Ok, my Iwata HP-BH, started to give trouble after working flawlessly for 8 years or so, never asking for a replacement of parts... I bought it on an airbrush show after my trusted Paasche V#1 was stolen when I decided to interrupt demonstrating and start walk around to see what else was going on at the fair. Almost immediately after I bought it (at the Airbrush-Services Almere stand) my business partner of that time tripped over the hose.
The HP-BH fell on the floor and since I never use the handle the needle was drilled into the nozzle. I thought the gun was a goner, I had to use a pair of pliers to pull out the needle... it was jammed into the brush, but much to my surprise it continued to spray well. And did so for the following 8 years... Talk about quality. I wouldn't recommend hitting the back end of the needle with a hammer while it's still in the airbrush, but obviously it can take a pounding.
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| Iwata Custom Micron CM-SB |
The HP-BH fell on the floor and since I never use the handle the needle was drilled into the nozzle. I thought the gun was a goner, I had to use a pair of pliers to pull out the needle... it was jammed into the brush, but much to my surprise it continued to spray well. And did so for the following 8 years... Talk about quality. I wouldn't recommend hitting the back end of the needle with a hammer while it's still in the airbrush, but obviously it can take a pounding.
Because I am planning to conduct classes, I needed a gun that I could rely on. Went to Almere to buy spare parts for the HP-BH, but while driving I got visions about the Iwata Custom Micron CM-SB that had good reviews on the Internet. Bas van Duyvenbode and I had a little discussion on which Custom Micron was better - the Iwata Custom Micron CM-B or the -SB. Although the gravity feed of the former theoretically is supposed to be technically superior, we were both inclined towards the SB (for reasons not entirely clear).
In my case that probably has to do with the former Paasche tradition to make the distance between tip and lever as small as possible. The Iwata Custom Micron CM-SB also leans towards this method of construction, much to my delight ...
Such a construction gives more control over where the paint hits the surface and also pleases the artists who say that the gravity feed cup is blocking their vision (which is not true of course because the airbrush is always used off-center relative to the artist's eyes position). First tests are really good; the SB is really responsive and allows delicate nuance to be sprayed. From now on I consider myself to be an Iwata-fan.
