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Looking for a new Airbrush


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So I'm thinking of buying another airbrush, but I'm not sure which brand or model to go for.
When I bit the bullet some years ago I went all in and purchased a Iwata HP-CH.
 
http://www.iwata-medea.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/uploads/hpch_hardware.jpg

In hindsight I believe I went a bit overboard as I have never even touched the MAC valve, so I guess I could have gone for a cheaper alternative like the Eclipse.
I've gone through one nozzle and I just bent my second needle the other day which is extremely frustrating and also quite expensive as the replacement parts costs a whole lot.
I was hoping I could find cheap third party needles and nozzles for my Iwata brush, but I haven't found any that seems to fit. Any insight on this?


SO! I've been thinking of replacing my HP-CH with a more basic but still high high quality airbrush.

Even though I try my best to be careful, it's inevitable to slip up sometimes which, like I said have resulted in a couple of bent needle tips, so cheap replacement parts would be a huge bonus.

Also, the easier it is to clean, the better.

I've been looking at the Eclipse CS, also from Iwata which seems to have cheaper needles than the HP-CH and Harder & Steenbeck and Badger, but as I've never tried these two brands, I'm unsure.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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So I'm thinking of buying another airbrush, but I'm not sure which brand or model to go for.

When I bit the bullet some years ago I went all in and purchased a Iwata HP-CH.

 
http://www.iwata-medea.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/uploads/hpch_hardware.jpg

In hindsight I believe I went a bit overboard as I have never even touched the MAC valve, so I guess I could have gone for a cheaper alternative like the Eclipse.

I've gone through one nozzle and I just bent my second needle the other day which is extremely frustrating and also quite expensive as the replacement parts costs a whole lot.

I was hoping I could find cheap third party needles and nozzles for my Iwata brush, but I haven't found any that seems to fit. Any insight on this?

 

 

SO! I've been thinking of replacing my HP-CH with a more basic but still high high quality airbrush.

 

Even though I try my best to be careful, it's inevitable to slip up sometimes which, like I said have resulted in a couple of bent needle tips, so cheap replacement parts would be a huge bonus.

 

Also, the easier it is to clean, the better.

 

I've been looking at the Eclipse CS, also from Iwata which seems to have cheaper needles than the HP-CH and Harder & Steenbeck and Badger, but as I've never tried these two brands, I'm unsure.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

I've heard good things about Badger, but I don't own one. I have a very cheap knock-off that I got from Amazon, and it looks almost identical to Master airbrushes. I was under the impression that most needles were all but interchangeable, as long as the size matches. Does Iwata do something different with theirs? I wish I could be a better help here, but I'm basically in the same boat. I've been looking at both Badger and Iwata brushes. Seems like a lot is personal preference but I've not seen any reviews that talk about replacement parts. 

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I like the Harder & Steenbeck Ultra. £60 in the UK, I'd imagine you should be able to get it for similar prices across Europe.

Good quality, nicely made, easy to take apart and clean. Don't think I'd ever want to spend more money on something more expensive.

 

I've also got a cheap generic chinese airbrush for running varnishes and primers through.

 

If you're having problems with cleaning your airbrush I'd recommend switching to alcohol based acrylics (Tamiya, Mr Hobby) rather than water based acryliics (Vallejo, GW) if you haven't already done so.

I mostly use Tamiya now for airbrushing with their X20A Thinner, and their flow and ease of cleaning is much better.

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You should look into Harder&Steenbeck products. Not only are their aribrushes amogest best on the market, quality and performence wise. They are also easy to take apart, clean and offer full customisablity of parts. What this means is that You can buy the cheapest aribrush they have (Harder&Steenbeck offer a great line of entry level airbrushes, which are cheaper becouse of their simple construction and lack of some of the upgrades of the more expensive models, but performance-wise can compete with the best of them), and if You decide You want something extra, then You don't need to buy a whole new model; just see which upgrades You like, and then buy the specific parts.

They have great performance, they are simple to use and clean, they offer a lot of various upgrades, from things that influence the quality of the spray line, to ergonomics, plus they are not as expensive as some of the other brands.

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I've got a Harder & Steenbeck Infinity 2 in 1. The 2 in 1 bit is that it comes with a 0.15mm and 4mm needle & nozzle. The 4mm is useful for spraying primer or varnishes though it. The 0.15mm was a bit too fine I found and clogged often so I changed it for a 0.2mm which is great. It's a lovely looking brush and easy to use and maintain – the build quality in particular is second to none.

