Badger Airbrush Questions and brief intro

[JLudwig]

Hello everyone... first thanks for the great board, I've been lurking for about 2 months now and have really learned a lot. My wife wanted to setup some trains around the Christmas tree this year, so we went to LHS and were really put off by the price of the O scale! We still wanted trains though, and ended up with a N scale Bachmann Empire Builder starter set. I'll post some photos later, but I basically laid out the loop, ballasted over the ez track, made a lawn, and built a small mountain, plopped in down in front of the tree... the wife and I (and the cats ) really loved it!

Realizing I was having a little too much fun with the ballast and WS static flock my wife went out and bought me a Badger 250-7 airbrush kit for Christmas (see http://www.jacquescoulombe.com/Badger 250.htm). I haven't opened it yet and wanted to make sure this is what I want before the item is rendered unreturnable. Anyone have experience with this product? Can this airbrush be later fitted to an air compressor? It seems right now I would need to buy more of their canned propellent, is this practical for a reasonable amount of scratch building? Would I be better off saving up and getting something a little better?

Once again guys thanks, I'm in the middle of reading Track Planning for Realistic Operation and messing around with XtrkCAD so I'll have plenty of more questions in the following weeks about layout #2...

Cheers from a snowy Elkton, MD....
Jeff

 

[shaygetz]

Welcome to The Gauge, Jeff

You have a good, basic air brush there, fine for scenicking and overall painting. A dual action brush is one you'd eventually work up to if you find that this is your forte'. Canned propellant freezes up during use and gets annoying as well as affecting the paint job so, yes, a compressor is recommended. I long ago gave up the airbrush for the more economical dry-brushing and powdered pastels so you'll really want to think about whether you want to pursue this. A decent setup can set you back $250-300 by the time you get everything together. That's alot of track, rolling stock and scenery you could be getting:thumb:

BTW, I grew up in Randallstown, NW Baltimore. While it was 66 and sunny today, I do miss the snow down here in hurricane country.

 

[Fred_M]

Welcome to the gauge. Fred

 

[dwight77]

Hi shaygetz: what part of florida and the hurricane grand slam are you in. Ft Myers here.

 

[FrankG]

I have to disagree with shaygetz. Dry-brushing and pastels have their place, but for me, nothing can replace the airbrush.

I have 2 Badger air brushes. An internal-mix dual-action and an external-mix single-action (like you one you have). And let me say this....I am by no means an air-brush expert. So if I can use one, anyone can.

By far, the single best investment has been my external mix Badger. It's reliable, doesn't clog, is easy to clean (with water-based paint) and lays on a perfect coat of paint or just the right senic/weathering effect.

For the one airbrush and compressor, it set me back like $200. Definately get the compressor. I wouldn't even imagine using canned air.

But is this the right one for you? Check out http://www.badger-airbrush.com/pdf/Catalog%202002%20page%202-3.pdf

 

[seanm]

As far as air goes.... I have been using a CO2 canister with great success. It is the kind used with soda machines and I bught a nice regulator for it. I can fill it for about $15 and it lasts a couple of years (I dont paint a WHOLE lot... but I do paint). Nice thing is it is dead quiet and ya don't have to worry about moisture.

 

[shaygetz]

Hi shaygetz: what part of florida and the hurricane grand slam are you in. Ft Myers here.

Pensacola--took a pretty good one in the chops from Ivan, did about $800,000 in damage to my work place. Job security

 

[jim currie]

jeff you have a good beginer air brush it can be fitted to a compressor but if you do be sure to get a moisture trap for it.

 

[spitfire]

Hi Jeff and welcome to the Gauge!

All you need to hook your airbrush up to a compressor (besides the compressor of course!) is an screw-on adapter. I started like you with canned air and it's a pain to work with because it soon gets freezing cold and won't flow. I used to keep a tub of hot water handy to put the can in when that happened, as a temporary fix. A compressor is definitely worth it if you're going to be using the airbrush on a regular basis.

Canned air is good for now, while you see how much you'll actually use the airbrush. Some folks swear by them, some swear at them!

Val

 

[Blake]

Much of what has been said is true. Use the airbrush you have with the canned air and hot water to see if you like it and if you feel that you will be using it enough to justify the cost. When you are ready, I have found three excellent airbrushes by Badger. The 155 Anthem, the 360 Universal and the 220NH. The key to all of these are their tips. The nozzle is one piece and is very easy to clean. The needle is tapered and gives you from a pencil line to a 3-1/2" spray pattern. All are internal mix which is very important for finer mist and better paint texture. The 155 Anthem is double action (which means when you pull the trigger back, the sprat pattern gets larger). It is a siphon feed (which means the paint is drawn into the brush by the vacuum created when the air rushes past the nozzle). The 360 Universal is the same as the 155 except there is a paint cup the turns 360 degrees allowing you to use it as a siphon feed (as explained above) or gravity feed. Gravity feed means that the paint cup is facing up. The weight of the paint causes it to flow into the brush without needing the siphon action. The advantage here is that you can spray at much lower pressure and get very close to the model you are painting. This is a great brush for weathering. Finally, the 200NH is a single action brush. This means that you press the trigger down and adjust the spray pattern with a knob on the back of the brush. The advantage here is that when you set it where you want it you will get a consistent spray pattern. As far as compressors are concerned, I just got a fantastic one at Sears for $120. It has a built in tank and auto shut off. It's small, light and quiet. It delivers up to 150lb. of pressure. Here is a link to the webpage.

Sears compressor

Also, here is a link to the Badger website

Badger Airbrush

 

[JLudwig]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I'll be trying my hand at some weathering real soon. I "inherited" a few broken (no trucks) box cars and a reefer, going to start on these. If they turn out good I'm going to slap some Microtrains trucks on them and get 'em on the layout...

Jeff

 

[ddavidv]

One other possible 'air' solution is to use a storage tank. My compressor is in the garage (it's a big one for garage use), but the garage isn't heated, which means currently it's useless for model painting. I have a portable air tank I use for my race car while at the track. I bought it at a tractor supply store. These can be filled and then taken anywhere in the house, and don't need to be plugged in (nor do they make any noise). You'll need proper adapters to scale down to the airbrush size, and a pressure regulator (the tank will hold up to 125 psi). Plenty of air for any painting job. I bought a regulator/seperator out of the Walthers catalog for about $65 IIRC.

BTW, I bought a 1/4" Badger adapter (p/n 50-023) I didn't need and can't return. If anyone wants it, let me know, you can have it for the shipping cost.

 

[cpNscale]

This might have been already said,but I have a shop compressor for mechanics.So i bought a portable air tanh and regulater fitted it with a water seperater and quike disconnects for the air brush hose.I fill the tank up to 100psi and dial my re to about 20psi and i have plenty of air to do anything i need before having to re-fill it.If you want a pic i can post you one.

 

[ajroland]

I have a large compressor in my shop. Can you hook a badger air brush to a large compressor? If so, where can you find adapters? I plan to buy a badger air brush at some point.