I bought this handy little gadget on a whim off a Youtube ad….. all from the US of A.
I took a chance as I thought the potential for weathering O guage locos and rolling stock would be much less hassle than setting up my usual Badger airbrush and compressor every time. and also for adding colour to scenic areas on my diorama layout.

It works at a pressure of 17 . 4 psi which is not adjustable.

It is a top feed dual action airbrush so you can control the amount of paint /air  flow.

It charges up via a computer USB port. ( 1/2 to 1 hour )

It will work continuously for half an hour per charge.

Cost me £38 including insurance and excellent tracking.

So here it is next to my regular set up.


And this is what I got for my money………………



Today I used it to apply a main livery coat of very thinned enamel paint to some O Gauge wayside buildings.



But I was so pleased I completed all of these in one sitting……………..






As already mentioned you do need to have your chosen paint slightly thinner than usual.

AND YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE AIRBRUSH IMMEDIATELY AFTER USE.

I used enamel paint using white spirit as the thinner and cleaner ( I`m not sure what the internal seals are made from so My usual xylene thinners were avoided as it will melt all but nylene).

For £ 38  I`m quite impressed as it will more than cope as a weathering tool for my stock.  In the right hands it would also cope with applying the top coat on a wagon or loco.

See what you think……………….

I bought one after seeing some weathering done on buildings by it and was impressed with what he had achieved. I've also seen mixed reviews as to its capabilities on several modelling forums but it appears to be a suitable piece of kit for light work and less hassle than hauling out the compressor, although the amount of cleaning doesn't diminish! There is a choice of these on ebay - look for cake decorating spray guns - but some are single action and bottom feed which I would avoid. Plans for mine are for weathering of locos and parcel vans  with acrylics and are currently waiting for better weather…

I'm sorely tempted…………. :roll:

Maybe I'll read some more reviews before I jump……..

Same here Peter  :thumbs

  It seems the limited supply of compressed air contained in the hand held unit would be insufficient to apply colour coats to larger items of rolling stock, or indeed for longer airbrushing sessions, so their use seems limited to weathering.
   
  For me, the advantage of not having to plug the compressor in and hook up the airbrush does not overcome the disadvantage of using a cheap airbrush. If issues should arise down the line, I’d still need to resort to the current setup.
   
  Bill

[user=1814]Longchap[/user] wrote:

 It seems the limited supply of compressed air contained in the hand held unit would be insufficient to apply colour coats to larger items of rolling stock, or indeed for longer airbrushing sessions, so their use seems limited to weathering.
 
For me, the advantage of not having to plug the compressor in and hook up the airbrush does not overcome the disadvantage of using a cheap airbrush. If issues should arise down the line, I’d still need to resort to the current setup.
 
Bill

Dear Bill,

 It`s a rechargeable compressor…… not a can of air.   It will pump air for half an hour per charge-up,

…so enough time to airbrush a top coat on a  large loco and tender  then recharge it and use it again, and again….

Cheers

JOhn

  Hi John,
   
  I was aware that the air reservoir is rechargeable, hence the USB power cord and while 30 minutes if fine for a quick weathering session, I much prefer to use my existing set up of mid-range lightweight compressor and Iwata airbrush.

Horses for courses and I enjoyed your videos and am pleased to see you using gloves, extractor booth and mask.
   
  Best regards,
   
  Bill

I'm rapidly learning that, like asking questions online, one ought not to pay too much attention to online reviews.

Having read several, I'm surprised they are all talking about the same bit of kit !  Some love it and others think it's a complete waste of money.

Does one waste one's money or does one follow those who liked it …….?

I do like the idea - contrary to what you've said Bill, I like the fact that it's a very handy (in the true sense) gadget requiring very little setting up.

As with all things "airbrush", the real killer is the cleaning.  

I suppose the bigger the job, the less onerous the cleaning becomes but for a few minutes use, cleaning the darned things becomes a real pain.  That's why my current setup, compressor and all, spends nearly all it's life in it's box !

