[rkapuaala]

When I ordered my steam oil from the Accucraft online store I couldn't resist looking through the other products they were offering,,, no Ida smokestack unfortunately, but they did have an airbrush for only 49 bucks. You can't tell from the description on their site or from the images, but this air brush is really a nice feeling piece tool. I have a couple of other airbrushes, a badger and a cheapy HF one that I picked up a few years ago for 29 bucks. The HF one felt like it would fall apart in my hands the first time I picked it up.
The Badger is only slightly better and I paid 90 bucks for it.
Now, mind you, I haven't tried this one out yet, but for feel and looks alone it gets a 5 thumbs up. It is a solid piece of steel right down to the needle adjustment cover which has a slot so the needle is protected, but you can make the fine adjustments to it without removing the cover (my badger and my HF don't have this feature).

The brush comes with a nice hose like the badger did but with a little bonus, a slip coupler so you don't have to turn off the air and unscrew the brush if you need to wash it out. NICE FEATURE.
The brush itself is heavy, like the badger, but is thin, not like the Cuban cigar sized badger, and it has a nice feel to it like balance or something.

I can't wait to try it out, if it works only half is good as it looks and feels then it will be just as good as my badger. If it works better than my badger then its a steal at 49 bucks, and I'll go back and buy another one.

 

[rkapuaala]

Joe,
www.accucraft.com

 

[rkapuaala]

The wife is away, doing that after thanksgiving shopping thing, but its sort of wet and gray outside. I'm waiting on my steam pressure gauge for my Ruby project and can't move forward on it so decided to tryout my new accucraft air brush and finish a little more on my tender.
I lettered my tender which has been setting around waiting for me to finish the Ruby project then I used the brush to weather it and the loco. Here is what I found.
- Both my badger and the accucraft perform good on 10 psi of pressure (got a new gauge for this test and it measures in increments of 1 psi)
- I preformed what I call a whoops I got to pick up the phone test where I leave the air brush alone for about 3 minutes and then come back and tried to resume painting. The Badger clogged up (as always) but the accucraft did no.
- It didn't take long to weather the tender, so, I tested my duration spaying. Donning my respirator and grabbing a card board box I began, painting the box with the accucraft. I got the whole box painted and didn't feel like I had to set the brush down. I can't do that with the Badger, for one, my finger gets tired on that little button,,, I know,,, I know why don't you use that nice rubber pad that comes with the brush. Fact is, I use to, but it fell off some time after the first time I used skipped across my shop somewhere never to be seen again. The accucraft brush doesn't come with this detachable comfort feature, instead, they have a textured and contoured large metal button, that fits my finger just nicely.

Here some other features I like about it that I hadn't notice before.
- Instead of a cap to protect the point of the needle there is a shroud over the needle, so you don't need to remember where you put the [email protected]# cap or live in fear that you might set the brush down and it will fall or you will accidentally damage the end of the needle.
- The paint pot, has a nice cork gasket and the nozle is detacable for easy cleaning. I don't mean just the little siphon hose that sticks in the jar, I mean the hole assembly unbolts.
- The hose is a good 2 to 3 feet longer than my badgers hose! (Its at least 2 by the eyeball, but I didn't take a tape to it)
- The case, while its only plastic with no hinges has this nice heavy neoprene cut for storing everything.
- The cap that protects the needle adjuster is on snub and because it is thin, that part between my thumb and index finger doesn't feel worn out.
- And did I mention the tiny coupler that you hook the brush too!.

Some problems.
- No one seems to have figured out how to keep the jar far enough away from the air hose so you can remove it easily. Maybe it just can't be done.
- It so good I bought another one.

In conclusion, for twice the money, this brush is worth the price. If you have been contemplating purchasing an airbrush I highly recommend you pick up this one. You will not regret it.

 

[rkapuaala]

Thanks Matt, I was just so surprised by the quality of this product and the price, I couldn't resist sharing my enthusiasm with everyone. BTW, yesterday I used it to spray a finish coat on my Ruby Cylinders of Olive Green. It laid down a nice even coat with no fuss or muss.