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REVIEW
Low Cost Airbrush Setup
Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
Joined: June 11, 2003
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Posted: Saturday, August 11, 2007 - 10:24 PM UTC


Here's a look at an airbrush / compressor that produces excellent results despite its low price tag. The full range includes items that should suit anyone from intermediate users upgrading from a simple spray-gun, through to modellers looking for a backup for their existing airbrush.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
SGTJKJ
#041
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Kobenhavn, Denmark
Joined: July 20, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 12:50 AM UTC
Thanks for the review.

I have had the same experience. My compressors (one in Denmark and one in Latvia) are both top notch German quality. However with my airbrushes it is another story.

I first bought a highly recommended quality airbrush for roughly 120 pounds Sterling and then bought a 10 pound sterling chinese airbrush as backup when I was in China in the spring.

I started using the Chinese airbrush and have not even used the expensive one yet! The Chinese airbrush paints very well and it is easy to maintain/clean. So expensive is not always the best, but it is a good feeling to have a high quality airbrush as backup none the less
AIRGUNNER
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: September 27, 2006
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Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 - 02:36 AM UTC
Hi all,

Just ordered a compressor for my first time buy. Been in the market for one for a while and this is too good to miss. First project for it will be my 1/48th Revell Liberator. Not too much to ask I hope!!

I will post how I get on with it having never used a compressor before.]

Regards

Steve
AIRGUNNER
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: September 27, 2006
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Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 12:25 AM UTC
Well, what can I say. Ordered at 2.00pm yesterday, arrived at 10.00am this morning. Thats what I call quick service!!

Right then, whats in the box.

Airbrush, check. Same as in the the review looks easy enough to use, will give it a go later.

Compressor, check. Right lets get this thing together and see if it works!

First problem. Screw on the Filter/pressure gauge. Bloody thing is upside down Never mind, crack on. Connect hose, fire it up, blimey air leaks everywhere. Switch off, scratch head.

Right heres the problem, on the side of the filter body there are two arrow marks cast. I assume to indicate airflow, if so, someone has built this one back to front.

Rummage in shed for a 14mm spanner, whip off the fittings, turn them round, bit of PTFE tape tighten everything back up, try again.

Bingo, everything works fine!

I will test it with paint in later.

Now, a couple of questions.

What is the optimum pressure for spraying large areas ?

For fine lines e.g Luftwaffe mottle patterns, do you need high or low pressure?

Or, does it depend on the airbrush you use and a bit of trial and error?

Has anyone done a tutorial on here on basic airbrush techniques? If so I can't find it.

Sorry to go on but I have only ever used cans of compressed air, or even my bike tyre!

Thanks for your help.
Bungal
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: February 19, 2007
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Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 09:24 PM UTC
Hi
Brilliant review
I have been looking at a similar setup on Ebay but this is much cheaper.
I will be ordering once I can convince SWMBO.

Cheers
Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
Joined: June 11, 2003
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Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 10:35 PM UTC
Hi again

It'll be interesting to find out if other people share Steve's experience with the regulator (mine worked fine with just sealing tape). It might be down to a faulty batch - if so, I definitely add a note about it in the review and pass the feedback on to Airbrush Pro.

All the best

Rowan
AIRGUNNER
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England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: September 27, 2006
KitMaker: 246 posts
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Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 11:33 PM UTC
Hi ,

I am not sure I was 100% clear about the airleaks, I use the PTFE on the connection to the compressor first and it wa fine, it was just where the two fitting were back to front it leaked air. Once they were swapped over I sealed them with PTFE as they already had a liquid sealer in them. I replaced this with the PTFE and all was fine. I am not sure about it being a faulty batch though, I suspect maybe it was just a one off as it seemed to be an assembly issue. I did try to call Aribrush Pro but just got a recorded message saying they are on a two week vacation now.

As a follow up, I tried the brush with paint, and even for someone with my inept skills I managed to achieve good results, and found it simple to use. A few more practices on paper, and I may feel brave enough to commit paint to plastic!!
Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
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Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 11:48 PM UTC
Nice one Steve

I'm relieved it's working out for you. I look forward to seeing your progress with the B-24!

All the best

Rowan
redshirt
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United States
Joined: January 26, 2007
KitMaker: 270 posts
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 12:05 AM UTC
Merlin
Thank you for the review! An air brush has been on my list for a wile now. Now that I am looking to rebuild a shop (on a tight budget) I thought that the airbrush was going to lose priority again, but with prices that even nock simpler/ cheaper airbrushes around, it will remain at the top of the list and be an incentive to give priority to an air compressor that can run air tools as well.

