_GOTOBOTTOM
AFV Painting & Weathering
Answers to questions about the right paint scheme or tips for the right effect.
Hosted by Darren Baker, Matthew Toms
Time for my first airbrush
Halps_123
Visit this Community
Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Joined: July 08, 2016
KitMaker: 21 posts
Armorama: 21 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 03:23 PM UTC
Hi all,

So it's time for me to buy my first airbrush and I'm tossing up between either the Iwata Eclipse CS or the Iwata Revolution CR at the moment.

What are people's thoughts on these? Or do you have any other suggestions?

I build WW2 armor and aircraft if that helps.

Thanks for any help
McRunty
#491
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: April 06, 2016
KitMaker: 602 posts
Armorama: 191 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 05:53 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi all,

So it's time for me to buy my first airbrush and I'm tossing up between either the Iwata Eclipse CS or the Iwata Revolution CR at the moment.

What are people's thoughts on these? Or do you have any other suggestions?

I build WW2 armor and aircraft if that helps.

Thanks for any help


I have the Revolution CR and it was also my first airbrush. I can heartily recommend it. Its very forgiving for a novice (well it was for me) Easy to use, easy to break down for cleaning and rugged. I have dropped it on my concrete floor a few times with no damage.
Halps_123
Visit this Community
Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Joined: July 08, 2016
KitMaker: 21 posts
Armorama: 21 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 06:09 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I have the Revolution CR and it was also my first airbrush. I can heartily recommend it. Its very forgiving for a novice (well it was for me) Easy to use, easy to break down for cleaning and rugged. I have dropped it on my concrete floor a few times with no damage.


Thanks for your comments Rory, much appreciated. Great to hear that it is forgiving for a novice as that will be essential for my first. Also like that it is a bit cheaper than the CS and easy to clean.

As I've never used an airbrush before I'm not sure what actual needle sizes can produce in real life.. I know the eclipse is .35 and the revolution is .5 and unsure how much of a difference this is?

I guess my question is, would the .5 needle still be appropriate for panel lines, line work as well base coats and German camo patterns?

Sorry if these seem like dumb questions
Venko555
Visit this Community
Bulgaria
Joined: December 07, 2013
KitMaker: 908 posts
Armorama: 698 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 06:26 PM UTC
I have Eclipse CS and highly recommend it for all around airbrush. Very sturdy, easy to clean and you can do very fine lines, even with its 0.35mm nozzle. Although I have Harder Infinity CR Plus, for most of the work I'm using the HP-CS.

You can also take a look at Evolution series, very nice brushes, you can buy 2 in 1 with 0.2 and 0.4mm nozzles and that is all you need for precise work and general painting, priming, varnishing etc.

But maybe all depends on the availability of spare parts

Best advice I can give is to buy airbrush with self-centering nozzle, not those with screw-they can brake easy.

Cheers!
McRunty
#491
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: April 06, 2016
KitMaker: 602 posts
Armorama: 191 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 09:44 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I have the Revolution CR and it was also my first airbrush. I can heartily recommend it. Its very forgiving for a novice (well it was for me) Easy to use, easy to break down for cleaning and rugged. I have dropped it on my concrete floor a few times with no damage.


Thanks for your comments Rory, much appreciated. Great to hear that it is forgiving for a novice as that will be essential for my first. Also like that it is a bit cheaper than the CS and easy to clean.

As I've never used an airbrush before I'm not sure what actual needle sizes can produce in real life.. I know the eclipse is .35 and the revolution is .5 and unsure how much of a difference this is?

I guess my question is, would the .5 needle still be appropriate for panel lines, line work as well base coats and German camo patterns?

Sorry if these seem like dumb questions


I will be honest, I wouldn't recommend it for intricate work. You can do thin lines but it takes some practice because, at least for me, the margin between spatter and a nice neat line is very narrow.

Base coats and german camo are not a problem. I have done both. Ive also used it to spray 1/48 scale aircraft and 1/350 ships with no issues.

It does work for me but I also know that at some point I will be getting another airbrush (0.2 or 0.3) for the fine detail stuff like those thin lines and figures.
flippen_waffles
Visit this Community
California, United States
Joined: June 01, 2010
KitMaker: 143 posts
Armorama: 116 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 09:54 PM UTC
Great choices on a first airbrush. Can't go wrong with Iwata, I have 5 of them, lol.

The ones you have picked out are good brushes, I have and use both of them myself. In my experience, the CR (.5mm needle) is a little too big for modeling. It's good for laying down primer and single color base coats but you will find yourself struggling to achieve fine lines, which, with some German camo is all there is.

The Eclipse (.35mm needle) would allow you to paint finer lines easier than the CR would. The fluid nozzle design makes it to where you have to wrench down on the head cap to make the nozzle seal against the airbrush. If you don't, paint will leak out the caps.

flippen_waffles
Visit this Community
California, United States
Joined: June 01, 2010
KitMaker: 143 posts
Armorama: 116 posts
Posted: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 10:10 PM UTC
The rest of my post got cut off.

If I may recommend an airbrush, its worth looking at the tamiya HG superfine airbrush or any of the Iwata airbrushes with a .2 mm needle. You will have an easier time spraying fine lines with minimal over spray and will still be able to lay down primer/base coats. I find myself using the Tamiya the most when it comes to modeling.

Hope this helps and let me know if I can help. Also, ebay is a good place to get an airbrush. You can easily find brand new ones for much cheaper than most stores have them listed for, often times with free shipping.
Hisham
Visit this Community
Al Qahirah, Egypt / لعربية
Joined: July 23, 2004
KitMaker: 6,856 posts
Armorama: 6,363 posts
Posted: Thursday, July 14, 2016 - 11:49 PM UTC
I strongly recommend the Revolution, especially for a first AB. It's excellent for general base coat application.. AND when you get used to it and get used to the paints you use and the correct dilution (and air pressure if you will be getting a compressor).. you can actually use it to spray freehand cammo.. One of the guys here suggested it to me, and I tried it and it worked great.. I just removed the crown.. diluted the paint more than I usually do.. dialed down the pressure to between 10-15 psi... and held the AB very close to the model surface.. and it sprayed beautifully with minimal over-spray.. So, it really is an excellent all rounder.

Hisham
Me109G
Visit this Community
United States
Joined: December 12, 2007
KitMaker: 170 posts
Armorama: 138 posts
Posted: Friday, July 15, 2016 - 01:12 AM UTC
Jimmy,
I've used the Ieata Revolution CR & the NEO too. Both are nice airbrushes. They're easy to use, clean and are very rugged.
Halps_123
Visit this Community
Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Joined: July 08, 2016
KitMaker: 21 posts
Armorama: 21 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 16, 2016 - 06:59 AM UTC
Thank you all very much for your suggestions and comments about performance of the airbrushes I'm looking at. Makes it a lot easier to base my decision off input from modelers who have used them and know how they perform!

Thanks also flippen_waffles for the suggestion I'll take a look at the Tamiya AB

Thanks all and happy modeling
Belt_Fed
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: February 02, 2008
KitMaker: 1,388 posts
Armorama: 1,325 posts
Posted: Saturday, July 16, 2016 - 08:00 AM UTC
I have both airbrushes. the eclipse is far more versitile. i love it and is my primary airbrush.
 _GOTOTOP