Description
- Professional-grade: Kit features the PZ-260, PZ-270 and PZ-276 airbrushes for a variety of applications; a premium-quality set ideally suited for creating a variety of spray patterns, from fine detail to wider coverage. Kit also comes with an Elite-125X compressor that delivers excellent power (1/5 HP) with very little noise (55 dB).
- Advanced control: Featuring airbrushes with both single and dual-action functionality, this airbrush kit is ideal for both beginners and advanced users. Single-action, external mix design is easy to use, a single press of the trigger of releases both air and paint and is less prone to clogging. The dual-action, internal-mix design controls both air and fluid, ideal for precise, sharp details.
- Easy-to-use: Simple, compatible design allow for easy interchanging of airbrushes to suit desired need, with a high-performance and lightweight compressor that delivers clean, dry air to airbrushes for uninterrupted use. Includes an informative, instructional DVD to master use of the equipment and tools, and a tabletop stand for convenience.
- Added convenience: Includes 6’ braided hose and a compressor mounted airbrush holder for 2 guns.
- 7 Bonus airbrush guides: As a bonus, includes access to 7 exclusive e-Book airbrushing guides: Top 8 Cake Airbrushing Tips, Guide to Airbrush Cake Decorating, Developing Basic Artistic Skills, 10 Essential Airbrushing Tips, Airbrushing Strokes and Techniques, Airbrush Cleaning Manual, and the Airbrush Lettering Guide
Create Your Free Price Drop Alert!
Amazon Customer –
This is a great kit for beginners. All airbrushes work well and are above average quality for the price. I’ve used this a lot since I purchased it and the compressor is fairly quiet and puts out a steady stream of air. I see a lot of bad reviews about clogging and other issues with spitting paint etc. hopefully I can help others who experience issues below.
Advisory: Long review to help out other customers. Short of it is, clean your airbrushes, keep the water trap dry,keep the compressor cool.
The gravity brushes are prone to clogging, but not because of poor quality. The small detail gravity brush is a .2mm tip. It doesn’t matter what brand you use, tips that small clog. The .3mm is better but it can still happen. I’ve seen Badger’s and Iwata’s do the same. First, if you aren’t using paint that is meant for airbrushing (like Vallejo Model Air line) then you will need to add a significant amount of thinner (basic distilled water works fantastic with acrylics, not sure about enamel, as I only use enamel with a regular brushes). I use anywhere from 3/1 to 10/1 water/paint ratio if using regular paints. If you are still having clogging issues make sure you are fully disassembling and cleaning the airbrushes after every session (not when switching paints, just run distilled water through until its clear in the cup and then 1 paint cup of paint brush cleaner or isopropyl alcohol will work too). Also get some airbrush lube (I’ve found airsoft gun spray or drops works too, its designed to not eat rubber or plastic, so won’t damage o-rings) I just put a little lube on the needle before I insert it back into the casing, the spring, and where the trigger goes into the valve casing. I then spray air through so their isn’t a ton lube on the needle tip. If you do get a clog, turn off the air compressor, loosen the needle adjustment valve at the back, take off the first tip, then get a q-tip wet with distilled water and clean off the guide tip and needle, then take the guide tip off and move the trigger back and forth a few times and clean off the needle a few times. Like I stated clogs can happen to any airbrush, and this is the method to get them back going again quickly. I know this seems like a lot but you would need to do the same procedures to more expensive airbrushes. Just because these are cheap, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of them. If you are going to continue with airbrushing I also recommend an ultra sonic cleaner, but it isn’t necessary, just makes cleaning out the nooks and crannies of the airbrushes easier.
That should fix any clogging issues. Anyone having sputtering or compressor issues read on.
Sputtering (which is different than pulsing) is when your paint doesn’t come out of the tip even and sort of splatters everywhere, which can ruin your work. This is caused by moisture in the air line. You want the air out of the compressor to be as dry as humanly possible, which the moisture trap below the regulator is supposed to help do. Sometimes it gets over loaded though and even after hitting the release valve at the bottom to help dry it out, you will still get moisture issues. Typically unscrewing it, drying it out with a paper towel and reinstalling will fix most issues. Run some air through the line to help get moisture out of the airline after words then continue painting. I also recommend getting a cheap in-line moisture trap as well if you are not in a very dry climate (basically anywhere that isn’t a desert).
