Harder and Steenbeck Evolution 2 in 1 Airbrush.

What do you think? Soundsl ike a deal. If found it on ebay here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300642129011&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Maybe worth a look?

If it is new as stated & it doesn’t go far beyond the bid price, it’s not a bad deal.

Full price for what’s on offer would be around $188 + delivery, so the “buy it now” price is excessive when you can get the same, for less, from an official dealer with a warranty!

All you are getting in addition to a standard Evolution 2in1 is 2 x paint cup lids, a nozzle cleaning kit & a seal kit - the 2in1 kit includes two needle/nozzle sets & two paint cups as standard.

I see your point. I looked up the airbrush and the parts. The airbrush set is $198.00, The cleaner is $19.00, the rings are $10. and the caps are $10. Brand new that is $240.00 plus shipping. Doogsatx says it is a great brush. As good as an Iwata Hp-CS? The Evolution is $125.00 now for a bid.

It’s a better airbrush than the HP-CS. A few reasons:

1 - swappable paint cups…awesome for different size work as well as cleaning

2 - Lot more flexibility in terms of needle/nozzle options. .15mm up to .6mm I believe, with a .2 and .4mm in between.

3 - Ever driven a German car with a really well sorted manual transmission? That’s what the trigger feels like. Light, but ultra-precise.

4 - Paint cup design is easier to clean than Iwata’s shallow bowel-at-bottom setup. At least for me.

5 - Needle/nozzle removal and cleaning are a lot less perilous - ESPECIALLY compared to not the CS, but the HP-C+ with its tiny nozzle piece.

It has a few drawbacks, all slight - biggest is a tendency to spatter when the trigger is first depressed (something my Iwatas never do), but a lot of airbrushes do that and it’s common wisdom to start airflow off the model anyway. Also, none of the cap designs make it easy to block the front and gargle the airbrush. You either have an open cap or one with two prongs to protect the needle.

Still…slickest, best airbrush I’ve ever used. Until I can put the new flagship through her paces:

Ditto on DoogsATX review of the H&S. I have 2 Iwata’s that I stopped using a couple of years ago since receiving the same H&S AB shown in DoogsATX’s photos. In my opinion, H&S offers absolutely the best combination of rock-solid performance, versatility, and ease of cleaning and maintenance. They’re not cheap, but mine has been worth every penny— and then some.

Tom

My mistake - $240 it is.

Like has been said, the H&S brushes are very good, they spray well, are well built, a breeze to clean & above all else they are very versatile with the 4 needle / nozzle combinations.

There are a few other extras available for them that may come in useful at a later date - fPc (fine pressure control) valve, Quick fix rear end (adjustable needle stop to limit paint flow) & a side feed conversion kit that uses 15ml paint jars.

You are making the right move by breaking the $100 budget limit. It is a very good airbrush as others already said. Give it a try with your maximum bid, but you may not be able to win the auction at $125.

I got my H&S Evolution Silverline SOLO (0.2 mm nozzle) for $130 at Chicago Airbrush when they had the 13% off and free shipping deal. If you want the larger nozzle too, get the 2-in-1. H&S parts are somewhat more expensive the others.

You can also get the Iwata HP-CS for under $120 at Hobby Lobby using their 40% off coupon and the Badger Krome is under $120 at normal price. You can add larger nozzle option to either for about $20 (3 parts needed, needle, nozzle and crown).

You should have no regret going with any of the above mentioned options for modeling. I have all three and still use the HP-CS most of the time only I got it first and used to it.

Good luck and let us know how you finally decide.

Badger Krome. Nothing better and American made.

I actually sold my two Badgers about a month ago. Nice brushes, but the double taper on the needles kept tripping me up. Totally a matter of personal preference, but I’ll take the linear action of a single-taper any day.

The Krome is the second Badger I have. It is nights and days better than the Patriot 105 Fine. The Krome has a straight needle tip that gives it the linear trigger action similar to Iwata and H&S. Badger makes 4 different lines of airbrushes.

