Neo for Iwata TRN-1 Trigger Airbrush

[Mike]

TRN-1 Trigger Airbrush
Neo for Iwata

The Neo brandname is Iwata's budget entry into the airbrush market, with prices that make switching away from paint brushes a lot more palatable than their high-grade range, with only a compressor to find to complete the package. We have been supplied with a pre-release review set without packaging, but without the disposable frippery you can still get a feel for the airbrush.

First the technical spec. It is a 0.35mm nozzle gravity feed trigger-type airbrush, which has a removable cup, a comfortable moulded plastic grip handle attached to the metal body, with a removable paint cup, and screw-operated back-stop to the trigger to allow precision spraying of consistent width lines for camouflage etc. Inside the box will be the airbrush with a 10cc paint cup installed, a spare 2cc paint cup, and spanner for paint nozzle removal. The needle is 0.35mm, and very sturdy so you shouldn't be able to bend it too easily unless you put your mind to it. The 360^o needle guard will also help keep the needle in good condition, although if you are doing close-up ultra-fine work it may get in the way, which is why it screws on and off. The smaller paint cup doesn't come with a lid, which is a bit of a bind, as I'm prone to spilling un-covered cups. Personally, I don't see much point in the spare cup though, as I'm just as happy part-filling the larger cup than filling a smaller one to over-flowing. I would much rather have seen a quick-disconnect adapter in the box, but as they're not expensive these days, that's again a personal preference.

Once I'd installed a spare QR to the threaded rear of the air-valve, I found it a very well weighted airbrush that fell easily to hand, and with the "pinkie rest" projecting from the bottom of the handle, if rested easily in my average/large hands with sausage fingers. The trigger has an adjustable tension screw within the rear of the body, although there's not a massive variance between light and heavy tension. I usually wind mine up to the maximum anyway, so this is what I did.

If you're not familiar with trigger airbrushes, they're actually quite good, and this is my second one. If I was buying one now as a beginner airbrush user, I think I'd probably go for a trigger brush, as the learning curve isn't so sharp. I'm reasonably comfortable with both types now though, so I'm not about to throw my current 'brushes away. The first fractional movement of the trigger starts the airflow, and any movement following that draws back the needle and starts paint flowing. Wide open, the flow is pretty fast, as you'd expect with a 0.35mm needle, and finer work would need some practice to attain the correct "bite" when the paint begins to flow. As a user of 0.2mm needles most of the time, there were the occasional moments of panic when way too much paint seemed to be coming out, but with a 0.35mm needle, you're much less likely to suffer from clogging issues due to coarsely ground paint pigments, which are the bane of some acrylics especially.

Clean-up is simple, especially with the likes of Gunze paints, and all it takes is a quick slosh round with some Premi-Air Liquid Reamer, followed by a blow-back with a finger over the nozzle. The paint nozzles on Iwata airbrushes are really small, and although you're provided with a custom spanner to remove it, you're advised to only do so when necessary due to the likelihood of it getting lost. Under normal circumstances you shouldn't need to either, but every now and again you might well have to, especially if you have a habit of forgetting to clean your brush like I do. The trigger mechanism shouldn't need disassembly under normal circumstances either, which is a good thing, as it's a little complex for the novice. A little lubrication of the mechanism should be all it needs, but it's nice to know it can be taken down if the need arises.

The 'brush sprays very well, and because of the trigger layout is easy to use for the novice. I used it to apply some paint in the later stages of my recent Jaguar A build, although that was well after the camouflage was applied due to timing of its arrival, and I found it to be a useful addition to my arsenal. My only issues were my unfamiliarity with the bite-point and the fact that my spray booth has three Badger style airbrush hooks that don't lend themselves well to hanging a trigger airbrush.

Kitty Hawk Jaguar A in 1:48

Conclusion
This is a great introductory brush for those that want to try the trigger system, and although the Neo is Iwata's budget range, the quality is good. At £130 RRP it is a little to the high side of budget, but the trigger is very easy to get to grips with, and the addition of the needle-stop is very handy for squiggle camo. I seldom use the needle-stop feature myself, but when you need it, it's an absolute boon that takes all the guess work out of width of spray and volume of paint flow.

The design is attractive, and the handle has textured accents in orange plastic on the rear to give it a little extra style, while the pinky-guard is very handy if you have larger hands. On the downside, the smaller cup is fairly useless due to the lack of lid, and as a multi-airbrush user the lack of QR adapter was a minor disappointment until I found one of my spares.

If you're looking for a good quality airbrush with a trigger, and find the price of the Iwata Revolution brushes a bit offputting, you'll save around £70 by buying the Neo TRN-1.

Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of