I started out with craft acrylics and a large tip airbrush. Yes, it was cheap. But you have to be careful when thinning it to get them right. And some paints - you won't know which before you try them - have paint particles that are too large and will clog just about any airbrush. If I were still doing just an occasional lure, maybe the hassles would not drive me crazy. But I paint easier, paint faster, and get a better paint job with airbrush paint. And airbrush paint is only a tiny fraction of the cost of building a crankbait. The stuff lasts a long time even if you're doing a hundred lures every year.