Testors Mighty-Mini Airbrush and Compressor Kit By Aaron and Matt Bittner

Overview

Taken from the Testors' site:

"Learning to airbrush has never been easier than now. The new Testor Mighty Mini Airbrush set includes everything you need to start airbrushing. All of the guesswork and purchasing of supplies separately is a thing of the past with the Mighty Mini. Each Mighty Mini set includes an external mix, single action airbrush, compact compressor, 12cc top feed cup, ¼ oz. Siphon cap & bottle and six colors of pre-thinned, ready to airbrush acrylic paint."

Experience

When I opened the box and saw the Mighty-Mini I was trying to think of a market for this all-in-one airbrush set. Besides the beginning airbrusher - in general - why not try to have a younger beginning modeler try it out? Who better than a 10-year-old just basically getting into modeling? Since Internet Modeler only has one junior modeler doing any work for it, I decided to let Aaron try it out. (One of the reasons why this article is so late in coming is because I was seriously looking for another junior to give it a try. I don't want it to appear that I'm giving Aaron preferential treatment just because he's my son.)

When you open the box, you're provided with a series of pieces-parts. The airbrush needs to be assembled, but only with a few pieces. Not only is the compressor part of the package, but the package also comes with six bottles of pre-thinned paints. Not many of these colors can you use with military models, but they are ones that would work with automobile models. In addition you also get a clear bottle you can use for your own paints as well as a larger top-feed cup you can use for thinner.

Although we didn't test it, I personally would not use this airbrush with paints such as enamels or lacquers. The entire airbrush is plastic and I'm not certain the paint wouldn't attack the airbrush. Still, it's a decent airbrush for acrylics which is what I recommend it being used with.

Since Aaron had recently finished an ESCI Tiger (not a review model) we decided to use it as the test model. Also since he liked the Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) color of late-war German armor he wanted to paint his Tiger that color. Since I had the Vallejo-equivalent Dunkelgelb we used that paint instead of what came with the airbrush. The Vallejo was thinned with windshield-washer-fluid, thinned to the consistency of milk. Now Aaron could spray.

There are two setting with the airbrush "wide" and "narrow", which is achieved by positioning the paint nozzle in two different places. They are both rather "wide" when you compare it to some of the mid-settings in an Iwata, as an example. It is for this reason I would recommend this airbrush for overall covering only. It just can't get narrow enough to do some of the more "fancy" airbrushing. But this is okay, as I think this is what this airbrush is meant for.

We set the airbrush on "narrow" and Aaron started spraying his Tiger. As long as you don't get too close (which he did upon occasion) the airbrush sprays fine. (Also a lesson - Aaron, like all young people - wants to finish his work as soon as possible, so spraying multiple coats is usually not an option. It's always best to spray multiple coats when spraying a lot of the model, that way you avoid finger prints (or in Aaron's case, "glove prints").) He was able to cover the entire tank in only a few minutes and it was a decent coverage.

The compressor puts out a constant airflow, non-adjustable. I have no idea what the PSI is but it seems good enough for this airbrush. The compressor has an on/off switch which is a nice touch. My Pasche compressor doesn't even come with one of those. While spraying he suffered no condensation in the line.

Conclusion

This is a decent airbrush/compressor package. If you're just starting out with neither the airbrush nor the compressor this is a great way to start. I'm not entirely sure, but you may be able to adapt the compressor to a higher-end airbrush later down the road. At around US$80 for the entire package, and don't wish to spend a lot of money on an airbrush/compressor package, this is definitely a good deal as you get everything in one pacakge. However, if you've had any experience airbrushing at all, then it may be better to purchase something that will last longer as you acquire new skills in airbrushing, especially if you already own a compressor. This package is definitely best suited for novices in the airbrushing realm

Our thanks to Testors for the review package.