As a beginner to air brushing, you are going to make mistakes. For that reason, I would recommend you first buy a single action airbrush from Harbor Freight Tools (). This is a virtual clone of the Badger 350 and is a pretty servicable airbrush. Best of all, it's only $10! You can screw up several and still not have paid as much as for a name brand airbrush. If you eventually decide you do want a name brand airbrush, you can then purchase one with the confidence that you know how to use and care for it for a long, long time!
Harbor Freight also offers a nice dual action airbrush for $20 ().
I own both HFT airbrush models and have produced rather nice paint jobs on my various trains, structures and layout scenes. I admit that I'm on my third single action airbrush because I failed to adequately clean the first one, and the trigger assembly on the second one rusted out after several years of use because I didn't dry it well enough before I'd put it away (exactly what I mean about making mistakes). My dual action unit is still in like new condition even after several paint projects.
I would not recommend buying any compressor without a reservoir tank, even the inexpensive HFT airbrush units. Especially when HFT offers a very nice little 1/3 hp pancake compressor with a 3 gallon tank (). I own a similar size hot dog compressor (). Both go on sale fairly often. I bought mine for $35! It's not the quietest unit but I do all of my painting outside on my rear patio so I'm not bothering anyone in my house. A long air hose will allow you to get away from the compressor for less noise exposure. Best of all, these little compressors can handle lots of smaller jobs around the house so I don't have to drag out my 4 hp compressor all the time.
The final purchase I would recommend is the HFT braided air hose ().
Yes, you will see several negative reviews for some of these products but, with the exceptions of the first two single action airbrush failures (entirely MY fault), all of the above units have served me quite well. I suspect that most of the negative reviews came from people that just didn't know how to use these tools.
I have also found that I don't need to spend more money for a name brand airbrush. I am entirely satisfied with the performance of the HFT equipment I have.
