My new airbrush

Munkyslut
Excellent! Waiting for the glowing review & I think I might snap one up myself😉

Chaz Gordon
Very interesting, looking forward to a review

Greg Baker
Well, I bought it... and then I was scared to use it the first night... 🙂 I decided to take the plunge tonight and the early returns are very favourable. The big thing for me was that I can definitely feel a difference in the quality. There was no fight... I put paint in... it sprayed. No bubbles, no splatters... just a fine even mist the way the modelling gods intended.

I honestly didn't use it for that long... really only to do a new base coat of white paint on my 1/144 Crusader wings - which were botched by the old brush and were what pushed me over the edge in the first place. But I'm feeling a lot of love for it already.

I did get upsold by the guys at the Tamiya store - mostly because they had no real clue what they were talking about and they created some confusion in my mind as to which brush had what features. But, the difference between $140 and $160 didn't seem all that much - especially since a) I was keen to see a noticeable difference in quality to my $50 brush and b) I don't want to regret not buying the more expensive one (given some of the comments in the thread that lead me down this path).

I've been in a bit of a modelling slump the past few days - long days made me too tired to do much more than sand a few offending spots. This sometimes happens to me and I lose my groove for a little while. But I'm sure I'll be able to give this brush a more thorough work out soon.

Chaz Gordon
The difference between cheap generic Airbrushes and Quality ones is pretty dramatic. I started with a £30 one from Amazon, and then was lucky enough to get an Iwata TR0 for my birthday, the difference is astounding. The only trouble is the 0.2 is too small for varnishes and clogs too easily, but I have another birthday coming soon and a Paasche Talon kit on my wish list. The only trouble is that as a former auto sprayer, I just can't bring myself to put primer through a quality airbrush.

Lochsa River
Greg! its OK...you can not model for a day or two...smell the roses!

seriously, I am looking for a new brush because its clear my love affair with Aztek has been terminated by Testors....

Run it and clean it a few times and report back....

Lochsa River
.2mm tip is pretty fine....I like to run a .4 or .5 tip spraying Mission Models acrylic almost exclusively now....very interested in any clogging issues you might have and what pressure you used.

Greg Baker
I only ever use Tamiya acrylics, so that should probably work. I did some thinking yesterday and I've come to the conclusion that part of my problem with the old airbrush was a too-robust cleaning regime. I disassembled it completely after every use. I was warned early on that a dirty airbrush is the biggest problem, but I think the problems I've had with needles and nozzles has something to do with the quality and something to do with how often I took everything apart. I was very careful, but I think the constant screwing and unscrewing of the nozzle may have thinned the rubber gasket and stripped the threads a bit. I also probably ended up bending the needle tip every so slightly. I'll replace the nozzle and needle one more time but, I'll have a less invasive cleaning scheme from now on. Maybe only take it apart once a month or so to clean.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I also realized last night that I have been damaging my air tank through lack of maintenance. Given that I clear out the compressor's water condensation trap regularly, it never occurred to me that there'd be water in the tank as well. That's extremely dumb because I have a large compressor/tank combo that I use for a nail gun that I clear out after every use. It was just something about the disconnected nature of the compressor/tank combo... I thought by cleaning out the trap, I was removing water from the system... oops! After draining quite a bit of rusty water from my tank, I felt like an idiot. I thought I'd post it here for any other idiots out there who this bit of news might benefit (without the need to own up to it).

Oh, well, live and learn. I'll set the cheap airbrush aside only for spraying Future and keep my new one for the Tamiya acrylics. I was a little worried about coverage with a 0.2 nozzle, but given that I only paint 1/144 and 1/72, it seems just fine.

bughunter
Congratulation Greg! The paint cup looks big 🙂 This I like on my Harder&Steenbeck Infinity, there is a Micro Cup available. I have it nearly always installed and it saves me a lot of paint [img1]

Spanjaard
i remember the pleasure of changing from my cheap crappy one that i got 20+ years ago, to my H&S, what a blast....
good luck with the new toy, i hope you get endless years of pleasure with it. In regards to cleaning, i do clean min H&S completely at the end of the modelling session. i do some cleaning between colors, but usually not take it apart if not needed. for sure, always do complete cleaning between types of paint (change from acrylic to lacquers or enamels).

Greg Baker
The big paint cup was part of the up sell, but that's one feature I rarely need. Given most of my builds are 1/144... I usually measure out paint in terms of drops...😉

As I said, I only ever use Tamiya acrylics, so no need to switch anything. I guess I'll have to think about my cleaning regime. Maybe it was just the low quality, but I seemed to be replacing nozzles and needles way more often than I felt I should be. I dunno...

Alec K
Great report and observations. Seems like getting the "right" airbrush is a neverending quest 😄

Munkyslut
Agree entirely Alec, plus just to make it more difficult not one single brand, type, system of airbrushing works for everyone.

Greg Baker
Ahh... thanks Roland. Yes, the instructions on mine are exactly the same. The one nice thing the Tamiya brush comes with those instructions (and more about proper thinning of paint, etc.). The cheap Korean brand I have had no instructions whatsoever. Even blocking the end with a finger tip to blow back the paint was news to me.

Lochsa River
Your comment about the compressor hit home here.

I just got around to doing the daily maintenance on my compressor and it had a ton of stuff in the tank.

Doing the cleanup cured several issues with the compressor.

Bottom line...remember, like Greg sez, the compressor needs attention from time to time.

Spanjaard
i have a compressor to clean.....

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Same here! I never emptied the water from the tank since I bought it! 🙁

Chaz Gordon
Went to drain my compressor for the first time in a year - Bone dry. Probably helps that it's kept in the house rather than a garage or shed. I'm a little scared of the big 3hp compressor I have in the Garage, it's old and a bit rusty. I really should replace it.

Greg Baker
Well, I never drained it since I bought it... so that's... 3 years? It warms my heart that my little public service announcement has helped a few other people out. 😄

Alec K
I gotta check mine...

James C
I've been using Tamiya 0.2 and 0.3 airbrushes for about four years now and just love them.
About 18 months ago, I splashed out on a Paasche Talon because it had 3x interchangeable heads from approx. 0.2 - 0.6 and spare parts (replacement needles & nozzles) were more easily available and considerably cheaper. However, I absolutely hate it! It's like comparing a Lada to a BMW after using the Tamiya airbrushes, with the trigger action on the Talon feeling really clunky and awful. There's just no comparison between the two. The only down side to the Tamiya brushes is the cost of replacement parts.

A couple accessories I recommend you get are an additional moisture trap to attach to the end of the hose, and a quick release plug (male and female) to attach the airbrush to the moisture trap/hose.

Even though most compressors have a built in moisture trap, I found that on occasion, I would still get water splatter while spraying. A second trap on the end of the hose eliminated it completely, allowing me to airbrush all year round, no matter the temperature.

The quick release plug is exactly as it says. Allowing you to connect/disconnect the airbrush from the hose with a simple click rather than having to screw and unscrew it etc. 🙂👍

Lochsa River
We should all do a big online Mea Culpa session...

I'm right there...it was way too long before that compressor got the attention it needed. The Aztek airbrush line being kaput and new Iwata arriving, made a renewed focus on the whole airbrush food chain and that is when it was clear the compressor needed help.

Now, the filters are cleaned, the tank is emptied and a new moisture trap installed on the airbrush line.

I guess its better to get religion late, than never....