A CHEAP AIRBRUSH

I must admit that, in the past, I have never gotten on well with airbrushes. I could never quite get the paint mix right, and the nozzle was always blocking up. At least two airbrushes ended up in the bin. However, I tried a cheap airbrush/compressor combo, and straight out of the box, I was getting consistently good and even results. It is much less wasteful than using rattle cans, too. My model was by GoHelper, from Amazon, and came with 0.1mm, 0.5mm and 0.3mm needles. The latter was already attached to the airbrush, and I have not seen the need to change it yet. The airbrush comes with a small table-top compressor, which seems to be powerful enough for small jobs, yet is very quiet. For under £60, this has proven to be a good buy.

Of course, cleaning airbrushes is still a bit of a fiddle, but using Vallejo thinner/cleaning solutions makes that easier. I also added a spray container from SAGUD. Basically, squirt some cleaner into the reservoir of the airbrush, then insert the nozzle into the container and just run the cleaner through into the container. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times, but I have not had a blocked nozzle yet using this device.

I think the game-changer that allowed me instant success after two previously failed attempts was that Vallejo also sells airbrush-ready pre-diluted paints. Shake the bottle well and just drop the paint directly into the airbrush’s reservoir. No thinning is required, so you are ready to paint straight away. A box of 16 Vallejo starter paints are £16.99, and all the above is available from Amazon.co.uk.