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Airbrush Triple Treat Comparison

Comparisons

Impression

When you open the boxes on all three of these brushes your first impression will be good. You get a rush from cosmetic 'sexyness' to streamlined engineering.

The Talon looks great in a two tone color scheme. With a cut out on the tail cap it looks like it will do the job. Not only will the eagle on the cup make the cup look good, the size of the cup will hold enough paint for any job. Picking up the Talon you'll feel the brushed metal surface next to polished metal and it feels good, the balance is good and this brush feels like it will do the job.

The G35 gets your attention in the nice clear box with a great polished finish. The weight and balance of this brush will impress you. It looks and feels like it will be a formidable tool.

The BR comes across as a formal high end tool with the great looking packaging. Once inside the box a polished finish pleases your eyes. As you pick up the brush you'll notice its light and has a professional feel. The cosmetic lines of the brush are nice.

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For the first impression I have to give it to the Talon. The two tone color and eagle etching is awesome. The crisp cut lines of the needle cap cut out looks great. The crown shaped nozzle cap is a very impressive look. The next up would have to be the Revolution BR. Its take on a clean simplistic elegant look is very good. The last on the list is the G35. This is a nice looking brush and wont' leave a bad first impression; it's a little farther down the list.
Top of the Impression Heap - Paasche – Talon

Features

The general engineering of the brush is how well it is built and assembled. How well do the moving parts slide together, react against each other? How smooth is the air flow.

General engineering of the Revolution BR is rock solid. The quality and preciseness of the parts is top quality. The tolerance between the parts is tight and the responsiveness is smooth. This brush will last a long time. The G35 is a really nice brush also. The weight and basic design slot this one slightly under the BR. The tolerances and responsiveness of the brush make me believe it will last a long time and will do its job well. The Talon is the bottom of the list on this. The feel of the pieces is a bit 'loose'. The needle chucking nut required a great deal of force to loosen. This part could have used another thread on it. This may have been just my sample. This one comes across as just another brush. It will last a long time with care. The need for a hose adapter is another reason it's lower. Fewer parts are easier.

How many parts and how easy are they to access. The G35 and Revolution BR are equal on this one; basically they are the same construction with the same parts. The Talon is not far behind. It has a few more parts to deal with, the hose adapter and the pre-set needle stop.

Another aspect of features is Add On's or Value added features. The Talon wins this with its pre-set needle stop and needle cap cutout for easy access to the needle. The G35 is next, it comes with an additional crown nozzle tip for an alternate spray flow protection. The Revolution BR is a one function brush.

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I have to give this category to the Talon; it just came with more features. The pre-set needle stop, cut away and large cup with cap jump this brush to the top. The quality is solid and worth of this level of brush. The G35 was right behind it, the middle sized cup with lid and crown nozzle cap slide it in above the Revolution BR. The Revolution BR is a solid well engineered brush; it just has one use, small scale brushing.
Top of the Features Heap - Paasche – Talon

General Quality

All these airbrushes are targeting almost the same market - small scale model painting. So the way these brushes spray thin lines is very important. In looking at how these brushes sprayed I give the Revolution BR a very slight edge. It sprayed nice and consistently and had a solid range from very fine to decently wide. The G35 was a close second. The sizes of the lines this can achieve were good and small; the top end was a bit larger. The Talon brings up the rear with lines a bit harder to create. Its market is a bit different and is trying to do a bit more.

Triggers are key elements of any brush and their movement is key to control and good results. I personally give the trigger rank to the G35, the flat surface with the traction ridges was my personal favorite. I was not a fan of the concave versions of the other two. Given a choice I would pick the G35. The movement of the G35 was nice and smooth too. I was able to control it well. The Revolution BR was next with classic Iwata feel. It was easy to use and the slide of the trigger was nice. The Talon has a small 'bump' getting the trigger moving. Once over the bump it was smooth.

The way the brush feels in your hand is very important. If you can't get a comfortable grip on the brush you don't have an easy time using it. This criterion can be a bit different for each person so read and interpret what I am writing as it relates to your own hands. I rate the G35 at the top of the pile. It is evenly balanced and sits well in my hand. The length of the brush and positioning of the air valve and trigger worked well together. Where this brush took top billing is in that it has the 'collar' under the front end down to the air value. The way this brush sat in my hand I used that collar as a resting place against my finger tips giving me better control over the brush. I didn't feel like I had to wrap my hand around it and rotate my wrist to get good trigger control. The Revolution BR comes in second because it is a bit lighter and a smidge better balanced. The Talon is a bit front heavy and has a hefty feel to it.

