since july of 03 ive been on a quest to find the perfect combo for my airbrushing needs. its been a long, costly, and frustrating journey but it has finally come to an end. i just got up from my workbench actually feeling elated for the first time in a long time. yes, im a rookie in this hobby, but i still expect near perfection from myself because i love detail. i would look at finishes in fsm mag and look at mine and there was just that "crispness" missing.
a couple of weeks ago, i had a little change goin' jingle, lingle, lang so i said to myself, "self, lets order another airbrush to try out just for the heck of it." that airbrush was an iwata hp-c.
now, straight out of the box i was less than happy with the initial results. the brush came with the .2mm nozzle/needle combo and little did i know this was a wee bit small for the viscosity of model paints (mostly tamiya acrylics). i would thin then chagrin. tweak and peak and fuss and cuss (well, maybe not cuss but it rymed). i read on this forum that the eclipse was the best out of the box to spray model paints with so, i was getting geared up to order an eclipse when low and behold, there on dixieart's web page my eyeballs settled on a .4mm conversion kit for way cheaper than i could get an iwata eclipse for so i decided to purchase the conversion kit along with some superlube. i live in alabama and im about to start a house next week and the architect im working with is from guess where? you got it......New Orleans!!! she was coming to meet me today and she called me and said she was about to pick up some dry cleaning and she would be on here way to my part of the country to work out the final details of the prints before i got started monday. i ask if she had heard of dixieart and being an architect she had made several purchases from them. so, i ask if she would mind picking up the conversion kit and superlube before she headed my way and she said sure. so she arrived, we worked out the details, and i scampered back to my workbench with said items in tow. made all the neccesary parts swaps with to convert to .4mm and BAM!!!!!!!!! PURE, UNADULTERATED AIRBRUSH UTOPIA GUYS!!!!!!!!!! i mean i achieved fine line with the ultimate ease. broad coverage with silky smoothness. out of ignorance, i purchased the hp-c when i should have purchased the cheaper eclipse with the .35mm nozzle/needle combo for alot less, but im used to reaching over my left shoulder with my right hand to wipe my behind! oh well, the .4mm needle/nozzle combo is the right combo for me!! i finally achieved that "crispness" that ive been looking for for some time now. just thought id share my sheer excitement for this hobby. i was seriously thinking of giving it up until now. i used to be pro omni (not that my 5000 is a bad airbrush), but the hp-c with the .4mm needle/nozzle combo will be the airbrush for me. it will be a long, long time before i think about purchasing another airbrush. when i do, it'll be an iwata! later.