Citadel Spray Gun

Through no fault of the retailer, the gun I bought leaked from the paint jar, out of the packaging. My refund request with GW is pending (the retailer wouldn't take it back because it had been used, and I can't blame them) It doesn't even work that well when it's not leaking, and is extraordinarily wasteful of paint - you get as much or more on things other than the models themselves. Stay away.

For a tool that is supposed to save you time, it most certainly fails. I think it safe to say that in the large amount of time it takes me to get this tool to even kind of work, I get as much, if not more, paint on my hands than on the models themselves. You would think for the money that Games Workshop charges for their products they would at least put out items that would be as satisfactory in their performance as most of the alternatives. Unfortunately, the Citadel Spray gun does not fit that bill.

I'm brand new to 40k painting, but I purchased this at a local hobby store and I have been extremely pleased with it. It could be the previous reviewers were unlucky, or that I was just very lucky but I've found if you follow the instructions that come with the air brush, and if you have reviewed the expanded instructions available in the "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" manual it works perfectly. The paints are easy to mix and, like the games workshop primer, the spray doesn't lose the fine details of the models. I did notice if the paint is mixed incorrectly (I accidentally put in too much water and tried it anyway) it will pour out in droplets. Also if the gun is pointed down (something the instructions say not to do, move the models not the gun) this happened more. I will say when I lost myself and pointed it down by accident with the correct paint mixture it didn't leak at all. The stream of paint is also easily controllable with the nozzle which is similar to most air brushes are this type. I know Games Workshop is the company everyone loves to hate, but I found this to be a great product, even for beginners. If the "How to Paint" manual is too high-priced, there are a ton of good how-to vids on YouTube that will save you frustration and supplies. My only concern is the body of the brush (which does LOOK cool with its flamer appearance) is of brittle plastic and I can see myself dropping it and destroying it. I'm very happy with this item and my burgeoning Space Marines army is receiving its paint rapidly and accurately in part thanks to this item.

I bought this product from a GW store in the city. I myself am very new to all of this, however I have used this spray gun multiple times since I bought it. The guns primary use (as I was instructed from the GW employee that sold it to me), is for applying base coats. It uses a can of propellant (sold seperately) to act as a compressor which a normal air brush would use. If you follow the instructions correctly, the gun will spray the paint on in a nice even coat, though I would recommend applying two coats so the primer doesn't show through at all. I did add a little too much water the first time I tried and as a result ended up with a paint that was too thin and watery, but a second try yielded much better results. If you are an experienced painter, you probably know of better tools for the job, but if you are a beginner like myself, it's very easy to use and maintain. Read the instructions on the paper in the packaging and you will be fine. On a side note, if you do own a compressor, do not use it on this spray gun as most compressors are too powerful and will blow out the O-ring.