Aztek Anyone?

I was given a 2nd-hand aztek once.

Tried it and put it back into the box, performed ok but didn 't feel comfy to me and I found the cleaning more cumbersome than on the brushes I use.

Might be because I am too used to the brushes I use and I can strip them with my eyes closed. The balance/feel/etc just didn't sit right with me.

Good brushes I am sure, but in my location they died fast and spares/support went just as fast, ditto for MM paints.

For my current brushes I can get all the parts/spares at the LHS and the brush is up and running again in 10 minutes.

George, I sent you a message/conversation...

Tony

GeorgeA

Soooo, love it or hate it, huh?

Sounds like it's luck of the draw and there's a reason I'm not a professional gambler.

Despite the "love or hate" reaction, do not expect the double action Aztek to be cheap. Most come with multiple nozzle for drawing different sized lines. Testors advertises it as a feature. I look at it as a draw back. I expect a general purpose nozzle to be able to do most work I need in modeling without the bother of changing nozzles.

I had an Aztek A4709 set for a month and found out that I could not use it like Brent Green does. I ended up selling it on Ebay for a small profit. I got the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and never looked back.

I'll wait a bit and get a either a Badger or an Iwata as a Christmas gift for myself.

It would be best if you hold them in your hand and try the airbrush before deciding on which brand to get. The Iwata is a much heavier airbrush, but balance well in your hand.

I have the Iwata HP-CS AND the Badger Patriot. They are completely different airbrush. When you put the parts side-by-side, the CS nozzle is about 1/2 or less the area of the Patriot nozzle hole. The CS needle tapper is twice as long as the Patriot "fine" needle tapper. The Iwata CS can be a fine detail airbrush and it is sensitive to paint thinning and cleaning. The Iwata CS is more similar to how some user (brickshooter) described the Badger Velocity.

I like the more linear control (slower transition) of the Iwata CS. But it makes me thin the paint more (compared to the Patriot) and have to spray more layers of thin, misty paint to get the solid coating I like. It took some getting use to. On the other hand, the Patriot is a much more forgiving airbrush. I can spray the MM Acrylic unthinned (not recommended for cleaning reason) and, in all case, lay down a solid layer of color much more quickly. It still have plenty of detail for pre-shading or free-hand camo in modeling, but the feel and control is completely different from the Iwata CS.

I don't remember reading a direct comparison between the Iwata HP-CS and the Badger Velocity by the same user at this forum yet even though brickshooter's experience with the Velocity and mine with the CS sound very similar. It is up to the individual user to decide whether he likes the gentle action of the Iwata CS or the quick draw action of the Badger Patriot better. You will see plenty of users on either side.

You may also want to look at the Harder & Steenbeck Revolution Silverliner 2-in-1. You get a 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm nozzle in the set. It will get you covered if you airbrush both finer details and larger area for large models.

Soooo, love it or hate it, huh?

Sounds like it's luck of the draw and there's a reason I'm not a professional gambler.

I'll wait a bit and get a either a Badger or an Iwata as a Christmas gift for myself.

IMO, I was unable to  consistently spray acrylic with my Aztek even with the acrylic nozzle.   But I didn't have that much of a problem with enamels.   Back the in day, I would mask everything (tape or putty) so overspraying wasn't that much of an issue.   But I had tons of problems with the weight of the Aztek.   But nowadays after switching to the Badger Velocity and Sotar, I don't think I could ever go back to the Aztek.

Regarding the special price.  I think the only thing I'd be worried about are the quality of the nozzles.   They are designed to be disposable.  So they may be all worn out.  But Aztek itself is an old design.  So I wouldn't disqualify it simply because of price.   It may be on sale because it's not selling well versus the more modern brushes.

I started back into the hobby about 6 months ago.  Picked up the top-end metal A7778 Aztek kit in the wooden box used from eBay for $70, with the airbrush body spotless and most of the tips unused.  I still have it and use it for clear coats and broad base color coating, but after trying many different acrylic formulations I couldn't get a reliable thin line or no splatter precise fade for Luftwaffe cammo schemes.  I tried MM acryl, Vallejo, and even a few Gunze Aqueous.  Liquitex flow-aid, alcohol, Liquitex airbrush medium, paint-specific thinners, and in many different mixes.  I thought about breaking out my 20 year old college chemistry lab notebook to keep track of them all.  ;-)

It's not that it was a total failure, but I simply couldn't get acceptable results consistently.  Very high frustration level when these mottled cammo jobs are hard enough even with perfect spray.  I wonder if folks that get very good results from the Aztek primarily paint with Enamels.  Tried it once it and worked beautifully, but it's just not feasible for me in my home office without spending a fortune on paint booths and air removal systems, and even then the cleaning was a fume nightmare as I have to do some of the cleaning in the next door guest bathroom sink.  

Purchased a Grex gun-style Tritium TS3 and it's night and day.  Getting fine lines and little overspray is much more forgiving with acrylic paint formulation.  The long throw gun-style trigger is also much, much easier for me to use in terms of getting precise levels of paint on target, and it's more comfortable.

Not getting rid of the Aztek, though, as you can't beat it's easy cleaning (except for the occasional tip disassembly), so it's more convenient for broad coats.  Plus the larger nozzles make it go quite a bit faster than the Grex's .3

George, as stated by someone above, people seem to either love or hate Aztecs.  I've never owned one, so I can't speak to them.   I've never heard anything bad about the Badgers or Iwatas.  I have an Iwata HP-CS for detail work and a Badger 150 with all three heads for priming and doing larger areas.  Love both of them and I expect with decent care either will last a lifetime.

