Hi everyone,
My first post to this forum. I also wanted to thank the posters. The information here, as well as the link to the ARC forum, answered my questions about the Infinity. I pulled the trigger (ha, ha) and bought the Infinity two in one quick fix along with several accessories. I was in the market after a long hiatus from modeling. I already have an Iwata HP-SB and HP-B Plus, both outstanding airbrushes which have served me well spraying enamels. Having come back into modeling, and wanting to build some of my large scale aircraft models including the recent 1/32 Tamiya F-16, I also wanted to start using acrylic paints (apartment dweller) with the option to use enamels and metalizing laquers. I was looking for an airbrush with a fairly large color cup and larger needle/nozzle for the acrylic paints. A Google search landed me here. I looked up the Infinity and found my airbrushing nirvana.
For those of you still on the fence, I wanted to share my impressions and experience with this gem. The fit and finish are absolutely first rate with everything pefectly chrome plated except the handle, which is anodized aluminum. It feels well balanced and holds well, even with the 15 ml color cup I bought extra. The trigger is smooth in depression and pull, with the top nicely serrated for no slip. The quick fix works just like the adjustable handles on the Iwatas except you can negate the setting instantly by pulling back on the gold colored adjusting knob on the end. It clicks and stays back. To go back to the preset, simply press the silver button in the center of the knob and it springs back to the preset. Very much like a ball point pen. It came in handy when I was freehand painting the darker color of a two tone camo job. I started with a fine line preset to paint the demarcation and then pulled the knob to give me full paint for the fill in. It worked as advertized although honestly, I could just as easily have turned the knob to do the same in five seconds instead of two. Unlike the screwed on nozzle of the Iwatas, the nozzle, with teflon packing attached, slips into a precision bore and is held in by the screw on nozzle cap. The crown tip slips over the cap and is a friction (split ring) fit. This makes removing the nozzle for cleaning or replacing very much easier and less prone to damage since one doesn't need the small Iwata spanner. All the o-rings are made of Viton and packings are Teflon so even laquers are no problem. The color cups are screwed on very close to the base and are sealed by an o-ring held in a groove in the brush body. No leaks, and removing the color cup is a MAJOR improvement making cleaning way easier. Having the option to go with a 2, 5, or 15 ml color cup was the major sell for me. Icing on the cake are the optional side mounted siphon color jars (I bought that too since it was not outrageously expensive). This gives me total flexibility in how I want to paint, from fine lines to covering an F-15E in one shot, a little paint for a small job with less to clean using a small color cup, to holding enough paint to prime an entire model in one continuous spray. This is especially important to me when using the acrylics as they don't have those few seconds to dry at the tip as when adding more color to my HP-B. And speaking of the tip, the crown cap has two very fine points which are enough to protect the tip but make the tip completely accessible from the sides. When painting with the acrylics, any tendency to develop a build up was easily wiped away with an alcohol soaked Q-tip. I could not do that with the Iwata crown cap.
Well you ask, but how does it paint? It comes with the .15 and .4 mm nozzles and tips. Because of the post describing the .15 combo not being ideal for acrylics, I also bought the .2 mm set. It paints as well as my Iwatas using enamels and laquers with the .15 and .2 mm sets. In some ways I even believe it's slightly better in that I seem to get better atomization and the paint density across the paint pattern seems more uniform. I feel this is so because I seem to be moving along faster and not having to overlap as much to get uniform coverage. It also seems less prone to the paint drying partially before it hits the model in that I was able to paint from farther away from the model without developing a frosted finish. The paints I used were MM enamels, Humbrol enamels, Scalecoat II, Alclad II, and Floquil railroad colors and primer. My first experience with acrylics went perfectly. I finished a CSX Dark Future schemed locomotive using Polly scale and Modelflex acrylics, and I experimented with Tamiya acrylics on a styrene sheet. I used the .2 and .4 mm needle and nozzle sets. As I said before, changing them out is a toolless snap! (And yes, the needle can be removed from the front. Simply unscrew the cap and the nozzle slides out with it. The needle is then clearly visible surrounded by the o-ring. A push from the back and out it comes.) All the paints were thinned to a milk consistency except the modelflex, which sprayed out of the bottle. All went on as well as the enamels with no clogging. The .2 mm set did develop a hint of build up occasionally when using the Modelflex paint, but a quick side ways wipe to the accessible tip prevented any issues such as drying or spitting. The .4 mm set worked especially well in covering quickly with less pressure, but I had to be more careful so as not to get runs.
Lastly, my purchasing experience is always important to me and I'm sure to all of you as well. Mine was outstanding and the gentleman went a bit out of his way to anticipate and meet my needs, so I would like to thank Mike of Precision German Airbrush. He has a full inventory so I got all I wanted in one stop and the free shipping (I spent the required amount. Easy to do with the Infinity two in one) with lightning quick (two days USPS priority) delivery made my purchase a pleasure.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. It was a busy but fun day. Hope all of you had the same and thanks for all the great info you are willing to share.
PaulR