Reddit reviews Master Airbrush Master Performance G233 Pro Set with 3 Nozzle Sets (0.2, 0.3 & 0.5mm Needles, Fluid Tips and Air Caps) - Dual-Action Gravity Feed Airbrush, 1/3 oz Cup, Cutaway Handle

In my opinion when you start out buy the cheap shit on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Dual-Action-Professional/dp/B002KJDXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492612403&sr=8-1&keywords=masters+airbrush

You'll need an air compressor. I had a pancake 6-gallon compressor for my cars tires and stuff so I just used that. It's loud AF.

My point though is that you shouldn't buy somethign really nice until you know the basics and if you even like it. That masters brush I've had is FANTASTIC so far. As such, I'm excited/nervous for when i buy a nice Iwata/Badger. I hope it's as great as people say, but so far, since the masters has been so good... i'm skeptical. Will be buying one this summer though.

I painted these guys with my airbrush. Detail work was obviously done with a hand brush though.

Airbrushing is above and beyond nicer than brush painting. You just can't do things with a brush that you can with an airbrush. Don't break the bank with an airbrush now. Get something simple and get your feet wet with it. I've been recommending the Neo for Iwata a lot lately. It's half the price of most mid-range airbrushes but definitely gives you a much better airbrush than something like a Master. Master's are very frustrating to work with.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001738DXU
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KJDXHQ
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VADIVC

That's what I have. A compressor with a tank makes all the difference and a decent but cheap airbrush to mess with. Plus that stand/cleaning station thing is a life saver. It's so handy.

I'm not a veteran by any means in terms of Airbrushing (I've airbrushed 2 kits... a MG Strike Freedom & a MG Nu)

For both of them I went with a very cheap set-up...

For the Airbrush I used a Iwata Neo Gravity which I bought at Hobby Lobby for about $45 w/ their 40% off Coupon :P and it was a great starter airbrush, to me it was straight to the point and definitely something I'd recommend.

As far as my compressor goes, I went with Master Compressor. Reason being is it had a Hose, Water Trap & the Compressor. It works great and I still use it and I like it.

I didn't have a Spray Booth and went with spraying in a damn tub I bought at Walmart for $3 lol and didn't even have a mask...

I highly recommend getting one as it definitely helps out.

I recently bought one and I now use the MSA Safety Works Mask. I started painting my 3rd Airbrushed Kit (about 3 pieces primered lol) and this mask is a god send. I was killing myself before and don't suggest you do the same.

With a Airbrush & the Compressor Set that I linked you should be good to go all you really need is paint which I bought all of mine at the time from Hobby Town USA since they carry Tamiya Paints which are very user friendly and I thinned it 1:1 with 91% Isoprophyl Alcohol from Walmart.

I was in the very same position as you lol, I built about 9 kits before starting a Airbrushed model.

I recently purchased another Airbrush, I got the Master G23 and I've only used Primer on it but it's pretty good, the action isn't as great as my Neo but it's nice enough since I'm no pro and I feel it matches my skill level.

If you have any other questions I can help you as much as I can.

COPYING MY RESPONSE FROM A OLD POST!

I have used the Master Airbrush to paint my Hi-Nu Bust(Scroll down for it) and my MG Unicorn.

Both came out pretty well and to be honest I don't suggest you start with a Airbrush that is expensive... I've done some decent work on my stuff using the Iwata Neo & the Master which both we're under $50... Decent enough to place in contests.

To add to /u/ZSCampbellcooks said: I've found that a quality tool helps ease some of these pains. I'm not saying go spend an obscene amount on a high end model, get something in the top tier middle. I have 3 that I use: Harder-Steenbeck, Patriot 105, and Master's. I use the 105 the most. It is just so easy to use and produces great results. The Steenbeck is OMG fantastic but I only use it for a narrow band of techniques and the Master's took a lot of work to get to a usable condition. If I'm starting over I'd skip the Master's and Steenbeck until I got real good and I'd purchase the 105 or the Sotar or the Iwata Eclipse. All are highly reviewed and used by pros.

Learning your specific airbrush takes time, especially as a beginner. I got a piece of cardboard and filled the brush with water and practiced. There are youtube videos of pros doing this. Speaking of youtube- watch other people that use airbrushes besides mini painters lot of knowledge out there. Guys that do t-shirts will help with color theory and blending, the model plane/car guys will teach under shading, guys that paint cars can teach fading (there was a guy I saw that did grey smokey skulls on a black motorcycle tank that was legit Louvre quality), on and on.

Anyway, a little long but tldr: get a brush in the middle somewhere and practice practice practice.

And everyone should buy this airbrush cleaner. It's OMG fantastic and won't eat your O-rings in the brush and will even strip paint from your models with out damaging the plastic or resin. I use it all the time, like I bought a case.

I bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M72W5OV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And added this airbrush after the ones in the kit broke due to my clumsiness/their fragility.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KJDXHQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I was also fortunate enough to find Iwata needles/nozzle kits on clearance at Michaels, but they're about $30 new. That's the only real precision machined part in an airbrush and has the biggest impact on performance.

All told, that would bring you in just under $150. If I were to get something else for the setup, it'd be an air tank to keep the compressor from turning on/off repeatedly through the project.

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I don't have a problem with overheating because I don't do marathon sessions of airbrushing. Dial down the pressure on the airbrush to about 15psi such that the compressor maintains pressure when you activate the brush. You don't want a burst of higher pressured air followed by lower pressured air. The needle shouldn't move off of 15 when you pull the trigger.

