ok and i thought i could conclude it 
so.
t&c and iwata are almost the same; its just iwata is built better but its just a copy
t&c airbrushes look nice
just a thought: is the badger 360 and omni matrix like the same thing? they look almost identical in fsm
I wouldnāt say the Iwata is built better, it is just built to tighter tolerances.
They are pretty much the same except for shape and features.
I have yet to use one, but am hoping to get a 360 to test out in the near future.
Mike
you sound like me mike, im not gonna quit with the omni 5000, im gonna buy several more ab just to have. i build houses for a living and i collect hammers as well. not because i needed them, but just because i thought it would be cool to try them. matter of fact, my favorite 2 hammers came from hart tool co. out in california. ever heard of emā mike? anyway, im gonna try an iwata just to what all the fuss is about, the badger 360, and the vega 2000. as if anybody cares[:o)][2c]
Chris,
Actually I am not going to buy the airbrush I mentioned. [:D]
I have a connection and I am going to see if I can try out a few Badger airbrushes that I have never used to get an idea of what they are capable of, so when people ask me about them I donāt have to say, āI donāt knowā [;)]
Mike
lucky dawg![bow] just kiddinā, i only bow to One.[swg]
Which is as it should be brother. [:)][;)]
Mike
Maybe Iām stirring the pot a little. I have Iwata (HP-B, HP-C, and HP-CR), I have a Badger (100sg), I have T&C (Vega Nailaire, Omni 4000G) and I have A Paasche AB Turbo. I have too many airbrushes but enough to play with and learn what is important in airbrushing. So here is one manās opinion. Donāt use the stock HP-C with enamel paint. It has too small a needle/nozzle combination to spray enamels without giving you sputtering problems. My HP-C has been modified with a larger needle/nozzle combination and it will spray just fine but not as fine a line as a standard HP-C. Strangely my HP-B with a smaller needle/nozzle than a standard HP-C will spray nicely with enamels.
I do not like the Paasche AB Turbo. It is just too complicated for what it does and is just a dust catcher.
The rest of the ABs that I own I like. I donāt care about which air brush tolerance is tighter (Iwata is) or which one has a smoother bore (Iwata) and is easier to clean because I use the wipe the bowl with a rag then swish solvent with a #5 brush method. My bottom line of how well and how easy it is for the air brushes to spray on my projects. They all do a great job.
I have bought foreign and U.S. air brushes and any of them one sprays just as good as the other. I guess I have helped the world economy a little bit.
One manās opinion. Now Iāll have to watch out for the flying bricks.
[B)]
sometimes we get a little too technicle with things dont we? i wish i was like shermanfreak, heās had one airbrush for 20 yrs and never had a use for another one. me, i started with a paache vl yrs ago, went to the H when i got into modelling, now im with the omni 5000. i got frustrated trying to learn the omni, but love the gravity feed so i bought a badger 200 gravity feed. used it for a couple of weeks on some spare plastic, picked up the omni once again and absolutely love it. my curiosity still roams from one brush to another. and like you say roosterfish, they all probably spray basically the same pattern. why cant i just be satisfied with what i have? i need an airbrush psychiatrists! lets see, what can we call it? PAUS (Post Airbrush Usage Syndrome)? later fellows.
Good points roosterfish. I agree completely my friend. [;)]
You donāt show any partiality in your assessment of the airbrushes and came to a good conclusion in my opinion. [tup]
Mike
Hee, hee, saltydog. Iāve had my HP-C since 1983 and I have been happy with it. Only in the last few years have I thought about and trying different airbrushes. So I bought a couple of different ones knowing I could always sell them later at Ebay. I have come to find out my old-timer 20+ year old HP-C still keeps up with the state-of-the-art ABs. Only when I go to spray a hairline (never) would the ABs make a difference.
ebay seems like a good bet for me too. My test so far proved to me that My HP-CS does everything better than any other brush I have. Leaving me to eventually sell my VL, 100LG, Sotar, Aztek and Omni 4000 (my H and badger 350 are long gone).
I want one that will spray a hair fine line for some illustration. I plan on getting a big tax refund, so I may just pick up a Custom Micron and some paints for it. I would like to pick up an Eclipse or an Omni to compare them to my Revolution. Iāve had some trouble lately putting a decent cammo on my 1/72 scale spit and I wonder if a finer line brush would help with the soft edge.
I tried masking, but didnāt like the results, so I went freehand over the top of that, and liked it better. Unfortunately, by the time I was satisfied with the cammo, the paint was so thick that there were no panel lines or any detail left. Crap. I should have practiced on some spares, but I had too much faith in my hands and artistic ability with no reguard for my airbrushing ability. I did improve quickly though, and have painted it thinly and well the second time around. Hurrah.
Iād just be interested to see how the more expensive models compare to the Revolution. Would anyone else be interested in a comparison like that?
Send me an email about the Omni before you go to Ebay, I might be interested.
Have you ever noticed that Omniās are rarely ever seen on Ebay?
I have seen maybe three or four for sale in the past year. Interesting.
Mike
Josh,
Any comparisons are interesting to see. [tup]
I would talk to someone experienced in illustration airbrushes before I went and dropped almost $300 on a Micron. The Sotar by the way is about half as much and is supposed to be just as fine if not moreso. Why not shoot Dru Blair and email and tell him what you are considering and get his opinion? You might want to come on over to the Airbrush Online forums and ask your question there also: http://www.airbrushonline.com/
Just keep practicing and you will be able to paint anything you want freehand on even those 1/72 scale planes. I think any airbrush designed for finer lines isnāt necessary.
Any airbrush along the lines of the Omni, Vega, Anthem, 360, 150, Eclipse, Revolution, VL, etc will do what you want with practice. [;)]
Mike
I found that my HP-CS sprays just as fine lines, atomizes better, is easier to clean, is more versatile (in terms of media it can spray) and is built more solidly than my sotar. It wouldnāt be too hard to actually bend the handle of the sotar just beyond the needle chuck access point. Itās pretty weak there.
Weāre all building models here and essentially any of the brushes that MikeV mentions (with the exception of the VL in my biased opinion) will work great for what we do.
Karl,
Believe it or not, a friend of mine did a test to see how well the Sotar needle was made and shot it through a blowgun into a 2x4. He said he pulled it out of the board, put it back into the Sotar and it sprayed great still. [:D]
The Iwata needle will not take any abuse I have been told.
Mike
The best needle will still not move well through a bent handle.
Mike, you need to get an iwata and use it before having such indepth opinions about it. I find it to be the best made and performing brush Iāve owned. Iād say that my badger 100LG would take second VL third then the omni and the rest.
Clarification needed on that last sentence. That only refers to the apparent quality/solidness of the brush. Not the other traits I listed.
Indepth opinons? I mearly stated that the Sotar needle was stronger, thatās all.
My opinion of Iwata airbrushes has already been made clear before, they are well made, machined very well and I am sure they spray great. But as I have already made clear I prefer to buy American made products if possible and the airbrushes the U.S. produces spray as good as I will ever need. I do not see a need to spend almost 50% more money for an airbrush that will not yield me any better results than what I have.
I may try one someday if someone wants to let me borrow one just to see what they feel like, but I am not going to buy one unless itās dirt cheap. [;)]
Mike