Reddit mentions of Badger Air-Brush Co. 250-3 Basic Spray Gun Set with Propel

I have a few recommendations:

If you live near a Hobbylobby, you may be able to pickup a airbrush and compressor cheaply. They regularly send out 25% off coupons in the mail.

Check your local Craigslist for airbrushes, sometimes you can get lucky and find a decent used set. (If you do find something post it up here to see if it's worth it).

If those aren't options...

Consider a cheap 'starter' kit like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-Co-250-3-Propel/dp/B003972JIW/ref=sr_1_5?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1348852306&sr=1-5&keywords=badger+airbrush

The initial cost is low, so it's not much of a loss if you decide not to continue the hobby, and it will give you a pretty good idea of what you can do. Since this setup includes a can of propellant you should be able to spray 'out of the box'.

The propellant cans are also nearly noiseless, but the cost can add up over time.

Hope this helps

Spraying glazes is also an option. If you don't have an air compressor, you can buy the canned air spray brushes that model makers use. Just be sure to spray outdoors, you don't want to breathe that stuff in.

If you pour glaze, then have a container to pour into, and after glazing use a funnel to pour the leftovers back in the glaze container. Use a rubber scraper to save as much as you can.

Ask your studio if they would allow you to mix your own glazes using their materials. If they do, then your best value is making small batches. Get a good glazing book and read up before you start trying recipes off the internet.
*edited for clarity

Not completely bad for a first time paint job. I recommend an air brush and some home made stencils to get a clean look. I started off painting Xboxs and by no means were they better.

When painting plastic consoles, it is a good idea to follow these guidlines:

1. First clean the plastic with soap.
   
2. Then give the plastic a light sand with find grit sandpaper. This will allow paint to stick.
   
3. When painting the plastic, use an airbrush. Give it a light coat, then wait a few hours.
   
4. Give it another coat and wait another few hours.
   
5. Then give it one last coat and wait a few hours.
   
6. After the paint has dried, give it a few coats of clear coat, waiting for each coat to dry in between.

That is exactly what I've got. I'm able to achieve reasonable results with it, although not massively professional. It's single action, so you can't control the pressure unless you use the nozzle on top of a compressed air can, although that doesn't work very well, and it's siphon feed, so a tube goes into a plastic bottle. It's quite easy to clean. I usually just run the spring, spray nozzle, paint bottle and siphon tube under warm water, and then carefully push a small needle down the length of the nozzle component to remove any pain that's stuck. As long as you're careful it should be fine. Note that the nozzle is quite easy to block if you don't thin the paint enough. I use Humbrol Acrylics and thin that at a 50:50 ratio with Tamiya X20A Thinner. It should certainly be sufficient if you're not doing mega detailed work, and if you're doing camo patterns you can use masking tape to cover where you don't want to spray. I'm keeping mine for a while until I have the funds to buy a better one. The package comes with a small comprssed air can (it will run out very quick though) and the cables to connect the airbrush to a compressed air can, and two bottles to mix paint in, and then attach to the airbrush.

Happy Modelling!