I currently have an Iwata HP-CS for most of my work and an HP-TH with the fan tip installed for broad coverage like priming. I love both for their intended purpose, but am considering adding one with an even finer spray pattern for detail work. I find that the HP-CS is just a bit much for free hand camo on 1:72 scale jets and haven’t been pleased with the results masking it off.
Am I chasing a futile endeavor?
Just one the Iwata HP-CS
Paasche - H - 95% of my work
Badger Renegade Krome for double action work - still learning here
2 Iwatas one for enamels, one for acrylics
I have a Paasche H and an Iwata HP-CS. Keep going back to my Paasche H.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of camo patterns are you doing mostly? I’ve mostly done SEA and SIOP Air Force camo and have gotten good results with my Paasche H by masking with frisket film and then using snakes of BlueTack to “soften” the edge of the film to get a to-scale feather between colors. Did JAWS camo on an A-10A freehand with it, but that’s pretty busy camo, so there was quite a bit of microscopic splatter that really isn’t noticeable like it would have been with SEA and SIOP.
Just one…Badger Anthem.
Does everything from fine lines and Luftwaffe mottle in 1/144 to whole car bodies, never clogs, dead-easy to clean.
I own 3. Paashe (my workhourse), Iwata NEO and Badger
I have the same two as you, for the same reasons as you.
I do have third brush, a Harder & Steenbeck Evolution Silverline 2 in 1, which comes with a .4mm and .2mm tip/nozzle.
I like the H&S better than the HP, but for reasons even I don’t understand, I use the HP more. I do believe the H&S with the .2mm has finer control than the HP-CS, but can’t say if it would be fine enough to meet your needs.
Though I think your two existing brushes are fine choices, I don’t know much about super-fine airbrushing so I’ll keep quiet on that part and hope those who do will chime in.
Right now, I’m working on Vietnam era USAF green/brown camo. Not a particularly difficult pattern, it’s just the feathering that’s giving me grief. I’ve tried Frisket, but could you elaborate on how you apply the blue tack? Are you using the radius and undercut of the rope to create a gap that feathers when you spray perpendicular to the surface?
I use the rope right along the edge of the frisket and just gently push it down enough to get it to seal onto the frisket and stick to the model itself with just a tiny bit of overhang along the edge of the frisket.
Here are some pics of the same type of camo you’re doing on the wings of the F-111E I’m working on.
Masking/painting WIP examples
Finished product
Used the same technique for the SIOP camo on the FB-111A wings above it.
I have several Badgers and one Neo. If you want super performance on smaller scales like 1/72 then you need a Badger My oldest Badger dates to the mid 1970s and I still use it.
I have two. The Iwata HPCS does all the heavy lifting and its a great brush. I also use a Gunze PS 771 for fine detail work like painting super small squiggles and panel lines. im super happy with both.
I have a Badger Renegade Velocity and Patriot 105.
I find the Renegade very easy to spray detail with, even in 1/72 and smaller. No clogging, sputtering or spitting. So far I have only sprayed old Model Master enamels though. The only thing I don’t care for on the Renegade is how tiny the nozzle is (think a little larger than a grain of rice size). Now that I am more “chronoligially challenged” it can take a bit more effort not to drop that nozzle during the cleaning process.
I suspect it is just me but the trigger on the 105 seems more like a switch. The action is smooth but I have trouble getting anything but max flow rate so it may become a primer gun.
I have been tempted to get one of the H/S airbrushes, the larger nozzle size looks appealing and they seem to have a good reputation. It also seems you can’t go wrong with the Iwata brand.
My first airbrush was a gift from my brother when I was just a kid in jr. high but getting really interested in trying to build better models. It was a Binks Wren and I wish for the sake of nostalgia parts were still available lol. That thing ran just fine for a good 15-20 years but the seals finally dried out and cracked.
I also have a Renegade and it’s great at fine details too.
I use my ancient Badger 200 for just about everything. I have a double action Iwata that works fine, but I am more comfortable with the Badger.
I could be mistaken, but I don’t think the HP-CS has any finer needle options. It comes with the .35 and parts are available for .5. I do plan to try some additional thinner and backing off pressure.
That is my understanding as well.
Speaking of fine tips, here’s an experiment. On your HP-TH, take off the fan-pattern head and mount the regular one. Then mess with the HP-TH and see how fine of a pattern/line you can manage.
Might just change your thinking about needing a finer airbrush. Or not.
Hello folks. In response to the thread question, I just use a $35 generic airbrush. But that may be part of my airbrushing problems (I’m thinking of buying a more expensive one). I have airbrushed for about twelve to fifteen sessions in my short armor scale model building experience, at both the 1/16th and 1/35th scales. I’m not encountering much ‘success’ by any standards. I have read thoroughly a couple of the FSM branded ‘how to’ airbrushing and scale model building instructional books. I’ve tried implementing what I see demonstrated in the books. But I often get derailed figuratively speaking early in a painting session (airbrush loses pressure, paint sometimes comes out in too narrow of a band (I’ve been using a .3 needle- for some reason in my early airbrushing, paint came out in a wide stream which let me cover the relatively larger size of my 1/16th scale Panther G, etc, but the last few sessions, it has only come out in a more needle like swath [no wider than the diameter of a No. 2 pencil]). I only have used acrylic paint thus far (Vallejo and a bit of Tamiya (thinned)). I do thoroughly clean my airbrush (shooting cleaner through it) and disassemble it (removing needle and other parts) after use. I guess my long-winded question is how much of success with airbrushing (turning out quality finished paint jobs on one’s scale models) is operator skill/talent and how much is attributable to the quality of the tools one uses (airbrush, compressor, paints, etc.)? I thought that I could invest in more expensive tools after gaining some skill with a cheaper setup. But maybe the best way to set oneself up for success with airbrushing is by buying/starting off with better tools (from the start)? I know this is a thread about what airbrushes one uses, and I hope it is OK for me to pose this beginner-type question here? Thanks for your time.
ScaleModeler_1973, not sure what type of airbrush you’re using right now, but when you’re starting out you might consider a single-action siphon-feed airbrush like a Paasche H. It is extremely easy to use and you control the width of the stream by adjusting the needle cap before shooting paint. As you get more comfortable with that, then you can try moving to a double-action gravity-feed. The latter of those is supposed to give you more versatility, but to be honest, I keep going back to the Paasche H I started with as a teenager…never really found a need for anything more complex. As far as learning techniques goes, the best teacher is going to be experimentation on your own. I have watched some of those instructional videos myself to see if I can pick something up that I hadn’t thought of, but I just usually end up cringing at how much paint is getting thrown down all at once. I definitely do things a little differently than some do them, and that’s one of the reasons I like this hobby so much. What works for somebody else might not work for you, and vice versa…and its all about individual preferences.