Search for an air brush and you will find the same tool spelled three or four ways, which is confusing at exactly the moment you are trying to work out what to buy. Air brush, airbrush, airbrush gun and paint airbrush all name one object: a small spray gun that mixes paint with a stream of air and lays it down in a controllable mist rather than in brush strokes.
Why the spelling varies
The tool is old enough to predate any settled convention, and retailers hedge by using several spellings on the same site so that both searches find them. There is no technical distinction hiding in the difference: an air brush kit and an airbrush kit are the same box, and a paint airbrush is not a different device from an airbrush. What does vary meaningfully is feed type and action, and those are the words worth learning instead. Gravity feed, siphon feed, single action and dual action describe real differences in how the tool behaves; the space in air brush describes nothing.
What the parts are actually called
An airbrush gun has a cup or bottle for paint, a trigger, a needle, a nozzle and a body that the air passes through. The needle sits inside the nozzle and its position controls how much paint is released, which is why needle and nozzle sizes are quoted together and why a bent needle ruins the spray pattern immediately. The trigger on a dual-action brush does two jobs: pressing down releases air, pulling back withdraws the needle and releases paint. Learning that one movement is most of learning to airbrush, and it is the reason single-action tools feel limiting once you have used the alternative.
What a kit contains and what it does not
An air brush kit normally bundles the airbrush, a hose and an air source, and beyond that the contents vary enormously. Cleaning equipment, a moisture trap and a regulator are the items most often missing and most often needed. Extra needles and nozzles sound generous and are rarely used at miniature scale, where one fine needle covers nearly all work. When comparing kits at similar prices, the useful question is not how many pieces are in the box but whether the pieces you will actually reach for every session are among them.
Questions people ask about air brush
Is an air brush different from an airbrush?
No. They are the same tool with two spellings, and retailers use both so that either search finds them. The distinctions that matter are gravity or siphon feed and single or dual action.
What is an airbrush gun?
Another name for the airbrush itself, the handheld part that mixes paint and air. It is separate from the compressor, which supplies the air.
What comes in an air brush kit?
Usually the airbrush, a hose and an air source. Cleaning equipment, a regulator and a moisture trap are the parts most often left out and most often needed.