The 105/155/175 series is the economical line.

The 100/150 series is the classic.

The Renegade series is the affordable high end.

The SOTAR is the expensive artist series.

The fine needle and nozzle set (same “fine” designation, different parts numbers) from each series have different dimension, different shape and different finish. They also work very differently. The Renegade Velocity/Krome and the SOTAR are the ones that do not have the double cone needle tip.

I would never buy a krome. i was asking specifically on the Harder and Steenbeck.

Why would you never buy a Krome?

I own all kinds of Air Brushe brands and I will have to say that none have better service (if you ever need it) than Badger. They are a stand up company, that will always have my business.

Go for it if you you can get the Evolution 2-in-1 for $125. But it is an auction and there is no guarrantte that it will go at that price. Let us know how you fare and whether it comes with (H&S’s 10 years) warranty.

The Iwata HP-CS and Badger Krome are much closer to your $100 limit and far better than the Anthem. They come with 5-years or life time warranty respective. Something worth considering.

I am still waiting to hear why he “would never buy a Krome?”

What’s wrong with the Krome? [whstl]

I just don’t like it.

The HS Evo is a great brush: period. Things just fit right. I have a Paasche Talon which also carries a .25 needle (I use the .5). It’s perfectly good and I’m sure a fine modeler could make a terrific kit. (Some gurus use Paasche H single action models on the very good grounds that they’re simple to clean.) But the HS spray is more consistent and odd things don’t happen, like having the trigger lose its alignment while cleaning the needle, a Paasche specialty.

As it stands, I use all of my brushes. The HS is my standard weapon, but if I’m covering a large area I’ll often use the Talon. I have an old Paasche VLS that’s my Pledge special. (Actually I kind of like the lunker feel of it.) And at my other place I have a Chinese knock-off called Master with .25 needle that works just fine and cost $35. Anyway, painters use more than one kind of brush. With quick change gadgets for the hose, I think having two brushes ready to roll is a very good idea. If nothing else, one could break. You’ll use your brush for years. Nowdays Tamiya is getting as much money as an Evo costs for a 32 scale Spit or Mustang.

Eric

Have you held one or tried it?

It blows away the Iwata HP-CS I had, so does the Patriot 105 in my opinion.

Yes I have in fact tried a Krome. I got one from mid tenn hobbies and tried it at home with several paints, thinner ratios, pressures and the like. For a Badger product it is nice, but compared to an Iwata HP-CS or Harder and Steenbeck or Grex, it is sub standard. I would put it in league wirh a Paasche Talon and that is not a good thing for a flagship airbrush!

After test driving it I found the movement was a more than a little rough, still more overspray than with the above mentioned brands, flimsy needle (should have been hardend like an Iwata for that money), far too sensitive with thinning ratios and pressure to be an effective modeling airbrush. Just too finicky. I contacted Badger, trying to get a response from Ken in fact, and was left in the cold for answers and support.

Based on all those factors I decided that there are better airbrushes than a Krome in design, manufacture, ease of use, cleaning and performance. Sorry to pop anyones bubble but you asked for a reply. I think any Iwata Eclipse or higher range, H&S Evolution and over and most better Grex Will be a better airbrush in build, versitility and performance without question. Don’t buy hype, buy quality.

Putting as sensitive an airbush as the Krome on your workbech will dissapoint over time. It’s not bad, It’s just not that good either.

Well you are entitled to your opinion even if it’s wrong. [:D]

I have been airbrushing for 20 years and own 15 different Badgers and have owned other airbrushes as well including an HP-CS which was nice but not as good as the Krome, Renegade or Sotar 2020 in any way. In fact the trigger stuck a lot. Typical for a Japanese copy of an American airbrush. [:P]

In the same league as the Paasche Talon? Haha. Thanks for the laugh.

No response from Ken huh? I find that very hard to believe as he is a friend of mine and he would bend over backwards to make anything right with his products. He is very busy at times and takes a long time to answer the hundreds of emails he gets.