I like the way you think my friend. [:D][;)]
Take a drive up to Anaheim and get it from Coast Airbrush, but beware as Dave will try and steer you to the dark side with the Iwata Eclipse instead. [(-D][(-D]
Let us know if you get it and what you think of it. We have to get more people buying these good American made Omni’s to counteract the evil Iwata empire. [soapbox]
Mike
Hey Mike, I was just up in your are around X-mas time, went to this nice hobby shop with hundreds of reference books, and models…it was like heaven. Unfortunately not too familiar with the area, and I forgot the name of it…I was visiting my friend and he took me there…it’s between Hollister and Frisco, near San Jose I believe. Anywho, ordered the Omni 5000 online earlier from Dixie. Can’t wait to get my hands on that beauty!!! I hear so many wonderful things about it!!!
Why the Omni 5000? Do you like the smaller color cups or just don’t need that much paint?
That hobby store you went to could have been either D&J Hobbies in Campbell (near San Jose) or the big one across the bay which is San Antonio Hobby Shop.
Mike
Joe,
If your friend called them “junk” it’s only because he didn’t know how to use it. I’ve got two airbrushes: and Iwata and an Aztek and I love them both. You’ll have 100 people writing in response to your question and you’ll get 100 different opinions. Do some research. Some airbrushes work better with certain types of paints (eg. acrylic, enamel, etc) so get the kind that might work best for the paint you plan on using. Don’t listen to what eveybody else says. It’s all a matter of whatever works best for you. You might buy two, three or four airbrushes over time in order to find the one that suits you. When someone says “the best airbrush is…” what they’re really saying is “the best airbrush that worked for them is…”
Have fun checking it all out and best wishes!
Eric
well… mikev thats sweet, but my aztec craps out on me all the time, then when i test it again with water, it works. then properly thinned paint: no go. oh and my aztec a220 is BETTER (imho) than my aztec a370 (discontinued)
i still suggest iwata revolution cr. think hp-c’s little brother.
I was not endorsing the Aztek by any means, I was just posting what is possible in the right hands with this airbrush that receives such mixed reviews.
I personally don’t like them and I feel they are marketed in such a way as to be deceptive to potential buyers such as how Testors leads you to believe you need 8 nozzles to get all the effects you need.
If you have read many of my posts you are well aware that I am a loyal Omni/Badger user and prefer the airbrushes produced by Badger as they work great, are priced fairly and the customer service is outstanding.
Mike
Mike, I think you’re right about Testor’s marketing. Who hasn’t noticed the relatively large number of people making their first airbrush purchase who are drawn straight to the Aztecs with the nice wooden box and all the nozzles, etc? Probably unaware that a well designed brush doesn’t need all this. It would be interesting to see some marketing stats on what percentage of Aztec buyers are actually 2nd time, experienced airbrush users moving AWAY from the likes of Iwata, Badger, Thayer&Chandler etc and into the Aztec fold as long term users.
Cheers…Snowy.
Snowy,
Good points my friend. [;)]
Mike
Mike,
What are the major differences between the Omni Models?
(3000B, 4000G, 5000G, 6000S)?
Mike, it was a toss-up between the 4000, 5000, and 6000. Since the only difference was the cups I thought it would be simple…but I swear I must have stared at them for a few hours, and I still couldn’t decide which one. They all have their own pros. I do generally paint light coats, and figured I didn’t need too bulky of a cup, but the way I finally decided which one…I let my girlfriend pick it…lol…she bought it for my birthday present, and she thought it looked “sexy”…[:D]
I know I’m not Mike but I might be able to answer your question.
Simply, the difference between the Omni 3000, 4000, 5000 are the size of the paint cups. 3000 is the smallest (small drops of paint), 4000 is the largest (1/3 oz.) and 5000 is middle sized at 1/8 oz. The 6000 is the side cup version of the 4000 holding 1/3 oz of paint.
Roosterfish is almost right. [:D][;)]
The Omni 3000 is a siphon-feed model and can use cups from 1/4 oz on up to 3 oz or more. The rest of what Roosterfish said was correct though as those models are all gravity-feed models. [tup]
Mike
Haha. That’s a good way to decide. The reason I asked was because the Omni 5000 has a small 1/8 oz cup that does fine most of the time, but you have to be careful if you fill it very much as it is easy to spill it. I have a Vega 1000 which has the same size cup.
You may not need to fill it very much, but if you are building something like a 1/48 scale B-17 or something you may be tempted to fill that little reservoir up to make sure you have enough paint for your project, in which case the Omni 4000 would have been a better choice. The Omni 4000 also has a cap that press fits over the color cup to help you not spill any paint. [;)]
If you build mainly 1/72 scale kits then the Omni 5000 should be all you need as that 1/8 oz of paint goes a long way at 10-20 psi. [:D]
Mike
If I had a perference I would buy a large capacity bowl Omni 4000 brush. In fact I did buy a 4000. My logic is it is better to have too big of a bowl and have extra paint than to be a little short of paint using an air brush with a smaller capacity bowl. And the 4000 is very much like my Iwata HP-C. My HP-B with the smaller bowl runs out too quickly and is good for finishing up smaller areas. Then for the smallest areas I use a Nailaire air brush.
The Omni series is a good, all purpose, inexpensive, quality, airbrush. You wouldn’t go wrong with an Omni series.
my first airbrush was the a220. it worked fine, cept i had to adjust the bottle to perfection or it didnt work
my 2nd airbrush should have been a revolution bcr, only think is w/airhose, the revolution would have cost 2ce as much as an aztec. i wasnt the one paying.
besides, all good airbrushes only use 1 tip that almost never breaks/worn out. aztec: 1 day after i had to replace the nozzle. its not he set that came in a hardwood box.
oh and reading an old badger ad in fsm, i saw the fact that u only really need 1 nozzle and fancy packaging is just for looks; not using
I have the Aztek A370 in the wooden case, with all the nice do-dads and have been using it for the past three years. I’ve run into some clogging problems lately (thinning?, who knows) but usually when I properly stir and thin the paint, it works fine. I don’t use all the different nozzles, just the fine-line one. It works fine since I mostly build 1/48 scale fighters, some armor and automobiles. When I do 1/48 scale bombers, I do use the general nozzle, but I find that it is super easy to clean regardless.
Having said all of that, I am in the market for a double-action (Iwata? Paache?) so I can get into some of the complicated camo patterns with really fine lines. I just have a really hard time getting a very thin line out of the Aztek.
Thanks for all of the posts! I enjoy reading and learning.
Chris
Chris,
I would look at what Badger has also as they make some good quality airbrushes at a reasonable cost.
Mike
IWATA IWATA IWATA
BADGER BADGER BADGER (sry no mushroom)
OMNI OMNI OMNI
You’re not supposed to soak the body in cleaning fluid, especially not overnight. How did it get clogged so bad that you have to soak the body?
I got to say I have several airbrushes. Most are single action kinds. I have four Single Actions that I never use anymore. I have the Aztek 3000 and 370, and I love them. I will never
use any other. I love the easy cleanup and cringe at the thought of having to ever strip one of those metal ones. I will never switch.