Despite practicing and educating myself about the many aspects of airbrushing, these two units are very unreliable in their performance and make model making a frustrating pastime instead of fun.
so, what should I get? I live in Australia so choices aren’t great. I can always order online I guess. Ideally I’d get something really good and reliable that can do fine work if needed.
Paasche H. It doesn’t get more reliable and easy to use than that. You can do anything from wide patterns to pencil-fine lines with it. I build mostly post-WW2 aircraft with an occasional car or sci-fi subject here and there and haven’t ever found myself needing anything else. I bought an Iwata HP-CS about a year ago, used it once (ruined a couple of really easy painting tasks with it), and its been sitting idle ever since while my 35 year-old Paasche H continues to do anything and everything I need it for. The only times I have screwed up a paintjob with that is when I tried a new masking technique and that technique turned out to not be a good one. Cleaning it is as easy as dropping the color cup, air cap, and needle into a jar of solvent and running it in an ultrasonic cleaner. No flushing that puts a bunch of extra solvent into the air, no special tool kits…the only tools needed are your fingers and the 5/64" allen wrench that comes with it. It also comes with a wrench for the air hose, but the need for that can easily be eliminated with a hose adapter and quick-disconnect.
The only trouble-free airbrush I’ve ever owned is the Badger Anthem, which I’ve been using continually pretty much since it came out. Like Eaglecash’s testimonial for the Paasche, it handles everything from car bodies to fine lines and Luftwaffe mottle in 1/72, never had a clog or a dry tip issue, dead-simple (and quick) to clean (and can be completely disassembled without the need of wrenches or tools…everything just unscrews).
It’s a siphon model rather than a gravity-feed…I seem to be one of the minority that actually prefers that arrangement…but they also do a top-feed model, though I forget the name. (I think it’s the Patriot.)
Just my [2cnts]. Always been an unabashed Badger fan.
BTW, if you haven’t seen it, forum member Don Wheeler has an airbrush site with lots of great (and un-sponsored) hands-on reviews, tips and general information. It’s worth a look. Just Google ‘Don Wheeler airbrush,’ and it should come up.
Badger’s Omni 360 brush has a rotating head end. It has a short cone shaped cup that may be used as a gravity feed when cup is on the top or as the feed point for a siphon feed bottle when the cup is rotated to the bottom.
The spray head and needle guts of the brush appears to be the same as a 105 Patriot’
Best of both worlds
The knock on the brush I’ve found is the gaskets on the rotating head wear and need servicing. I have returned the brush to Badger for their warranty service and the returned item works good as new.