Think it’s the trap that if you continue with the hobby, all the starter gear is useless and all the money could have been spent on better equipment.
I paint miniatures. Not as often it as much as I would like to because of dividing my time between work, two year old and chores, but I have had the hobby for the last six years. I have yet to purchase an airbrush, and I can get a perfectly decent starter set for lets say 20 USD. But I can also get a better set with high end compressor, better paint gun.for 60 USD. I know that if I keep getting better at using the airbrush I will eventually get the high end stuff, why not “save” money and get it right away.
Just to clarify, I am at the point where I have hand painted for years :) The next step is continue to improve brush control, and perhaps airbrush