Some people have issues with the compressor. Basically most complain it overheats and stops working. I can’t help you if this does happen, but to help prevent it I put it in front of one of those small table fans. They are $5 at wal-mart. Just the extra airflow helps keep the compressor cool. It doesn’t even get hot anymore even when running full bore at a higher PSI.
I get it, this kit is relatively inexpensive for what you get, but you should still take care of it. Its also good practice if you plan to upgrade to nicer kits in the future.
Brian A. Hall –
After trying a $20 plastic intro spray kit just to see if I liked airbrushing my models I instantly knew I needed something better. I found it and more without breaking the bank.
This kit is everything it says it is and does everything you could possibly want for models. The dual action works great and totally removes any concern about compressor burst issues. The compressor is indeed quiet. It also keeps pressure where you need it for however long you need it. In other words you can spray for minutes without any problem worrying about whether or not the compressor will keep up a steady pressure with the motor filling the tank vs just what’s already compressed in the tank.
Like others have said, the documentation is near void and you need to rely on watching other videos on the web to gain an understanding of dual action vs single action, how to remove the needle for cleaning, etc. But for the $$$ that’s not worth removing a star. It’s still a 5 star buy.
I can’t speak towards how this will work for fine detail artistic work because I am not much of an artist however I am going to give it a shot. It is definitely good enough to practice your dots, lines, shading and dagger points which are all basic elements I have seen beginning videos stress. I have tried them all and have had decent results and that is from a true beginner.
Some tips I have for the beginner from my own learning experience with this:
1. Know if you are using oil or water base paint. May sound like I am stating the obvious but once you build up a fair number of colors and buy them before you know if you like/need enamel(oil) vs. acrylic(water) you will have a mix of both. I couldn’t figure out why my first color cleaned up so easily with thinner and the second one didn’t. Duh…I had used an acrylic for the second color without paying attention. The paint stuck on the needle over night and I had to VERY CAREFULLY clean it off without breaking the tip.
2. For the 3mm gravity feed brush (the larger cup) it is easier to clean the base of it out if you remove the needle first. Then use Q-tips dipped in thinner (or water) to get the last bit of paint out. Don’t try to force the Q-tip around the needle barrel or you may end up bending the needle. FYI, the needle, again for the beginners like me, runs the length of the brush and is removed by unscrewing the back piece of the brush. Not the knob at the back but the ~2″ shaft that the back knob is attached to. Then there will be a coupling screw to loosen (or remove) so you can slide the needle out. Just be very careful putting it back in as you will see the tip is extremely small and fragile.
3. A little paint goes a long way. Don’t pour too much paint in the cup. In fact, even to cover an entire model I only needed to fill the cup about 1/4 to 1/2 full.
4. Using Testors paints, as long as you have shaken/stirred them so they are completely mixed (meaning the sludge at the bottom is completely mixed into the paint) they will flow just fine through the gravity feed without the need for thinning. I haven’t used the siphon feed yet so I can’t speak to that.
That’s all I can think of for now. Good luck and have fun!
Marcus Kemp –
Just fired this up yesterday for the first time, never used one before. Getting back into modeling. I did very well for my first attempt at learning this skill. I had no trouble getting going. I have been watching youtube videos on the subject for a month and without that I would have been lost. Everything was easy since I had all the cleaning tools ready and followed directions. This is great!
CourtLee –
This was perfect for the crafts I’m making! Comes with 3 different guns, each in it’s own case with accessories. It also came with a bracket that you can attach to the compressor to hold 2 guns. The compressor is much quieter than I expected it to be so that’s definite a plus. While I’ve used someone else’s airbrush before I’ve never actually owned one so this was all new to me. It came ready to use right out of the box and was fairly straight forward to hook up. It also came with an instruction DVD and a link that you can go to for further details on your machine and airbrushing techniques. I purchased a cleaning jar separately and would advise the same to keep the guns in working order and for quick, mess free clean up. Also, if you’re a beginner and unsure of what kind of paint to use, I use a mix of half acrylic paint, half water. If it’s too thick, add some more water. If it’s too thin, add some more paint. Very happy with this!