Matt308
Glock Perfection
Given that the needle, and the nozzle, are well machined, and manufactured from good-quality metals, almost any airbrush will provide the required spray accuracy, defined by the nozzle/needle diameter. With time, softer, or cheaper materials will wear, which will cause variations in the set spray pattern, and probably uneven delivery of paint, with 'spitting', or pulsing. (the latter mainly due to a completely 'knackered' main seal, causing uneven air flow.)
However, the important part for control, is the clutch.
The quality of the clutch tensioner, and it's ability to maintain the set tension, in many ways marks the quality of any particular air brush. Cheaper copies of 'top brand' brushes such as Iwata, may, and more than likely do, use lower quality materials, which will probably lead to shorter overall life, as the clutch tension becomes more and more difficult to maintain.
That said, if, for example, an 'AB' airbrush performs satisfactorily for, say, two years, and can be 're-juvenated' by 're-building' with new, spare parts at a reasonable cost, then this has to be balanced against the initial cost of a 'top brand' air brush.
At the moment, I can't justify spending £150 to £200, or more, on an air brush, even if it will outlast me.
I can, however, justify spending £20+ on an acceptable air brush, maybe every two or three years which, allowing for time, fiddling, inconvenience, and the cost of spare parts, is probably cheaper than re-building the originally purchased 'brush. Given I'm physically able to continue modelling for another 15 years or so (by which time I'll be 76), and I have to replace an airbrush every 3 years, then, at an equivalent price of £20, every three years, that's £100 - still a lot less than the more expensive alternatives which, over time, would still need money spent on them to maintain serviceability!
As a side note, my very first air brush, bought 35 years ago, but lost in a house move some four years later, was the then new, and quite revolutionary, 'Humbrol Studio One', which was a metal, double action, gravity fed 'brush, with a then unique single, slide-action trigger, with the air hose feeding into the end of the body. This was a truly superb, very accurate instrument, capable of very fine line work, as well as a spray pattern up to about 3/4 inch, if m y memory serves me. Theywere not cheap, as the AB 'brushes are, but compared to the average cost of an air brush in those days, they were by no means expensive, very far from it.
Whether they disappeared due to the changes of ownership of Humbrol at the time, or due to pricing, I don't know - perhaps Humbrol under-priced them drastically, leading to a loss - but it really was a superb, very wel
Now that is a well researched, validated and an honest post. That was wonderful information and wisdom to live by. Thanks for that.
