Iwata Revolution airbrush

I’ve noticed that many forum readers ask the question “What airbrush should I get?” or “What’s a good airbrush for doing Luftwaffe mottling?”.   I understand their concern, as an airbrush is a very important tool for every modeler, but they are not cheap.   Most modelers, myself included, want to make an informed decision about what kits to buy, what aftermarket resin set they can’t live without, what decal set they have to have, etc.  One of the best ways to decided whether a new product is worth your money is to see it in person.  Of course, no hobby shop stocks everything, so that’s why places like ARC are great.   I realized that airbrushes are really no different from kits or aftermarket items in the sense that being able to see one would really help to see whether he liked that airbrush or not.  

Last year, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with my old airbrush and decided that I needed a replacement.  I had always heard that Iwatas were great, but I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $150 or so for an airbrush.  That’s when I discovered that Iwata was releasing a new line of lower-priced airbrushes called the Revolution series.  Christmas was just around the corner, so I dropped a very specific hint to my wife in the form of an e-mail with a link to a webpage where the airbrush could be ordered along with the part numbers of both the airbrush and its hose.   Thanks to my ever so subtle request, I was lucky enough to find the airbrush under the Christmas tree.  

Click on images below to see larger images

I have been using my new Iwata these past several months and have loved using it.   I therefore set out to take a few pictures of my latest airbrush, the Iwata Revolution CR.  The CR is a gravity fed internal mix all metal airbrush.  It is well balanced and very easy to hold, disassembles very easily and really looks good, at least in my opinion.   But no one buys an airbrush to look at it, and neither did I.   I have painted acrylics, enamels and lacquers and have had great results.  The mixing ratios are a little bit different, and I’m still trying to learns what’s optimal.   Nevertheless, I still get great results pretty much everytime. 

I’ve included some pictures.  As you can see, the CR is very easy to take apart and clean.   All disassembling and reassembling can be done by hand – it literally takes a matter of seconds to do.   Also, I tried to show the amount of detail this airbrush offers.  Although you can’t write your name on the top of a pin head, you can get plenty of detail.  As you can see, I’m still learning how to properly mix the paints.

Steve

Photos and text © 2003 by Steve Wilder