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I’m going to give this category to the G35. The engineering is solid, the feel is great. The trigger action and needle slide are top quality. The Revolution BR is right behind it falling in hand feel slightly. I did some extra brushing with it and found my hand tightening up with it. The Talon comes in a respectable third.
Top of the Heap - Premi-Air - G35

Detail Painting

The main goal of these brushes is tight small scale painting and I put them through four detail tests: the bridge, the M6, engine deck and camo. With all these test I wanted to see how the brush works by itself with different paint and subjects. I purposefully did not use any masking agents so I could get an idea of things like over spray, spatter, and paint control.

The bridge was a test with Tamiya paint and tight spaces for coverage and shadowing. I give this one to the Revolution BR. It had very good control and Tamiya paints worked really well with it. There was no hesitation of the paint and the control was super. The G35 was a close second offering nice rock solid control and good coverage. Both of these brushes would give you the confidence that you can spray tightly and not worry about the surrounding areas. The Talon was good and did a nice job. The pre-set needle stop was adequate and helped a bit. For a newer painter it would help more.

The M6 anti tank car and the Engine deck test were looking for control and overspray issues with a different paint. This paint was a Life Color paint. The Talon came to the top with this paint. It covered better and retained its control longer. It sprayed more evenly and did not sputter or spider the paint. The G35 gave me nice control and good coverage. The Revolution BR required a bit more focus on my part and few extra passes to get coverage. All three gave good control and responded well.

The camo pattern test was probably what German Armor builders want to see. Can you do an Ambush pattern with these brushes? All three did well and it was close. I have to say that the Revolution BR rises a bit higher than the others. The even ness and control were great. Even using two different paints, the brush managed them both well. The G35 was next up and gave a very respectable result. The Talon comes in third because of the required adjustment of the pre-set needle stop.

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Overall detail work across the different tests the brushes all worked very respectfully. I would say that the Revolution BR came across a bit better. Iwata earned its reputation for a reason. The brush worked well across the different paint conditions and test types. The G35 comes in a close second. Simple straight forward operation and good results is what brings this up. The Talon worked well and did its job nicely.
Top of the Heap for Detail Paint - Iwata - Revolution BR

Cleaning

Each brush had its challenge when it came to cleaning. On a routine basis I would say I would want the G35, it’s only slightly better than the Revolution BR. The cup cap was the reason. I could cover it and shake it a bit to get cleaner over the entire cup. Then spray it out. The G35 and Revolution BR cleaned well running cleaner through them. The nozzle was very small and required a special wrench. The Talon's challenge was the multiple diameters and the tight needle chucking nut.

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All required care and attention here. The differences were slight and I would give this to the G35, then the Revolution BR next, the Talon right behind.
Top of the Heap for Cleaning- Premi-Air - G35

Cost

These brushes come out at varying price points
Premi- Air G35 - is set at £29.99, as of today this is $51.00
Iwata - Revolution BR is set at £69.99, as of today this is $120.00
Paasche Talon - is set at £79.99, as of today this is $138.00

Top of the Heap Review

	Top	Middle	Bottom
Impression	Talon	BR	G35
Features	Talon	G35	BR
Quality	G35	BR	Talon
Painting	BR	G35
Talon
Cleaning	G35	BR	Talon
Cost	G35	BR	Talon

Pros and Cons

	Pros	Cons
Premi-Air G35	Price! Detail Quality. Smooth. Nicely built	A bit hard to clean. Cup's small size.
Iwata Rev. BR	Name Brand. Detail Quality. Great feel.	Price. Cup size. One dimensional.
Paasche Talon	Multi-Tasking capabilities. Looks Great. Nice features.	Price. Needle chucking nut. Touchy.

Final thoughts

The Paasche Talon was a very capable brush and does a solid job. My final thought is that if you need just one brush this one would be a good choice. It does larger jobs like a base coat and it 'tightens' down and does small jobs very well. If you are just starting out then this could be a good brush. The pre-set needle stop would be a good way of learning control.

Premi-Air G35 is a fantastic brush and handles small jobs really well. The engineering is far above the price point. I did not convert British Pounds to Dollars until I was done with the testing phase of the review. I knew the brush was less expensive than the other two but wow, it really is. And for that price differential - you really have to look at this brush or this company. This is a great choice of brushes.

The Iwata Revolution BR is a star. It is a one dimensional star; it really is designed for small spaces and small job. There is no cross over functioning here. This is an investment tool; you will have this brush for a long time.

I would like to thank The Airbrush Company Ltd. for supplying these airbrushes for this feature.