I often come across posts on social media of people asking if they should buy an airbrush to do custom figures. Honestly, it all depends on your situation. All I can do is share my experience and let you decide for yourself. A few years back, I got super ambitious and told myself that I could airbrush like the pros do. I bought that cheap Testors Aztek set and let it sit for a few months. I was so intimidated to use it! Well it sat and I never used it because I received a Paasche Talon with a compressor that Christmas. That too sat for a few months before I got the courage to use it. When I did, man I regretted not using an airbrush sooner. I'll list the pros and cons of using an airbrush and, from there, you can make the choice.
PROS No brush strokes - In order to get the paint through the gun, you are forced to thin down the paint more than you normally would when just apply paint via brush. Faster application - For the first year or so, the only thing I used my airbrush for was to apply a basecoat and instead of hand painting a figure with several layers via brush, I did it all in ten minutes with my airbrush. Low maintenance cost - After everything is purchased, and if you take good care of cleaning the airbrush, you really don't have to buy anything expensive after that. I have some rubber rings on my airbrush that I replace every six months or so but I get those for well under $1 before shipping. Sometime I have to replace the needle or the tip (because I foolishly drop my airbrush) but the price to replace those is the same as replacing a Citadel brush. Different techniques - Much like brush artists who use washes, drybrushing, and other techniques, an airbrush allows you to do the same. I use mine to add a texture effect to some of my armored characters or use it to add a shading effects. CONS Start up cost - I have always been one to say if you are going to do something right, do it right the first time. Even if you want to try out airbrushing before committing to the really nice setups, I still say buy a set that runs around $200 plus. The cheap Azteks (around $150 last time I checked) is not saving you that much and if you do decide to upgrade or just quit, you probably won't get any resale value. Like I said in the pros, once you jump this hurdle, your maintenance cost is pretty minimal. Big learning curve - I have been using an airbrush now for a few years and I still consider myself a newbie. This is not like a hand brush where you can just pick it up and paint. It really is a constant work in progress and finding what you like because you will get different effects just based on the various airflow that you pump through the brush or even the distance of the airbrush from your subject can cause a different effect. More cleanup time - Using a brush and then cleaning it is as simple as washing it under running water. If you are like me, with an airbrush, if you are not going to be using it frequently it is recommended to disassemble it and wash all the paint out properly. Granted, I have this down to a five minute process now but it is longer than the under minute process of cleaning a hand brush.
THINGS TO AVOID Canned airbrush systems - These are very inexpensive but they still manage to be a waste of time and money. From my experience with them, the can will either freeze up and not allow you to paint mid session and it is almost impossible to figure out how much air you have left to work with. Compressors allow you to have a constant flow and one less thing to worry about when you are working. Good luck customizer!