Hello

Im thinking about purchasing an airbursh for the very fine camo detailing on some armor. If someone has some of the newer equipment or has a good recommendation I would appreciate it. Ive been looking at the Badger 150 and the 175 Cresendio.....Thoughts?

Thanks
Orion

I purchased the 175 Cresendo about 7 months ago and I love it.. I use the fine needle to spray enamals and never had a bit of trouble with it.. I mainly use it for general coverage or masked off camo as I cannot seem to get very fine lines with it. ( I'm talking panel line shading thin here) Prob because My finger is too heavy on the trigger and I've only been airbrushing for a year or so., I've heard some say they can get a fairly fine line with it.

I recently purchaced a Badger univerial 360.. which can be siphon feed or gravity feed. and with it I can spray a pretty thin fine line with it. Although this is rather pricey... I purchased mine at hobbytown with the hobbytown logo on it.. cost around $99 if you can find it. which is a little cheaper than ones that say badger, but they are the same airbrush.

the 360 also has nice general coverage, although I think the spray pattern is slightly smaller than the 175..

with these 2 airbrushs I feel there is nothing I can't do in model building.

I think the answers to your questions could be as varied as the choice of paints that are out there. At this price they should all be good, but its experience that makes it the best airbrush..... meaning the one that suits your particulr needs and the one that you are comfartable with.
What I use is a "Harder & Steenbeck" Evolution. Costs aroun $130. Was tipped this by members of the stockholm IPMS and most of them swear by it. This does all I need and I am happy with it. I also have a $30 airbrush (a badger copy) for the last 2 years and I use this quite a lot and is perfect for general airbrush work.

Orion,
I have not experience with the airbrush you're looking at. I had in the past a couple of airbrushes and one of those was a Badger. Since my wife gave me an Aztech 470 as a present I've sold the others because I can do with it whatever I wish. On top of that you have a wide choice of nozzles and the maintenance is very straightforward...
Ciao

I'm with Scoccia, I have an Aztek 470 and it works great. The clean up and set up take little time and is easy. It's lighter than other airbrushes, so this takes some getting used to if you are used to the metal ones. Happy shopping.

Totally agree with the Aztek 470. :-)
I have a Paasche VL aswell, but the Aztek is the one i always use. :-) :-)

I too have the Aztek 470 and swear by it. I had a Paasche before this one and HATED it. It was more trouble than it was worth.

I have an article on airbrushing, the author, recommended
Richpen,and that it does very clean fine lines.

I have the Badger Crescendo also, use it for rough work and any acrylic spraying. I use the medium nozzle and needle in it.

For fine work I have an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. It is gravity fed, has a large cup, and for fine lines it is amazing. Compared to my BAdger it is more like an instrument where the Badger is more like a tool. The Iwatas used to be expensive, but you can get an eclipse and a braided hose for under $100 from bear-air or dixie art.

I had an Aztek, and didn't like it at all. No offense to those who do, but I thought it didn't compare at all to my Badger or especially my Iwata.

See if you can use one before you buy. At least hold one in your hand and see how it feels, as once you buy it you will be spending lots of hours together...

HTH,

Scott

Is the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS hard to use...is the paint cup open or is there a cover for the top to keep from spilling the paint out of the cup? This may sound like a dumb question but I have never used a gravity feed unit before.
Thanks
Orion

Ditto on the 470. I love it.

Before that, I really liked the Badger 350 that I used (mostly with the fine tip) for many years and many models.

Aztek 470 is a very good adquisition if you planning to get an airbrush. I had really good results with it. Listen to these guys, they know what they are talking about.

Orion,
I have an Aztec 470 that I use for general and large coverage areas, and I also have an Iwata HP-B that I use for detail work. I have had the Iwata for a little over a year now and I find I am using it more and more. I can use it to "dust" an AFV, but I can also do camo freehand that almost looks like hardedge the lines are so fine. I had never used an airbrush with a gravity feed till the Iwata and I was a little worried that the paint would spill out easily but I have not had any problem with it. I have also found the Iwata very easy to clean. IMHO I think Iwata makes one of the better, if not the best airbrushs around. Check out dixieart.com, when I bought mine they had the best prices around.

Mike

Aztek 470 over here and I love every inch of it.