Reddit mentions of Paasche D3000R 1/5 HP Compressor with Tank, Regulator and Moisture Trap

it really depends on your budget. One of my favorite brushes is a badger 105 patriot found here

This brush will last you a long time with proper care. It's also reasonably priced and has a great spray pattern (pencil line to almost three inches). As for a compressor I personally use a California air tool - quite air model found here

I use this guy because of the large tank and because it has a rust free tank. Most model or little compressors have tanks that are made out of iron which will rust after some time. But depending on how much you wanna spend here are ones I would recommend because they come with a tank and an adjustable regulator/water trap (but as you can see they are not to far off from the California one)

Paache
PointZero

I have the second one in that list, however after a year the tank rusted even with proper care :(

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CJPWYM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I’ve been using this Paasche compressor and it’s been excellent so far. Precise control of pressure with a gauge and a moisture trap built in. It’s decently quiet too. I’ve heard tankless compressors can cause issues with sputtering paint due to potentially inconsistent airflow so a compressor with a tank could likely resolve those issues. I’m also using an Iwata eclipse.

You'll probably get a better response over at /r/modelmakers or /r/modelcars.

A 30+ year-old airbrush probably isn't too good for a beginner to start with. Depending on your budget, you can get airbrush kits from Amazon for under $100, or go all out for a Paasche, Badger, or Iwata setup for $200 and up.

This is the kit I started with. The brushes are surprisngly well-made, and I haven't had any problems with them, except the big one's plastic handle broke. The compressor isn't that good, but it's good enough to get some experience. Mine won't hold pressure after 2 years, and the regulator sucks, but I've painted some pretty cool models with it.


Again, it all depends on your budget. If you're under $100, check out the Master Airbrush stuff on Amazon - if you have more to spend, look for a compressor with a storage tank like this.

Wanting to get a decent airbrush compressor with tank. Amazon recommends this unit and I'm not sure if that'll work or not. Reviews are good and its in my price range. Would be open to suggestions if that's not a great idea or whatnot.

Thanks for the help!

Don't do compressed air. Either a CO2 tank with a good regulator, or a comressor. I have this one, I think, got it for something like $120. Very quiet, about the size of a laptop, you can use the plug in the picture for scale.

Long post incoming....

So, I don't think I've seen many airbrush discounts. Badger did a nice promotion where you could buy any airbrush for $55 for their 55 year anniversary this summer, but other than that it's kind of hard to find discounts. As far as Prime Day, I doubt they're going to have discounts on airbrushes, that's a pretty niche product they don't really get into. If you want to get started with that, I'd do something like this:

• Paasche D3000R Compressor this is the one I use... it's held up over the past 10 years quite well, painted some ~12,000 points of Marines, Guard, Knights, and Chaos with it.
  
  
• Iwata Neo Airbrush Iwata airbrushes rock... I use an Iwata HP-CS, which is really good, but like 3x more expensive than this. This would be a good starter brush that should do the job though.
  
  
• Airbrush Hood You can put this on your desk and you just spray into it. It has a fan which pulls paint dust through the filter in the back, very important to prevent you from breathing paint and getting colored dust everywhere.
  
  You then need a cleaning pot, some cleaning fluid, and an airbrush hose All told, that's like $300.
  
  Then you need paint, paint brushes, a hobby knife, super glue, a mini hand drill, some small drill bits, sprue cutters, basing materials (cork board, model railroad ballast, etc) and I find a pair of tweezers helpful. That could add up to another $200 in materials (and obviously can cost way more, paint is expensive). So of your $550 budget, you would then have $50 remaining for models... which will buy you one model kit. So if you're looking to get started for $550, I'd probably forget the airbrush for now, and just get paints that can be used with one later. I recommend Vallejo paints. The eyedropper bottles work great for airbrushing, and you can just thin them with water. I haven't met one yet that doesn't work. A paint set like this would set you up nicely for doing an Imperial Guard army.
  
  As far as what army to play... Guard is fun, but if you like the modern military aesthetic, Space Marines might be more what you're after. The new Repulsor Executioner tanks look awesome, and the new Primaris marines are great looking models... some of the best GW has produced. The Guard kits are looking kinda... dated IMO.

Thank you for the response. How much time do you usually airbrush for? Do you do a lot of detail work with it? I was thinking I would just be doing base coats and the initial highlights, then finishing with a brush.

These Master or Paasche tanks seem good. I am concerned about the 1 star reviews though, seems like they can break.

For now I think I am going to try my Hitachi and see how it goes. I can always get an airbrush compressor later.

Man there is a lot to cover.

But to start, get a compressor with a reservoir so you can have extended paint sessions without overheating the pump. Something like this, Also some Dentist supply depot have oilless compressors with reservior ( the oiless part is very important for painting) that are really quiet but can get a bit expensive.

Get a good airbrush, you can find good quality airbrush in amazon but skip ANY of this type you won't get much out of those. This is a very good gravity fed airbrush.

never heard of point zero, looks like they are rebranded masters stuff. The paasche is known brand, quieter, but less powerful. If you plan on using the compressor for airbrushing you won't need it more powerful though.