 

I also have a Badger 105 Patriot. The build quality is far inferior to the H&S but it is easy to use and a good workhorse. Only downside is there is not tightening screw at the back for limiting the amount of paint that is fed through the nozzle.

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I own an iwata revolution, and I'm pretty pleased with it.  I think that is one step down from the model you have, but one above the eclipse, so it's still relatively high quality--I think it is about where you want to be.

 

The only insight I could offer would be that the peripherals can make a big difference in your experience.  For example, I changed my brand of airbrush cleaner to Medea airbrush cleaner (was using some store brand generic, and then moved on to simple green) and that sorted a lot of the clogging issues I was having and really extended the amount of time I could go between clearing the nozzle and the needle.  That would cut down on the amount of time you are messing with the parts, and so you would be less likely to damage them.

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Thanks for the input good sirs.
The Infinity is looking mighty fine indeed. I've been eyeing that model for some years now but I'm unsure which configuration to go for.
The FPC function sounds like a luxury I wouldn't use, much like the MAC valve on my current Iwata.
I guess it comes down to choosing a needle size.
As I understand it the 0.15 might be a bit small for the Vallejo and Citadel paints I spray, so I'm thinking 0.2 or 0.4.
I wish they sold a 2 in 1 with these sizes.

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The Infinity seems a little pricey to me. Has anyone ever played with Badger Sotar or Patriots? They seem solid, are well-reviewed, and are much less expensive. While the top-end Infinity looks amazing, the lower-end ones seem expensive for what you get. 

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I have an Infinity from H&S and it is a top airbrush.

But i wouldnt recomment it, when you use it only for your miniatures.

Personly i would recommend you the H&S Evolution 2 in 1.

You get 2 muzzle sizes 0.2 and 0.4, one for very small details and the other for anything else. 

You still can add the fine line muzzles from the Infinity to the Evolution and some other gimmiks.

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The problem with the Evolution is it doesn't have the paint control, like my Patriot. However the Evolution Silverline does and is available with 0.2 and 0.4 nozzles. I would say the Evolution Silverline is probably the best balance of cost and quality.

 

@ JeffT I have a Patriot as mentioned above - it's a good workhorse and very easy to use but can be too heavy-handed for detail work in my opinion.

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The problem with the Evolution is it doesn't have the paint control, like my Patriot.

 

What paint control? The Evo is a Dual-Action Airbrush like the Patriot and you can Upgrade it with a Quick Fix like the Infinity or an extra air valve like that iwata has.

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The problem with the Evolution is it doesn't have the paint control, like my Patriot. However the Evolution Silverline does and is available with 0.2 and 0.4 nozzles. I would say the Evolution Silverline is probably the best balance of cost and quality.

@ JeffT I have a Patriot as mentioned above - it's a good workhorse and very easy to use but can be too heavy-handed for detail work in my opinion.

I was thinking about either the Patriot or the Sotar. I Was already leaning towards Sotar but that may have tipped it. I have a cheap Chinese knockoff already for undercoating and other brute force jobs. I'm looking for one with a little finesse now. You can snag a Sotar for less than $100 on Amazon, so I think I'll add it to my wish list and see what happens. They have Iwata and H & S models as well, but not the same bang for the buck from what I can tell.

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I recommend the Badger 150.  It's a bit pricey, but it's definitely worth it.  My Dad has had his for almost ten years I think.  I got mine two years and it still looks/works like new.  You can swap the needles at will.  Plus you can purchase space cups so you can "hot swap" as it were.  

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I've decided to go for another Iwata after reading several bad reports from H&S Infinity owners.
Seals having to be replaced, chrome wearing off, shoddy performance after a years usage, etc.

Never read a bad thing about Iwatas brushes though, except for the fact that the nozzle is a bit fragile and that replacement parts cost a small fortune.
I'll just have to be super careful I guess :)

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I've decided to go for another Iwata after reading several bad reports from H&S Infinity owners.

Seals having to be replaced, chrome wearing off, shoddy performance after a years usage, etc.

Never read a bad thing about Iwatas brushes though, except for the fact that the nozzle is a bit fragile and that replacement parts cost a small fortune.

I'll just have to be super careful I guess :)

I've been pretty happy with my Iwata revolution, I think it's a great company. Just get some Medea cleaner so you need to fuss less with the nozzle. Are you happy with your compressor? I have an Iwata silver jet and it is amazing.

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