Scale aviation modeller international

Bambi BB8 Budget Range Compressor

Review by Jay Blakemore

I

n my recent series of airbrush

tutorials commissioned

by SAMI, I touched upon

the difficulties of finding a

compressor in a market that

is flooded with compressors

of all shapes and sizes, many

of which are nominally aimed

at the modeller. The choice is

vast, and many of my airbrush

students have told me that finding

a suitable type, make and model

of compressor is more daunting

than finding a suitable airbrush.

Most airbrush manufacturers

have compressors in their ranges

and I am often struck by how

unsuitable many of them appear

to be for their purported purpose.

Those of you who read my tutorial

on compressors (January 2017.

Vol23 Issue 1) may remember that

I concluded that those looking

to acquire a suitable compressor

should aim to buy an oil-filled

compressor with a suitably sized

air tank (receiver). Without going

into too much technical detail

regarding receiver tanks, suffice

it to say here that operating a

compressor that lacks one will

result in a lack of air pressure – or

worse – fluctuating air pressure.

An overheating compressor

motor, which will cause excessive

moisture build and paint

corruption, meaning less than

perfect results. Since writing that

tutorial I have endeavoured to find

the perfect range of compressors,

not only for my students but

for myself too, and in the end,

I didn’t have to look very far.

Bambi are a UK, compressor

manufacturer who are based in

Birmingham; just down the road

from my studio in fact. Amongst

their vast range of compressors

are several models that I feel are

ideal for the productive modeller

who relies on his or her airbrush

to attain a perfect finish. One

such is the BB8 compressor

featured here, and of which I

am now the proud owner.

The BB8 isn’t exactly small

• it weighs in at 21kg and stands
  31’’ tall – so it probably won’t sit
  comfortably on your workbench.
  But positioned on the floor beneath
  your work bench its white and green
  livery exudes quality, and its size
  gives it a reassuring presence –
  you know just by looking at it that
  it will be up to the job. Standing
  on rubber feet, it is rock-solid in

operation and doesn’t

skip about like many

compressors are want

to do. It is also very

quiet at just 40db(A),

though because of the

large receiver tank the

motor is rarely running

during normal use. And

therein lies the magic

of this compressor,

for the BB8 has a

whopping 9Ltr receiver

tank! Delivering a

potential 50 L/min of

compressed air (31 L/

min at the maximum

8 Bar), which is,

in short, enough

compressed air to

spray the largest 1/24th scale kit

imaginable, from start to finish, in

one go, without your compressor

overheating! Or so I’m guessing.

In practice, I have had the unit

switched on throughout my working

day, every day since receiving it,

and the motor has barely even been

warm to the touch. A large receiver

tank means a constant flow of air,

when you need it and at the desired

pressure. Separate air pressure

gauges mean that you know exactly

what air pressure remains in the

tank, and exactly what pressure is

set at the airbrush nozzle, and when

the tank pressure drops below its

pre-set level so the motor switches

itself back on. And don’t be fooled

by the budget name tag – these

compressors are anything but. An

internally coated receiver tank

means no corrosion. An oil-filled

motor unit means longevity, and UK

made means help on your doorstep

should you require assistance

setting the unit up initially. The only

thing this compressor won’t do is

teach you how to use your airbrush:

for that you may require a lesson.

I am ecstatic about my

new compressor and I fully

expect that the BB8 will be

my last ever compressor.

Please visit me at http://www.

jaysmodelart.co.uk for further

information about the BB8

and other recommended

Bambi compressors – oh,

and airbrush lessons.

A.M.U.R Reaver

F

rom a company new to

me comes this eight piece

resin set for the recent

KittyHawk Su-35. Molded in

very pale, almost white resin

it consists of two of each of the

movable nozzle section, the

static section on the airframe, a

afterburner flame holder and the

turbine section (which features

some of the finest detail I’ve ever

seen, it’s just a shame the flame

holder hides most of it!). The

mouldings are crisp and feature

more accurate detail than the kit

parts and the movable section’s

proportions are much better

too. Until this set came along

anyone wanting to correct the

most obvious problem with the

KittyHawk kit was looking at

some tricky modifications

to the plastic parts which

would involve drooping

the exhaust somehow,

shortening the afterburner

section (as the turbine

looks to be set a little too

deep) and dealing with the

annoying way KittyHawk have

molded these parts. And that

still wouldn’t have corrected a

few other issues or added the

extra detail this set provides.

1/48 SCALE

SUKHOI SU-35 DEFLECTED EXHAUST

NOZZLES

Part Number: C4822

Designed for Kittyhawk

CONCLUSION

I am aware that KittyHawk

have included some resin

corrections in the recent

Chinese boxing of this

kit but for anyone who

buys the original release

this set is pretty much

essential. My thanks to

A.M.U.R Reaver (http://

amurreaver.ru/) for this

review set, it’s going

straight into the build!

64 • JANUARY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

ACCESSORIES

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