As to compressors, I'd stay away from the one that is probably included in that set.  Very likely much too underpowed for broad application.  Personally, unless noise is a significant issue for you I'd stay away from all the hobby specific compressors and take a trip to Wal-mart or even your local flea market.  I got a Campbell-Hausfield 2Gal. compressor at a flea-market for $40.00, with quick disconnect fitting and 10 Ft. hose.  Works great and has more than enough power for all of my applications.  Only drawback is the noise - it is rather loud.  No airbushing when wife is trying to sleep.  Other than that, its the way to go.  A lot more compressor for your money than the hobby specific ones.  IMHO

Bob

hkshooter

It's true Andrew. I don't think I've ever seen someone middle ground about the aztek. Always love or hate.

Well, I'll break the mold then...

I've had my Aztec (actually the Testors basic DA version) for about 6 years and up until just very recently I have loved it. I have never used any other airbrush, so it's really all I know.

Recently it's been spraying a little on the wild side, a lot of spattering paint. It's getting to the point that I cannot spray the fine lines that I need or get the edge of a camo pattern neat enough to my standards.

I'm not sure if the nozzle needs a thorough cleaning or what, but I am considering a different brush sometime in the next year or so.

Don't get me wrong, the Aztec has served me well for a long time, and I will keep it even if/when I get a new brand. It is very simple to use and since you aren't supposed to take it apart, it is tough to break it or lose any parts.

If you do get an Aztec, I would highly recommend the Double Action over the Single Action. I had a Testors Single Action before my current brush and it was so difficult to use, I ended up using it only once. The DA was very easy to learn.

Hate!  Hate...hate....hate.

Now I have an Iwata and am in bliss.

It's true Andrew. I don't think I've ever seen someone middle ground about the aztek. Always love or hate.

GeorgeA

Okay, I've been searching the net and local retailers for a good deal on airbrushes and compressors. In another post I specifically said NO name brand recommendations, however; my wife, God bless her, saw an Aztek brush/compressor combo for like 90 bucks. As you can imagine she thinks this is the one to buy. Me, I gotta say 1) I'm intrigued by the low price

                     and

2) I'm alarmed by the low price

Any thoughts?

Does it look like this?

This one from Harbor Freight will be a much better deal at about the same price.

I will NOT recommend either one for the serious modelers who are in modeling for the long haul. They need better tools and get much better value out of them by paying a little more at the beginning.

If you are close to a Hobby Lobby store, get the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS airbrush with the Sparmax TC-2000 compressor. If you use the 40% coupon this week. It will set you back by $320 plus tax. You may need to make two trips or drag your wife along to use 2 coupons.

Told ya, LOL

I dont know what it is about aztecs but it seems you either love 'em or hate 'em

Andrew

My first ab was a Testors Model Master (prior to the Aztek name). It's what I learned on and used for a few months. I'd recommend it for a beginner. By the time it fails you will have some skill under your belt and self confidence that will allow you to see the light and choose a second ab with much better reliability.

If you want an inexpensive airbrush then go here, Badger Garage Sale, and scroll about halfway down the page till you find the Models 100 and 200NH and order one of them. They're demos but they wouldn't sell them if they weren't in good working order and they'll still have a lifetime warranty. Which they do honor, by the way, no questions asked. Shoot, the 100 is even a double action gravity feed for about $31 and the left handed version is still new.

A couple of ideas for a compressor are Harbor Freight airbrush compressor  or WalMart(or similar store) CH compressor. You'll still need an airline to connect the brush to the compressor and if you went with the Badger 200NH you'll need some paint bottles and caps/adapters.

Personally, I don't like the Aztec brush and if it comes with the compressor I'm thinking of it isn't much. I have an Aztec, it was my first airbrush, and I don't want to offend anyone that uses one and likes it but I just didn't have much luck with it. It still works, I hooked it up and shot some paint with it a couple months ago, I just don't like it. Don't like the way it sets in my hand or the nozzles/tips it uses and I honestly think that by trying to learn how to airbrush with one you're handicapping yourself. I fought with it for a couple of months and then bought a traditional style airbrush and it made all the difference in the world. Still a learning curve but it was much easier.

At the very least I'd go to Harbor Freight and buy one of their $14 - 15 airbrushes but you don't know how well it's going to work. If you're new to airbrushing and get one that has problems then you won't know if it's you or the brush. You may get one that works great and lasts you a lifetime but then again, you may not.  On the other hand, if something happens to it or you break it, for that price it's pretty much disposable. I was in the local store today and they had their brush/compressor kit for $80. Comes with hose, bottle, color cup, adapter, wrench. Everything you need to get started but paint. I swear I'd buy it before the Aztec combo.

Tony

I've been using mine for over ten years. No problems. I like tha if you do happen to screw up a tip for whatever reason, you can easily replace it. I also like being able to put a cap over the paint while I use another color. $90 for the AB and compressor isn't a bad deal as long as you are getting one with a lot of accessories and the compressor is decent. I paid alot more than that for my setup.

Lee

There are peple on this forum (me included) who will swear by them. There are also people on here who would touch them (again) with a barge pole. I have found mine very reliable, I enjoy the ability to change between fine, medium and course (or others) with almost no effort. I have had two problems with mine. First is some of the plating is comming awayfrom the tip, my fault I left it sitting in a bottle of thinner for a week or so (dont ask), second problem is I lost part of it down the sink, again my fault shouldnt of been pulling it apart over a sink. I also enjoy the side feeds interchangabilty.

There is one issue I have with them, aztek state not to pull the nib things (airbrush heads) yet its impossible to keep the fully clean if you dont (its also alot easier to pull apart and put back together than my other airbrush is to clean (cheap paasche rip off)

my 2c

 Andrew