Hi all,

I am thinking of getting an airbrush. Which a/b are you guys using? Looking at one in which there wouldn't be much of a problem getting replacement parts for.

My friend has this Gunze a/b and he told me that it's a little troublesome when it comes to using it with Tamiya paints.

Thanks.

TJ,

i'm using Aztek A470 set and Tamiya SUperfine...both are connected to my compressor

but i rarelyt using the tamiya SF..mainly becoz i didnt master it yet

so i think i want to sell the set

some say it was the best ab ever beside IWATA but i prefer my aztek...

so if u're interested, i can sell it to u together with the gunze airhose and connector set

give me email [email protected] (remove no spam)...

price is reasonable la

hi Target_J..

if you're on a budget, like me, can go for a cheapo one..... i bought my compressor from Hobby HQ for rn450 and airbrush handpiece for rm150 from an artshop in bandar sunway....

incidentally, i am using my 2nd compressor (the 1st one broke down, bought it from hobby HQ 6 years ago) and 4th handpiece since 1998.. ! (first two the needle got bent and the 3rd was not working -got dried paint after left unused for >1 year) .

i'm using Aztek A470 set and Tamiya SUperfine...both are connected to my compressor

but i rarelyt using the tamiya SF..mainly becoz i didnt master it yet

so i think i want to sell the set

some say it was the best ab ever beside IWATA but i prefer my aztek...

so if u're interested, i can sell it to u together with the gunze airhose and connector set

give me email [email protected] (remove no spam)...

price is reasonable la[/quote]

Yo Boss man

I think yours is the most expensive a/b among ours. The A470 come in a wooden box plus all the extras and is metal ? Maaaan......lucky dude. I just got a new A4305 on eBay. It's in attractive black but I didn't know it has a plastic body and thin plastic hose when I went for it. Cost me a bit more than my Badger 150 which incidently also bought on auction. The 150 I bought about a year and a half ago ( I used to handpaint my models ! ) was a better deal - braided hose with inline moisture trap and a brass coupling ready to fit my compressor. Metal, and heavier for better weight distribution. Overuse killed it...in three places, mind you ! Contacted Badger and they suggested I get a new one at 40% discount rather than repair. Sounded great but the shipping via carrier of their choice was too high for it to be cost effective. Necessity being the mother of invention, I fixed it ! Working good as new now...until the patchwork comes off ( I hope it'll hold longer ).

I'd still recommend the 150 but take cake when connecting the hose to the valve casing. This can come off in the long run if not handled properly. Cheapos aside, this is the best ' imported mid range' around. If one can afford to invest a little more then the Badger 155 Anthem would be the ideal choice. One needle only for fine to larger spray with a twist of the knob. Easy cleaning too. If nothing major breaks, replacement parts are readily available for both the 150 and 155 from Squadron at reasonable prices and shipping.

Azteks have their good points too - inter changing nozzles for one. And you don't have to clean, soak or wash the entire a/b chamber but just the nozzles. Also their gravity feed system has it's advantages over suction feed ( I still prefer the latter ). Has something to do with better spary distribution but I offhand I can't recall without reference from where I read this.

To recap, if one is looking to buy an Aztek, go for the metal one in wooden case with all the goodies. The plastic range is not for the faint hearted coz it's lighweight nature makes one tend to press harder in order to get the feel of the spray and there is a 'recoil' feeling' either real or imagined which can only be experienced when actually using them. My opinion though and does not necessarily discourage one from giving it a try. Perhaps I'm too used to my metal Badger. Hope this is helpful to anyone in our community looking to buy an a/b.

So....Boss man, is your Tamiya Superfine double action, internal mix or otherwise ? I might be interested if I can sell a few builds to finance it. So far I've only seen Tamiya external mix / single action 'air guns' which cost a bomb - RM200 plus I think. My 150 cost me USD60 incl shipping so compare-a-neh.

Happy spraying, guys........

Hi

The RM450 compressor I suppose is a small, oil less, quiet table top without air tank ? A real 'cheapo' would be the bulkier RM240 made in Taiwan or China ones. These have it's advantages. The reserve air tank means the compressor doesn't have to be pumping all the time saving on wear and tear. Pressure can be increased to higher than 30 psi which is around the maximum of the table tops. This is useful when needed. Better atomisation of spray and you're going to need it when handling certain mediums. Believe me.

First one broke down ? Due to being 'on' every time the a/b is depressed to spray ? 'Cheapos' last longer and can be repaired by the hardware / machinery shop from where you bought it. Just ask the bicycle repairman or bike mechanic and they'll tell you about its durability and usefulness. Works on your flat tire too I might add ! The only drawbacks are the noise and size ( still fits under a classroom sized desk though ). One shop down south I know sells and sometimes have on offer these 'biggies' but 'goodies' is a machinery shop in Sg Buloh.

RM150 for a handpiece is not cheap. You can get a cheapo in Penang for RM110 - double action / internal mix / gravity or side feed. And what about replacement parts ? Not a big problem to replace the needle unless the shop where you got it doesn't do after sales. The money spent on the two 'cheapos' could've got you a much better imported model with replacement parts a plenty.

Dried paint ? If acrylics, try soaking in diluted Dynamo washing detergent overnight. For dried Future, try mineral spirits. Hope this gives you back your a/b and have 2 once more.

Btw, can't find a box big enuff to send the kit you ordered. Just arrived. Mighty big kit box for a MK I. Will send soon as I find something big enuff to pack it in.

Spray away, man.....