Has anyone trid one of these Ultrasonic cleanings baths on their airbrush parts ? I seam to remember reading that they do a good job on the small hard to clean bits ? I suppose you do a general cleanup to remove the majority of the paint and then let the bath do its magic ?

Cheers
Matt

I find YouTube reviews more helpful than written ones, as they actually show the product in use, so you can also make up your own mind from what you see.  They also tend to be done by enthusiasts who are interested in whether a product works.  Obviously some may be sponsored, but they still tend to give a wats and all review.
Michael

  Hi guys,
 
Contrary to popular belief, airbrush cleaning is not a chore to be avoided at all costs and with smart airbrush working, takes little time indeed, as outlined in a previous post here http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=15841&forum_id=21&page=2  post 28.
 
The change of mindset from wanting to avoid cleaning to accepting it as part of the overall airbrushing experience, could easily get many more modellers using an airbrush just as much as any other modelling aid.
 
If one seriously cannot accept airbrush cleaning, then buying this gadget, or indeed any other airbrush, will simply be a waste of time and SLW tokens.
 
Use of ultrasonic cleaners is an excellent way of getting all sorts of parts clean and I have a large one primarily for small car parts, although Mrs L likes it for cleaning jewellery. The small units selling for about £30 are most useful for small parts likely to be of interest to modellers, but I've never let my airbrush get to the stage where it needs such intensive cleaning. Beware of using any solvents in the water which may attack airbrush seals! My Iwata Eclipse HP-SBS has solvent resistant seals, but rubber seals in cheap brushes should not be immersed.
 
Cheers m'dears,
 
Bill

I bought my wife an ultrasonic cleaner for her jewellry which does a fantastic job on her adornments. I've also found that it works very well cleaning up small parts after soldering (shhh!)

One of the most important things to remember in keeping an airbrush working properly is that the cleaning regime should be part of the operation and not just some chore to do afterwards. During a session you should regularly flush the airbrush through with thinners, water or white spirit depending on what paint you are applying.

Despite now having an ultrasonic cleaner, I would still thoroughly clean my airbrush in the my traditional  way, water for acrylics and white spirit for enamels followed by a flush through with airbrush cleaner afterwards immediately after the end of each session.  However, if I ever experience signs of trouble with the airbrush due to paint residue, spitting etc, then the ultrasonic cleaner might just be the tool to use. As Bill suggests though, I wouldn't add any solvents just use pure water.

I'm still very tempted by this USB airbrush but haven't taken the plunge yet …………..

As I think I've said before, the cleaning puts me off - my experiences with brushes leaves a lot to be desired although the brush manufacturers like me !!

The question of ultrasound cleaners has now appeared so that actually rekindles my interest in airbrushing.  I can easily squirt some water/white spirit/thinners etc. through the airbrush (I have one of those "flushing pot" things for the purpose) but getting the thing REALLY clean worries me.  How good are these small (cheap) ultrasound cleaners ?  You've mentioned around £30 Bill - I've seen them around the €40 or €50 mark but wonder if they're any good when most seem to be around €200 !!  I could maybe suggest to Liz that she needs one to clean her rings (or teeth …. :roll: :roll: :roll:) and sneak an airbrush in there …………..

Plenty around the £30 mark Peter, I just checked Amazon and found the following, scroll down for similar others.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrasonic-Cleaner-YKS-Jewellery-Cleaning/dp/B076Q8VFQ1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2XV443GA52IZV&dchild=1&keywords=ultrasound%2Bcleaner%2Bmachine&qid=1609870815&sprefix=ultrasound%2Bclea%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVk9IOFFESDlWWjlLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODM4Njk3M1NVOFRXNlUyMzFaTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzM1OTQxVFdaUUMwVlJRNDIwJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
 
I bought mine for cleaning car parts, so paid a bit more for a larger capacity, heater and stainless steel construction and if you go for a larger one, make sure to source some small baskets suitable for holding small parts, jewellery, etc, as the can het lost in the bottom of a large tank of hot cloudy water!

Bill