The Warp Storm

What is a good Airbrush for beginners and what size of compressor should I get for it?

First things first: ignore everything @James says about airbrushes!

When I asked the same question @Lovecraft0110 recommended the Badger Patriot 105. It's simple, hard-wearing and robust, pretty cheap, and while it's beginner-friendly there's also nothing stopping you from using it for high-end work. As standard it comes with a .5 needle but you can buy .3 and .7 needle/nozzle sets that are incredibly easy to swap in.
I've found mine to be very forgiving and very easy to take apart and clean - I managed to get AK primer stuck all over the place the first time I used it, and it was a very simple task to take it apart, clean and reassemble. Everything can be tightened by hand, too, so no tools are necessary.
In short, this thing is like the AK-47 of airbrushes!

One thing to keep in mind though is availability.
Despite the Patriot being an American airbrush I can find the brush and space parts for it very easily in the UK, and at reasonable prices. However while I would pay ~£100 for the airbrush, if in your country they're not so easily available and would cost you £250 and parts are difficult to come by then it's not a sound investment.

For a compressor I think that pretty much everyone I've ever come across has suggested and AS-186 or an FD-186. The letters don't seem to matter, as the 186 appears to be a generic compressor that a few different people stick their own label on.
It's not massively loud, the tank could be bigger but isn't tiny, and it does the job at a cheaper price than a lot of similar spec airbrush-branded models. Mine came with a good braided hose, and I'm fairly certain it has an inbuilt moisture trap too.
@James actually uses the same model, as it happens.

Thanks for the information. I can get the Patriot for about $100 USD but compressors are fair expensive for small units.

That seems about right, yeah. The Patriot 105 Xtreme is also a similar price, and comes with the High Roller trigger as standard, but in all honesty I don't know if it's a better choice for a beginner or not.
Either way, most Badger parts can be used across their whole airbrush range - I'll soon be picking up the more precise trigger from the Patriot Xtreme to put in my regular Patriot 105.

Compressors are something that you can shop around for - for the most part they all do pretty much the same thing on the cheaper end. Have a little look around the websites for the hobby stores near you, and see what they offer. You should, I think, probably be aiming for around about the $100 mark again. There's a good chance that your compressor will last you a very long time, unless you decide that you want to upgrade to a bigger or quieter model, but that doesn't mean it has to be expensive.

If your going the badger route and you have Facebook you should definitely follow the badger page. Because the owner has a sale on of every airbrush for the price of however old he is that year. I got the badger Sotar 20/20 for £$56 and with shipping and currency conversion it came to about £75. This was about two years ago so it’ll probably have gone up now but it’ll still be less than a £100 for one of the best airbrushes on the market in my opinion.

His birthday is around now or might have been in January. I can’t remember the exact date. But worth a look.

Axineton wrote: ↑06 Feb 22, 21:41 If your going the badger route and you have Facebook you should definitely follow the badger page. Because the owner has a sale on of every airbrush for the price of however old he is that year. I got the badger Sotar 20/20 for £$56 and with shipping and currency conversion it came to about £75. This was about two years ago so it’ll probably have gone up now but it’ll still be less than a £100 for one of the best airbrushes on the market in my opinion.

His birthday is around now or might have been in January. I can’t remember the exact date. But worth a look.

Just had a look and his birthday is January the 4th, unfortunately. Might have to set myself a reminder for next year though!

pawl wrote: ↑05 Feb 22, 18:55 First things first: ignore everything @James says about airbrushes!

Everyone gets so salty about H&S.
Although I love my H&S cr plus I definitely wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

I would just get the compressor set up with the naff airbrushes just to learn the ropes abit. How to prime a model etc. And then get yourself an entry level airbrush. The badger by all accounts is supposed to be awesome. And yeh the as186 is a good one. Mines working fine 2 years on almost.

pawl wrote: ↑06 Feb 22, 21:53

Axineton wrote: ↑06 Feb 22, 21:41 If your going the badger route and you have Facebook you should definitely follow the badger page. Because the owner has a sale on of every airbrush for the price of however old he is that year. I got the badger Sotar 20/20 for £$56 and with shipping and currency conversion it came to about £75. This was about two years ago so it’ll probably have gone up now but it’ll still be less than a £100 for one of the best airbrushes on the market in my opinion.

His birthday is around now or might have been in January. I can’t remember the exact date. But worth a look.

Just had a look and his birthday is January the 4th, unfortunately. Might have to set myself a reminder for next year though!

Well worth it mate. It does take a while to ship but for the sake of saving probably over £100-£150 I think it’s worth it.

Axineton wrote: ↑07 Feb 22, 21:50

pawl wrote: ↑06 Feb 22, 21:53

Axineton wrote: ↑06 Feb 22, 21:41 If your going the badger route and you have Facebook you should definitely follow the badger page. Because the owner has a sale on of every airbrush for the price of however old he is that year. I got the badger Sotar 20/20 for £$56 and with shipping and currency conversion it came to about £75. This was about two years ago so it’ll probably have gone up now but it’ll still be less than a £100 for one of the best airbrushes on the market in my opinion.

His birthday is around now or might have been in January. I can’t remember the exact date. But worth a look.

Just had a look and his birthday is January the 4th, unfortunately. Might have to set myself a reminder for next year though!

Well worth it mate. It does take a while to ship but for the sake of saving probably over £100-£150 I think it’s worth it.

To be honest at that kind of price I would be very tempted to buy something even if I didn't want it!