Post by robbo on Aug 31, 2012 10:02:41 GMT -5
Iwata HP-M1 review
As you all know jackwagon Francis recently received a box from the very generous Airbrush Company containing one of the new M series Iwata airbrushes, braided hose and airbrush cleaning products as review samples.
I was absolutely over the moon when I asked jackwagon if I could review some of the items and he very kindly said yes. The item that had me most excited was of course the new single action Iwata HP-M1 airbrush
There were a few reasons as to why this single action airbrush had caught my interest and obviously the first one was the very compact size of it compared to my normal dual action airbrush. The photo below gives you a clear indication of the size compared to my standard size Mr Hobby airbrush
This compact size interested me as to the handling of the airbrush. As most of you know I lost the fine motor movement in my right hand some years ago following a stroke and I have become over the years since very left handed, not through choice but through necessity. How would I get on using this airbrush left handed having never used a single action airbrush before let alone one as compact as this, I was itching to find out
Included with the airbrush was a length of braided hose which I took no time in connecting the airbrush to my compressor using the hose, the fittings made for a swift assembly and meant I would waste no time in being up and running
I had a 1/72 Airfix Hawker Hurricane in the stash and could not think of a better subject to try the airbrush out on. I rapidly got the Hurricane assembled and primed and ready to paint in no time
One of the first things I noted was the size of the cup this one has the small 1.5ml capacity so will need filling quite often especially if your model is large for instance a 1/350 ship. Not a problem if you are using a colour straight from the bottle but would cause a problem if you was mixing the colours if you like me, mix them in the cup, you wouldn’t be able to do this. The other airbrush in the series, the HP-M2 has a 7ml cup and there is no difference in price between the M1 and M2. The M1 has a spray area of 0.3 finest setting as opposed to the M2 which has a 0.4 at its finest setting. Not much of a difference unless you was after a very fine spray area. I found the 1.5ml cup, full up gave me just enough of each colour to complete the three colours on the 1/72 Hurricane. This is not a lot when you consider the size of the 1/35 kits, you would certainly need to purchase the 7ml cup version
I noticed on the rear of the airbrush it is numbered 0 to 4 and I wanted to find out what these numbers were for so I tried each one on a sheet of plain paper and found it was as expected the size of the spray area with off course 1 being the finest spray getting larger and darker each turn of the thumbscrew
Another thing I noticed was the lack of a pressure control knob that is usually found underneath the airbrush, wouldn’t be a problem normally as there is a pressure regulator knob on your compressor. Mine, however, is broken so I normally use the one on my airbrush to regulate the air. This is only my problem and I’ll have to rectify it by replacing the valve on the compressor as this M1 seems more suited to a lower pressure setting
At no time during the use of the Iwata M series did I even notice the difference in size of the airbrush being smaller, as it was very easy to handle and as for weight, I think it may even be slightly heavier than my normal airbrush, it just feels very good in the hand
It’s been said to me plenty of times that you only get what you pay for and with this Iwata airbrush it is certainly the case. You can feel the quality while you are using it and it has an incredibly smooth action and I would highly recommend anyone to try one of these. I will most certainly save up for the M2 version
Big thanks again to Alex from the Airbrush Company for sending our review samples
Links to the Airbrushes.com website can be found in the advertisement areas of the MSC website
As you all know jackwagon Francis recently received a box from the very generous Airbrush Company containing one of the new M series Iwata airbrushes, braided hose and airbrush cleaning products as review samples.
I was absolutely over the moon when I asked jackwagon if I could review some of the items and he very kindly said yes. The item that had me most excited was of course the new single action Iwata HP-M1 airbrush
There were a few reasons as to why this single action airbrush had caught my interest and obviously the first one was the very compact size of it compared to my normal dual action airbrush. The photo below gives you a clear indication of the size compared to my standard size Mr Hobby airbrush
This compact size interested me as to the handling of the airbrush. As most of you know I lost the fine motor movement in my right hand some years ago following a stroke and I have become over the years since very left handed, not through choice but through necessity. How would I get on using this airbrush left handed having never used a single action airbrush before let alone one as compact as this, I was itching to find out
Included with the airbrush was a length of braided hose which I took no time in connecting the airbrush to my compressor using the hose, the fittings made for a swift assembly and meant I would waste no time in being up and running
I had a 1/72 Airfix Hawker Hurricane in the stash and could not think of a better subject to try the airbrush out on. I rapidly got the Hurricane assembled and primed and ready to paint in no time
One of the first things I noted was the size of the cup this one has the small 1.5ml capacity so will need filling quite often especially if your model is large for instance a 1/350 ship. Not a problem if you are using a colour straight from the bottle but would cause a problem if you was mixing the colours if you like me, mix them in the cup, you wouldn’t be able to do this. The other airbrush in the series, the HP-M2 has a 7ml cup and there is no difference in price between the M1 and M2. The M1 has a spray area of 0.3 finest setting as opposed to the M2 which has a 0.4 at its finest setting. Not much of a difference unless you was after a very fine spray area. I found the 1.5ml cup, full up gave me just enough of each colour to complete the three colours on the 1/72 Hurricane. This is not a lot when you consider the size of the 1/35 kits, you would certainly need to purchase the 7ml cup version
I noticed on the rear of the airbrush it is numbered 0 to 4 and I wanted to find out what these numbers were for so I tried each one on a sheet of plain paper and found it was as expected the size of the spray area with off course 1 being the finest spray getting larger and darker each turn of the thumbscrew
Another thing I noticed was the lack of a pressure control knob that is usually found underneath the airbrush, wouldn’t be a problem normally as there is a pressure regulator knob on your compressor. Mine, however, is broken so I normally use the one on my airbrush to regulate the air. This is only my problem and I’ll have to rectify it by replacing the valve on the compressor as this M1 seems more suited to a lower pressure setting
At no time during the use of the Iwata M series did I even notice the difference in size of the airbrush being smaller, as it was very easy to handle and as for weight, I think it may even be slightly heavier than my normal airbrush, it just feels very good in the hand
It’s been said to me plenty of times that you only get what you pay for and with this Iwata airbrush it is certainly the case. You can feel the quality while you are using it and it has an incredibly smooth action and I would highly recommend anyone to try one of these. I will most certainly save up for the M2 version
Big thanks again to Alex from the Airbrush Company for sending our review samples
Links to the Airbrushes.com website can be found in the advertisement areas of the MSC website
