm preparing to make an IAF MiG and your MiG-21 Bis is a great guide. You're very talented and have a great channel. Please keep it up.

[@John_Sharrock]

Great job again..Just goes to show you don't have to spend 100's to get a good finish 👍

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks 👍

[@southpaw5483]

Are you Air-Brushing at your desk? using a SprayBooth? etc. Your thoughts are welcomed.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Hey Southpaw, yet I am air brushing at my desk since I don't have a booth. But I ensure that my room is very well ventilated and I wear a respirator, specially when spraying lacquer paints and thinner/cleaners. If I use a spray can (for primer or varnish) I only do a small bit inside for the camera and the rest of the spraying is done outside. Another precaution I take is that I never spray for long durations and take regular breaks to make sure there is non build up of spray in the air. If you can, you should get a booth, but whether you have a booth or not, a decent respirator is a must.

[@JoaoFerreira-ch8lh]

Great video and good hands on review. I was wondering if you got any overheating with the compressor? Since he has to run continuously while using the airbrush. Many thanks and keep up the good work 👍👍

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Joao. The longest I used the compressor non-stop was while pre shading. It did not heat up. But still, I broke down the process by painting the kit in sections and letting the compressor cool down for about 15 minutes in between (and also to give my hand a rest).

[@tonyperez4791]

Great Video , Thank You ! Hope you and your family are well ! Until the next one, take care, Tony

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Thanks Tony. You stay safe as well :)

[@tomputnam5364]

Lovely video, thank you. Good to hear only old school tunes too! Can I ask - why do the canopy frame using the cockpit interior colour, but then not mask it off again before doing the camoflage? I'm confused by this.

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

First of all, thank you Tom. About the canopy. So, the canopy has an inside and an outside surface. If it has been any opaque piece we would have had to paint both inside and outside. But since the canopy is transparent, we can paint only the masked side for both inside and outside. First, I apply the colour that goes on the inside, this will show through the canopy and appear as if it was painted on the inside. Then I paint over this colour for the camo scheme on the outside. This colour only shows on the outside. This was, I can paint both inside and out while using only one set of masking. Hope that makes things clearer :)

[@tomputnam5364]

@@scalemodellingmadness4114 Got you! Many thanks, great tip.

[@nikkibaugher2427]

Excellent!! Great job. Thanks

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Glad you liked it!

[@nikkibaugher2427]

Excellent!! Great job. Thanks

[@scalemodellingmadness4114]

Glad you liked it!

[@melvynjones3904]

Nice build, shame the sound so out of sync. Hay ho, things happen.