Airbrush and compressor

The most expensive investment so far was this double action air brush and its compressor. Can you do without? Yes. If you insist you can paint by hand, or you can find someone who wants to spray paint it for you. But is is a lot of work and you may not want to put so much strain on your friendships..... And it is the finishing touch, the crown on your hard work. So why not investing in this equipment which gives you all opportunity to make that one finish you need to have a perfect model?

The airbrush cost me €85, the membrane compressor €145

The airbrush itself is a Hansa 581. The 3 ml cup doesn't look like much but it is quite sufficient for model railroad needs. It works just fine and easy. The double action operation needs some practicing as does airbrushing anyway. The Hansa is a beautiful piece fine mechanics which is pure fun to hold, see and use.

The compressor is a simple membrane compressor. This has the disadvantage of being rather noisy. But it only turns on when air is used and I don't consider it as much of a problem. It also heats up during operation. Theoretically you should handle it with caution because the heat could hurt you. In practice this never poses a real problem because you spray intermittently, than you this than you do that, you take a closer look at your model, you put away one part and fetch another, you're diluting a new color etc. This allows the compressor sufficient time to cool down.The black spiral tube is a condenser, separating moisture from the air. This prevents small water droplets from entering the air hose and there causing it to spoil your work. It works pretty well.

I bought both the airbrush and the compressor at Airbrush Services Almere in Almere NL. I got a good piece of advise, a fair bit of demonstration of different types before buying and no fuzz trying to sell a more expensive model. After a few months I suddenly missed a rubber ring. No problem. I got a good humored response and within days I had a small bag via the snail mail with six replacements at no charge. That's what I call service!!