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Iwata Eclipse CS Airbrush (HP-CS) - Iwata via The Airbrush Company


Julien

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Iwata Eclipse CS Airbrush (HP-CS)

Iwata via The Airbrush Company

 

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If you don't already airbrush then it might be time to make the leap. I was a brush painter for many years until I took the plunge (don't tell but I still like to brush paint every now and again!). The Air Brush I started with was the Iwata HP-CS and this is still a good AB today for the beginner and the more experienced modeller alike. 

 

Iwata make a range of airbrushes from extra wide one through to extreme detail brushes, they cover this in their easy to understand "5 Ways to Spray". They list 5 categories of airbrush.

 

  1. Absolute Precision - Featuring the Iwata Custom Micro. This is specifically designed for extreme details.
  2. Total Control - Featuring the Hi Line & High Performance Plus airbrushed. This covers the Fine to Medium spectrum.
  3. All Star Versatility - Featuring the Eclipse series of Airbrushes which range from Fine to Wide.
  4. Effortless Coverage - Featuring the Revolution and Neo for Iwata Series. Mainly the Medium range for these.
  5. Full Finish - Featuring the G-Series and ANEST airbrushes. This is the Wide to Extra wide are.

 

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The Eclipse is very much a general airbrush fitting firmly into number 3. It has great coverage on the wider end down to fairly fine lines at the other end and is probably Iwata's most versatile airbrush.  It is duel action in that pushing down the trigger releases air, and pulling it back controls the paint flow. It has a 7ml cup which comes with a lid if you choose to use it, the needle size is 0.35mm and it will spray a pattern from this upto 50mm wide. They recommend pressures of 25-35 psi but TBH I find less that this is needed for correctly thinned paint.  Also in the box if a small tube of lube for the needle. and a head spanner, though I must admit to only ever tightening the head on mine finger tight. All Iwata airbrushes from The Airbrush Company come with a 10 year guarantee for piece of mind.

 

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Conclusion

This is a great airbrush for the beginner and the experienced airbrusher alike. It covers most applications the scale modeller will need. If even a slightly ham fisted modeller like myself can get very decent results you know its easy to use!  In addition If you need any advise on equipment, then the fine folks at Airbrushes.com (The Airbrush Company) are available and will help you get the best setup for you. Just give them a ring.

 

Very Highly recommended.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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Nice review Julien and very enlightening. I had only the other day decided to buy a Mr Airbrush Custom 0.18 Airbrush (PS-770) when I’m in Japan in November (£160ish from Amazon) but reading your review I’m not sure that it is really the best brush for me. With 1/48 scale jets being my thing a 1.8mm needle is probably going to result in several hours long spraying sessions when painting your typical grey jet. I was just thinking of the benefits of being able to do (with a lot of practice) freehand camo.

 

This Iwata HP-CS looks to be a great all round brush but, does it have anything over the H&S Evolution Silverline I already have? And is there an argument for having two different brushes from opposite ends of the scale for different tasks?

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10 hours ago, Filler said:

Nice review Julien and very enlightening. I had only the other day decided to buy a Mr Airbrush Custom 0.18 Airbrush (PS-770) when I’m in Japan in November (£160ish from Amazon) but reading your review I’m not sure that it is really the best brush for me. With 1/48 scale jets being my thing a 1.8mm needle is probably going to result in several hours long spraying sessions when painting your typical grey jet. I was just thinking of the benefits of being able to do (with a lot of practice) freehand camo.

 

This Iwata HP-CS looks to be a great all round brush but, does it have anything over the H&S Evolution Silverline I already have? And is there an argument for having two different brushes from opposite ends of the scale for different tasks?

With 0.18 needles you need to know your paint of choice will spray through it, as some brands have a coarser grind to their pigments and will just clog, no matter how you thin it. I've used Mr. Color through my PS-770 and it works very well. Humbrol acrylic? Not so much. It's like cement slurry by comparison.

 

Having 2 airbrushes is great - especially if they've both got their own hose. If you have a H&S brush there are arguments for staying with the brand for commonality of spares, but if you're going to use them for different purposes, a different brand is less of an issue.  There are so many arguments on either side, and you know your own situation best. Airbrushes are another one of those personal decisions like your preference of gloss varnishes, or acrylics vs enamels. You'll get a many differing opinions as there are answers.  If you're at a model show or a good shop, try to have a play with the various brands and needle sizes to help you decide :)

 

We purposely picked this brush to review because it was in the centre of the "5 Ways to Spray" chart, as we figured that it would appeal to the majority of members who will probably only have one airbrush in their toolkit.

 

 

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I've been using an Eclipse as one of my main brushes for the last four years now. I also have the Iwata Hi-Line and HP brushes too and have owned numerous H&S brushes. It's difficult to go wrong with an Eclipse.

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Another point about the HP-CS. It can mount both the standard 0.35mm (E3) nozzle listed above as well as an optional 0.5mm (E5) nozzle. I personally wouldn't attempt to routinely change nozzle and needle assemblies to use a single brush for both purposes, but this would be more economical than 2 airbrushes. Alternately, you might have two HP-CS airbrushes, each with different nozzles.

 

On 8/29/2019 at 1:54 PM, Mike said:

With 0.18 needles you need to know your paint of choice will spray through it, as some brands have a coarser grind to their pigments and will just clog, no matter how you thin it.

Your point about nozzle size and paint compatibility is quite important! I do find 2 airbrushes to be valuable. In my case, an airbrush* with a 0.3mm nozzle for smaller area and more detailed painting, and one with a 0.5mm nozzle for primers, base coats, clear coats, and metallics. I find that Alclad really prefers the 0.5mm nozzle over the 0.3mm nozzle. I haven't found the need for a nozzle smaller than 0.3mm, but I suppose that's a function of my selected paint patterns, which are no more complicated than 3-color camo schemes, as well as the painting effects that I attempt. I routinely paint in quite close (5mm to no more than 50mm), so I can get quite thin lines when I occasionally do need them.

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