May 24, 2010

Review: Master G44 Airbrush

So I got the Master G44 (renamed as a G444 'Deluxe' set), and here's a review I put up, and will try to update as I become more comfortable with the AB. I got this mainly because I wanted a gravity feed AB but fine control for a decent price, before spending a fortune (i.e. Iwata).


This is my first gravity feed AB (previously owned two bottom feed), and I am VERY satisfied. The small nozzle (0.2mm) is very nice and the construction quality is VERY nice. It has a solid weight and after taking it apart, appears to be made from very high quality materials - it is essentially a third party Iwata Custom Micron, and it really appears to be a decent replica (NOTE: this is NOT an exact copy, nor a cheap knockoff).


This set came with two other sets of nozzles and needles for wider/thicker paints in the 0.3 and 0.5mm sizes, and these also seem to be very good quality. I'm interested to see how interchanging them actually works (I didn't have time to do it last night).


The feel of the airbrush in my hand was very nice, the quick release module worked very well, and the air control valve on the bottom of the airbrush works to perfection. Once I had gotten the thing working, the paint flow was smooth and very nice. The trigger is a bit short on the down press, but that was actually nice once I got used to it.


The lines I was able to get out of it were very fine, finer than I was expecting, and I can already tell that once I tweak and learn the airbrush to my liking, I will be able to get even finer control over this AB. NOTE: The paint mixture I was using was terrible and done in the cup. This is my own fault. First it was too thick, then too thin, but it eventually homogenized to a better state after awhile.

Overall I would recommend this paintbrush to people - it seems well made, and for $70, definitely worth the money if you want to not spend as much on an AB that might not last as long (maybe 2-3 years).






So this is part 2 of the review.
I love this AB! It has treated me very well, and I've switched out the nozzles and needles with great success and ease of use! The gold paint I'm using was simply too thick, so I had to switch to the 0.5mm nozzle size and it worked flawlessly!



And below are two images I *tried* to capture of the atomization (I need a macro lens). It is VERY fine, and VERY consistent throughout the entire painting cycle, which I did twice yesterday for ~ 1 hour each time.




And here is a picture of a finished piece (ignore the spec, something had fallen on the piece while I was taking a picture, but I just brushed it off)


Overall I'd rate this VERY high, and I can't really see any reason why this would fall apart - the materials are all high quality, and the craftsmanship is very good and very apparent - so anything that did go wrong, should be (1.) easy to see and diagnose and (2.) easy to repair with replacement parts.

Yes, hate on cheap airbrushes if you want/need to feel high brow, but I wanted to try out how a fine gravity feed airbrush was without paying high $$$ for it. And I posted a review of it. For $70, this airbrush can stand on its own for a great value.

May 18, 2010

Hold on to your butts

So for the people who are following my blog - you'll notice I haven't posted since April.

I got married (awesomeness), and am now moving my wife into what is now OUR place. It's awesome life stuff for me, but bad for the Gundam blog.

Updates will come as soon as I have a place to work again :)

Edit: Images are back up! Woohoo for Microsoft Skydrive!