Thank you slodder for getting this review to the wider audience
Easy_Co
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England - South East, United Kingdom
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 04:45 AM UTC
My set up is similar to this one, the compressor is the same only the air brush has a side cup the price was about the same and i have no complaints.
jimlolok
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Warszawa, Poland
Joined: February 20, 2007
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 08:21 AM UTC
I saw these in 'JADAR' shop in Warsaw about 6 months ago..I gave the model 180 a good look over and was pleasantly surprised.The obvious resemblance to a certain high end airbrush makers product struck me straight away.
The price was just too good,even cheaper than the UK price by the way.
I have always used a medium tip set up with no probs'..I'm not a 1/72nd person I wanted to see how the .25 tip would perform..
All I can say.....Get in there now..They may be copies but they are very well made copies..The tip adjustment screw allows a serious amount of control if you have a reasonable compressor & tank...Been using it exclusively with it's easy strip down and my friends at TORA TORA allowed me to see if that other companies spares,nozzle/needle/head etc would fit and they do??? Maybe they are made by this Chinese company and then branded by others??? Not beyond the realms of possibility.
Removed by original poster on 08/19/07 - 04:52:50 (GMT).
SPerk15
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Illinois, United States
Joined: February 27, 2007
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 09:51 AM UTC
The shipping is pretty expensive if you are in the us....I was curious so I put together a fake order and my order total was 80 pounds and the shipping was 75!!! sucks to be in the US sometimes
Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
Joined: June 11, 2003
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 10:11 AM UTC

Quoted Text

The shipping is pretty expensive if you are in the us....I was curious so I put together a fake order and my order total was 80 pounds and the shipping was 75!!! sucks to be in the US sometimes



Hi there

I'm not really surprised; my package was enormous and heavy! But try a search among US suppliers for "Fengda" airbrushes and compressors - I'm pretty sure they are the Chinese manufacturer behind these products. They're definitely worth checking out...

All the best

Rowan
jimlolok
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Warszawa, Poland
Joined: February 20, 2007
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Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 09:05 PM UTC
Ok,did a little search and found the company....
www.cnbida.com
all the details and contacts there.They should be able to tell you if they have distributors worldwide.
On made in China .com they have page with business details. 500.000 brushes a year. Quality awards,etc etc.
gcn123
Joined: September 13, 2007
KitMaker: 69 posts
AeroScale: 60 posts
Posted: Thursday, September 13, 2007 - 06:32 AM UTC
Hi I bought this kit on the basis of this review, so no pressure then.

For those that have this set up and bearing in mind i've never used an Airbrush before do the cleaning instructions tell all or is there anything else I should be wary of before I start spraying in anger.

Thanks

update
mine seems to be the wrong way round too, well the guage was upside down when tight. I think ive buggered the seal as its leaking air and i can only get 20psi. :-(

update:update

Wasn't the wrong way round. I've resealed and no air is leaking. I could only get up to 40psi. It appears the plunger on the regulator wasn't being fully engaged. Now fixed and everything is working as it should.

For the numpty / first time user I would say the instructions are a bit light. Once you know what you are doing its a very cheap piece of kit

Merlin
Staff MemberSenior Editor
AEROSCALE
#017
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United Kingdom
Joined: June 11, 2003
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Posted: Saturday, September 15, 2007 - 11:39 PM UTC

Quoted Text

For those that have this set up and bearing in mind i've never used an Airbrush before do the cleaning instructions tell all or is there anything else I should be wary of before I start spraying in anger.



Hi Gary

As we've both noted, the instructions are pretty basic. I didn't have any trouble cleaning the airbrush - I sprayed through clean thinners until any trace of paint in the spray-pattern ended and checked there was no dried-on paint left in the paint cup.

I also always take the precaution of removing the needle from any airbrush at the end of a session to double-check it's totally clean (be careful not to damage the tip), because there's nothing worse than to have paint dry inside. (If it does happen, it's not the end of the world, because you can soak things free and clean everything up - but it's a real pain in the a*se than can be avoided by a few moments spent making sure airbrush is properly clean before you put it away).

All the best

Rowan
ClarenceDeBarrows
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California, United States
Joined: August 14, 2010
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Posted: Thursday, September 02, 2010 - 10:38 AM UTC
Just read the review on the BD 777 airbrush. I would like to buy one, but I can't locate a dealer selling it here in the U.S.A. or elsewhere. Could you advise me who to contact relative to same. Is it known by a name other than simply, BD777?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Clarence De Barrows
[email protected]
plastickjunkie
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Florida, United States
Joined: December 31, 2009
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Posted: Thursday, September 02, 2010 - 02:14 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Merlin
Thank you for the review! An air brush has been on my list for a wile now. Now that I am looking to rebuild a shop (on a tight budget) I thought that the airbrush was going to lose priority again, but with prices that even nock simpler/ cheaper airbrushes around, it will remain at the top of the list and be an incentive to give priority to an air compressor that can run air tools as well.

Thank you slodder for getting this review to the wider audience



if you have a Harbor Freight near you give them a peek. They have a DA airbrush for aound $15. Their compressors are low priced too.
tankglasgow
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Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined: October 04, 2010
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Posted: Friday, January 21, 2011 - 01:35 AM UTC
Thanks for putting this review up. I had been looking at proper airbrushes and compressers for ages but couldn't justify spending £200+ to make little plastic tanks. Anyway I took the plunge and bought one more or less the same set up as the review and have just tried it out and it is wonderful. I have only ever used the cheap spray gun type that draw paint from a glass jar and air from a can. I agree that the instructions are rather brief and I have a bit to go to use it well, but for someone who would like to take their hobby just a bit further without breaking the bank this gear is perfect.
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