I got one of the Master gravity dual action airbrush. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002KJDXHQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1394579343&sr=8-3

If you're just learning, this is a decent starter airbrush. I'm pretty happy with mine.

As you progress, look at brands like Iwata.

I would suggest a Master G233. Cheap and pretty goddamn durable. I can't really comment on compressors though, I use a large tank compressor.

Sure, this is the compressor, though I got it for much cheaper :
https://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Portable-Airbrush-Compressor-Tankless/dp/B004KNBVM4/ref=pd_lpo_201_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NWSYXNWF47C4ZZKDSX4H

And I started with one of these cheaper "master" brand air brush :

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Dual-Action-Professional/dp/B002KJDXHQ/ref=sr_1_218?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1484064056&sr=1-218&keywords=badger+air-brush

Mine kept clogging though and I thought it was because I wasn't cleaning it enough, but really I was just a noob and wasn't thinning the paint enough. I followed all these complicated fucking guides on how to make my paint thinner and what to mix with it, and what to clean it with. Turns out the easiest solution was just straight dollar store rubbing alcohol. I ended up buying a nicer badger brush and havn't had any problem since, but I know the truth of it. I wasn't thinning down my paint, and when I was done, I wasn't cleaning it out with alcohol either.

Basically now when I want to change colors, I rinse out the cup, hit it with a paper towel to get out most of the paint, blast full blast with a full cup of water, easing on and off the needle action a few times during. Then I do a quarter cup of alcohol (I have a little cup thing I can spray it into so the alcohol fumes don't gas me out), again easing off and on the trigger to kind of work the action. Then I rinse it out once more and hit with paper towel again. Basically do the same thing to clean it when I am done.

I Found them at the local Hobby Lobby, I think the 6 color kit (Createx Colors) I bought was $25 maybe. I bet Amazon has them.

Edit here's a link the the cheap airbrush I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KJDXHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have an expensive badger one too but I like this gravity fed one better. There are a lot of good videos on youtube for leaning too.

is this one bad https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Dual-Action-Professional/dp/B002KJDXHQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1526884956&sr=8-7&keywords=airbrush

I just went through this myself and am very happy with my purchases. This is a complete entry level set with the tools you will need to maintain it. Assuming you're US based, you could have everything Monday with Prime shipping.

• Airbrush - $27 - This is a basic brush with the ability to change between 0.2, 0.3(most common), and 0.5mm tips. This gives you the flexibility to go from precise to blanket applications.
  
  
• Compressor - $120 - I opted for a model with a tank to help regulate the air output. The compressor still ends up running most of the time during extended applications so I'm not sure how much it helps but I didn't want to take chances. You could save ~$40 by getting a model without a tank. You could always add a tank later if you feel the need.
  
  
• Cleaner - $12 - You need this before you even think about starting. One cleaner seems about as good as another so pick whatever.
  
  
• Tools - $7 - You will need to clean paint from the internals. Some of these brushes will work for that. There seems to be differing opinions in the community over how useful these are but I opted for them and use them every so often.
  
  
• Cleaning Pot - $15 - You will need one for your station and everyone uses this one. Definitely spray the cleaner through into this.
  
  
• Wash Bottle - $6 - 500 mL bottle you fill with water. This will allow you to rinse the pot at your station without having to go to a sink (though you still might use one often). Get a bucket or tupperware container to rinse into.
  
  This will allow you to setup a bare-bones station. You could also get a fume hood or just spray into a box in a well ventilated room. Get a good white led light (if you don't have on already) to illuminate your workspace and you're good to go.

Totally worth it. There is a learning curve for sure, so if you keep it simple in the beginning with zenithal light technique, it will do wonders for your models and keep your sanity at the same time.
When you do get one, make sure you get a compressor that has a tank. I had one that did not and it was not usable. Also, a mosture trap is a must. posted a couple links for some reasonably priced brush and compressor that has the above mentioned features

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Dual-Action-Professional/dp/B002KJDXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458420341&sr=8-1&keywords=airbrush

http://www.amazon.com/AIRBRUSH-COMPRESSOR--Airbrush-Published-Exclusively/dp/B001738DXU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458420440&sr=8-2&keywords=airbrush+air+compressor

The campus housing and limited budget will make this tough. I would recommend a badger patriot 105 airbrush, generic air compressor with tank, and a airbrushing booth off amazon. It might be a bit noisy, but I think that would be your ideal "best" budget(ish) setup. You could go cheaper, but I personally believe that the quality would suffer.

EDIT - if you must go cheaper, I have used this airbrush with alright success. Its definitely a budget brush. My Iwata HP-CS is a much much nicer tool. My friend has the patriot, and I believe you get what you pay for with airbrushes. The tolerances on a nicer brush just make a world of difference.

I'm using this Master G233...nothing fancy...but it gets the job done!

I actually recommend the Master G23 instead, as it costs only a little bit more, but there is something to be said in what you recommend, as it's pretty basic. Also, my writeup recommended it as a Chinese brush because I have personal experience with it (three years of it, in fact.), so I went with what I know and what's generally considered good among others here. Note Don's airbrush tips also gave it a qualified "this is not bad" review.

Specifically: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-Purpose-Dual-Action-Professional/dp/B002KJDXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484956781&sr=8-1&keywords=master+g23

It can be had from other retailers for as low as 15 USD, and as high (particularly in Europe) as 50 EUR.

Since you actually use it and are familiar with it, perhaps add your impressions to the writeup under a new budget category on top of the Chinese airbrush section I wrote?

If not, let me know, PM me, I can add it later.