Recomendations

I recommend the Thayer & Chandler (Badger) Omni 4000 or the Badger 100LG with a medium needle/tip.

 

 

zappa1971 wrote:

II am looking at getting a new brush.  I would like to go to a gravity feed, something EASY to clean (unlike the VL) and a good range, from fine to wide spray.  I'm on a budget, but not a tiny budget.  I need some input.  I'm looking at the Iwatas.  Any ideas or advice?

Max,

If you are in the US, check out Hobby Lobby (Iwata and Paasche) and Michael's (Badger) Craft Store.

I upgraded my AB earlier this year.  I looked for something that was easy to clean. I did not want a no name brand clone. I want the full manufacturer's warranty. The Iwata HP-CS was cheaper than the equivalent Badger (Renegade) and Paasche (Talon) models when I used the Hobby Lobby 40% coupon. (It was $90 plus tax and came with an inline moisture filter and an extra nozzle, and 5 years warranty. Look for the ECL-4502 set.) The extra items are worth more than $50. The replacement needle and nozzle are also the cheapest among the three brands at the HL Store.

Then, I also got an Iwata clone (Powercat 203 with the micro air valve and a 2 mm needle) out of curiocity. The clone actually work quite well too. It may be an option if you are really pinch for cash. For the long run, the Iwata is still my ONLY choice.

The selection of the Iwata is straightly a personal perference based on convinence, economics and not a comparison among the major brands. One important consideration is that I can get spare parts (mostly needle and nozzle) locally at discount price. To pay shipping for those parts make them very expensive to replace. The Michael Craft Store carries the Badger AB and spares, and occasionally has 50% coupon in newspaper. But I could not find any gravity feed AB there.

I support my local hobby stores and spent most of my model and supply dollars there. But the AB is too expensive at full retail price.

 

MikeV wrote:

I recommend...the Badger 100LG with a medium needle/tip.

This is the brush I use and love it!  The only things I don't use it for are NMF and clearcoats, for those I have a Badger 200.

I'll add my vote to the 100LG side of the ledger. Simple to use and clean, and made in America.

MikeV wrote:

I recommend the Thayer & Chandler (Badger) Omni 4000 or the Badger 100LG with a medium needle/tip.

I have the Omni 4000 and love it. My younger son has the Badger 100LG and loves it. The Omni has a single needle that doesn't need to be changed for fine work, which I consider a plus, but that's largely a matter of taste.

Check out Bear Air and Dixie Art for good pricing. 

MikeV wrote:

I recommend the Thayer & Chandler (Badger) Omni 4000 or the Badger 100LG with a medium needle/tip.

On another web site, westcoastairbursh.com, it quoted Ken Schlotfeldt, owner of Badger Airbrush Co., when asked how the Renegade compared to the Sotar and the 100LG:

They have a mix of technology - some from each of these and some other guns as well. Then we have some new spring and seal technology, and a new polished needle process that makes the line fineness and atomization detail tighter than anything I've ever seen before on anyone's airbrush. Cost wise they are less than the Sotars, capabilty wise they are better than 100s and as good and better than the Sotars as they have the Sotar nozzle technology with this new polished needle.

At most mail order sites, the difference in price between Renegade/Velocity and 100LG is less than $10. But you may not be able to get the Renegade needle/nozzle replacement parts locally for awhile longer.

Wow.  Thought I'd hear more from the Iwata crowd.  I like the Badger from what I've heard, but like the one guy said, I have a Hobby Lobby here in town and that sure makes getting parts easy, and from what I've seen, the parts are relatively cheap.  PLUS, I can wait for the 40 off coupon and get a nice deal.  So....

 

Hmmmm...

 

 

I have only used one airbrush.  A Iwata. It's a gravity feed with double action.  This is my first airbrush and I love it.  It's easy to clean, take down, and use.  Like previous post, I used a 40% off coupon at hobby lobby.  Hobby Lobby also carries a line of spare parts, (needles, crowns, etc) for Iwata.  I researched it at several web sites, both modeling and non modeling, and between the badger line and iwata line, the crowd was pretty evenly spit.  I will say that a double action air brush with internal mix is a must!  Buy the best you can possibly afford, because your skills will grow quickly and you will be disappointed with a lesser brush.  Good Luck.

I used to have an old Badger single action, which is a good brush to learn with.  But when I finally upgraded I went to HobbyLobby and used the 40% off coupon to buy an IWATA.  It's a double action, gravity feed.  It's easy to take apart and clean and easy for me to use.  I love it!!!

Well, I took the plunge and picked up the Iwata HP-CS today at Hobby Lobby.  Came with the inline moisture trap, the bottles of medea paint, a bottle of cleaner, and a tube of superlube.  Retail was $175. BUTTTTT.....  I had the 40 off coupon so I got out of there for just a bump over a hundred.  (Actually, there was a sweet Dragon kit on sale, so I got that too!)  So, about $140 got me the brush and a killer kit.

All I can say is WOW!!!  This is like going from a 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with the diesel engine to a 1969 Trans-Am Convertible!  This thing is great.  Are you telling me there are BETTER brushes than this on the market?  The control on this thing is superb, the double action is much more refined than on the Paasche, and just 20 PSI makes it feel like a hurricane is blowing out of that thing!  I guess you can tell I'm happy with my purchase.  I don't see that Paasche getting much use from here on out.  I am now a member of the "own more than one airbrush" club!

Also, from now on, if anyone asks my advice on airbrushes and what to get, I'm gonna tell them to get the cheapest thing they can and practice practice practice!  THEN, get one like this Iwata.  You'll be an instant expert!  (That's a little hyperbole, but I think you get my point)

 

Later,

Max 

I'm using the Tamiya Spray-work superfine airbrush.  I'm looking at getting the Tamiya Spray-work basic airbrush for the large area work.