The first in a series of airbrush reviews, in which Paul Howard will take one airbrush each time, and using consistent methods, will demonstrate the qualities of each brush, so that they may be analysed and understood, as far as possible, on an even playing field

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Excellent article Paul, I look forward to read the rest of the series.

Thanks a lot!

This looks like an excellent and helpful series, Paul. Well done. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Nice article!
One question comes to mind, especially since I'm not that familiar with inches (few people here in Sweden are...). If my calculations are right 3/8" would be about 9-10mm? And 0.35" ought to be about the same? 0.25" something like 6,5mm? All these are quite large numbers for a detail brush. Isn't there a zero missing in some places? You have one result, the one with unthinned Vallejo Air as 0.045 (about 1.1mm), which feels like quite good result for this paint and airbrush combo.
I'm looking forward to see how you find the HP-B, and how it performs against the Velocity. Thanks again for an interesting article.

Magnus, I think you are correct, the widths given for the fine lines sound wrong in three places, perhaps I should have picked up on that during editing and checked with Paul.

If Paul would like to confirm those figures to me then I'll make the change.

Matthew

Matthew,
The Vallejo fine line should read .026 inch and the Tamiya measurements for fine lines should read .035 and .025 inch respectively. The number on my notes were correct but I fingered the data input. Sorry for for the confusion, and I would appreciate it very much if you would correct the error.

Cheers,
Paul H

Thanks Paul, I've corrected the inch figures and also added in metric conversions for all the figures; probably best if we follow that for subsequent reviews as well, if that's OK.

Thanks Matt,

I agree and have already starts that process for the next review.

Cheers,
PH

excellent and detailed review, sure to help many new to the hobby. i remember when i wanted to get an AB and had to search with a fine-toothed comb for relevant reviews

I do appreciate the feedback as it helps provide better information for our community. I started airbrushing models before the internet existed and remember getting "advice" from hobby store owners who didn't use an airbrush. I learned quickly that their recommendations where based on what the distributor had in stock!

Also, I've found that manufacturer recommended application charts are not very helpful since many of the people building models are more akin to artists than to someone who needs a refillable spray gun.

All brushes have strengths and weaknesses, and not all were made for the same purpose. My whole goal is for people to see how these brushes perform with modeling products versus those of automotive or illustration fields. That way they can decide how to spend their money with some expectation of suitable results.

Cheers,
PH