- patrick, the one i have is quite small less than 1 cubic ft and quiet too, even comes with a water trap but without the air tank. had it for almost a year and works just fine... as for my old compressor, i think it died of old age :-) but i don't really mind as it just cost rm350...

thanks for the tip on cleaning the h/p.... i'll try that someday.. if i can find it somewhere among the junk....

btw, how did you get the kit so quick? great service there... and the price is wayyy reasonable too. thanks again..

Hi all,

Mojimbo, i saw the compressor you mentioned in HobbyHQ. Is it ok?

I was looking at several art shops as well. One in Sunway is selling a 2 h/p desktop compressor for 700+. Another art shop i went to is selling a desktop compressor for 350, but i think it doesn't have a moisture trap. Is the moisture trap essential. It is able to go up to 30 psi though.

Also, as i was going through the Yellow Pages looking for a compressor, i noticed that Iwata has a local office. You can get any of their airbrushes or compressor locally close to the same price as eBay auctions. Their a/b are more affordable than the Tamiyas on sale. But the compressor costs 1600.

Is Iwata really that good that everyone that uses it swear by it?

Hi Mojimbo,

If the Aztec breaks down, how do you get it fixed? Are they easily dismantled like the other brands?

Thanks.

target j... the comp i bought from hhq works great & i have no complaints about it... it's well worth the money. also better get one with a moisture trap as it avoids water being sprayed on the model...

the one from hhq is the silver one right? comes with m.trap and adjustable pressure up to 80psi... all for just rm450.

btw, i dont use aztek hp... maybe silantra has some expertise on this. i got mine (brandless? from taiwan/china i think) from an artshop fro rm150 in bdr sunway, behind one academy..

hope it helps....

Patirck aka HT,
sorry for the long delay..been to offshore........

to answer a few question of yours...

the aztek A4709 is old set....plastic body and with wooden box...i was so damn lucky to have this set for only US 68 and shipping is just USD 7.50... i recalled it's just a mistake made by the hobby shop in the US... the set originally sold for US89.90 and once the shop offer 25% discount for purchase over US100..so i order the A/B plus a few small item ie paintbrush, spare blades, tiny drill bits to make my order US100...the i've been discounted ...and once i check out, the system fail to realised that i'm not from the US..as i choose ground shipping then for local US ground it was US 7.50 for postage......i was lucky that they didnt know it..well this is called cheating but the system is doing the cheating for me....
i receive the a/b about 3 months later, genap2 on my birthday....
was i lucky??

aztek comes with a lifetime warranty...once i noticed that the join between the body seems to cracked so i emailed testors..and without delay, they ask me to contact their Aussie agent for further instructions..i emailed their aussie agent and then they send me the new replacement body...just as simple as that...no question asked!!

then on 2002 ( i guess..) i bought the Tamiya SF SUperfine.... it was double action, internal mix, gravity feed brush...metal....can spray close to 2mm to hairline....very fine.... but i seems to love my aztek then tamiya....
this set come at it is..so i have to buy adapter set for my compressor, i found one set from gunze named Mr. Connector which consist of 3 pieces of adapter that can be fit to standard 1/8 or 1/4 connector hose....then i bought the coiled hose from gunze called Mr Hose... then a few other fitting to connect to my compressor..now i have 2 airbrush on one compressor that can be use simultaneously...

but i seldomly use my tamiya SF....i prefer Aztek...it's been more then 5 month i never use it, but i frequently do a preventive maintenance on both of my brush...

if u like, i can sell it to you....

pls email me if u're interested




Yo Boss man

I think yours is the most expensive a/b among ours. The A470 come in a wooden box plus all the extras and is metal ? Maaaan......lucky dude. I just got a new A4305 on eBay. It's in attractive black but I didn't know it has a plastic body and thin plastic hose when I went for it. Cost me a bit more than my Badger 150 which incidently also bought on auction. The 150 I bought about a year and a half ago ( I used to handpaint my models ! ) was a better deal - braided hose with inline moisture trap and a brass coupling ready to fit my compressor. Metal, and heavier for better weight distribution. Overuse killed it...in three places, mind you ! Contacted Badger and they suggested I get a new one at 40% discount rather than repair. Sounded great but the shipping via carrier of their choice was too high for it to be cost effective. Necessity being the mother of invention, I fixed it ! Working good as new now...until the patchwork comes off ( I hope it'll hold longer ).

I'd still recommend the 150 but take cake when connecting the hose to the valve casing. This can come off in the long run if not handled properly. Cheapos aside, this is the best ' imported mid range' around. If one can afford to invest a little more then the Badger 155 Anthem would be the ideal choice. One needle only for fine to larger spray with a twist of the knob. Easy cleaning too. If nothing major breaks, replacement parts are readily available for both the 150 and 155 from Squadron at reasonable prices and shipping.

Azteks have their good points too - inter changing nozzles for one. And you don't have to clean, soak or wash the entire a/b chamber but just the nozzles. Also their gravity feed system has it's advantages over suction feed ( I still prefer the latter ). Has something to do with better spary distribution but I offhand I can't recall without reference from where I read this.

To recap, if one is looking to buy an Aztek, go for the metal one in wooden case with all the goodies. The plastic range is not for the faint hearted coz it's lighweight nature makes one tend to press harder in order to get the feel of the spray and there is a 'recoil' feeling' either real or imagined which can only be experienced when actually using them. My opinion though and does not necessarily discourage one from giving it a try. Perhaps I'm too used to my metal Badger. Hope this is helpful to anyone in our community looking to buy an a/b.

So....Boss man, is your Tamiya Superfine double action, internal mix or otherwise ? I might be interested if I can sell a few builds to finance it. So far I've only seen Tamiya external mix / single action 'air guns' which cost a bomb - RM200 plus I think. My 150 cost me USD60 incl shipping so compare-a-neh.

Happy spraying, guys........ [/quote]