Saturday, July 16, 2011

Airbrushing–The New Hotness

While airbrushes and the art of airbrushing have been around for a very long time and have even been in modeling for quite awhile they have only broken into the Games Workshop hobby in recent years.  Airbrushing is the new hotness.  So much so that Games Workshop themselves have jumped on the bandwagon with their Citadel spray gun.  A modest yet useful tool when laying down a basecoat or wash.  I have myself jumped on the airbrush bandwagon.  Procuring a double action, gravity fed airbrush, a portable compressor and a few accessories.

First up, the airbrush.  After quite a bit of research I decided on a Grex Genesis XG airbrush.  I chose this brand because their products looked rather decent, the price was acceptable and what reviews I could find were all positive.  I had considered an Iwata (specifically the HP-C Plus) because they’re the industry standard, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay extra just for the name.

GrexXG

The compressor is again Grex brand.  I’m keeping it all in the family.  It’s a simple 1/8 HP Oil-less piston compressor.  All of the model airbrushing aficionados have strong, unyielding opinions on these things.  What it should come with, what power rating it should have, what PSI level it can maintain and what accessories should be used with it.  Well, I chose the Grex because again the price was right and it comes standard with all of the accessories these guys say should be purchased in addition to.  This bad boy comes with an integral moisture trap, pressure gauge, pressure regulating valve and auto shut-off.

The two accessories I got for my new setup are the quick connector to easily disconnect the airbrush from the compressor to better refill the paint cup and a six foot braided air hose as the plastic coiled one that comes with the compressor will place unwanted resistance on movement and can easily become kinked.

GrexQuickConnectGrexHose

Tomorrow I’m going to jump right into using this thing and let you know how it goes and what I think of this airbrushing setup.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back for the results.  Cheers!

 

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