Paasche airbrush quality?

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

Just like waiting 30 minutes for a London bus and have 4 turn up at once, someone has decided to import Paasche brushes (Talon, Raptor and Vision[??]) to my neck of the woods. So, to continue my queries from 6 months ago (Sparmax vs H&S), how would people rate the Paasche Talon/Raptor? The reviews I've read swing wildly between "crap" and " pretty damn good for the price", but without going into any details. Anyone here care to share your experiences with them, both positive and negative?  Thanks! 

[denstore]

I would say that most things that people defend  with “good for the price” rate below what I would pick for myself.

Buy a decent airbrush from Iwata, H&S, Tamiya or Gunze instead.

and yes, I have owned a couple of Paasche airbrushes. The old ones, pre-90’s are usually good, but the newer ones are not worth the money.

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

On 23/10/2019 at 12:33, denstore said:

The old ones, pre-90’s are usually good, but the newer ones are not worth the money.

Could you elaborate on this please? 

[Skodadriver]

I have used Paasche airbrushes for over 20 years. My modelling interest is 1/144 airliners so I tend to spray relatively large areas in single colours and I don't do stuff like mottle camouflage. My current main airbrush is a syphon-fed Paasche VL which is a big, tough beast and unfailingly reliable. It comes with three different tips/needles suitable for most situations apart from the very finest work for which I use a remarkably good Chinese knock-off. The VL has even survived a drop on to a concrete floor with nothing worse than a dented tip.

 

In the past I have owned both gravity and syphon fed Paasche Talons. I preferred the syphon fed version because it was much easier to clean but both were good airbrushes and I respectfully disagree with @denstore's view that they aren't worth the money. The Talon is probably more refined than the VL but perhaps not quite as robust.  I have no experience of the Raptor.

 

Paasche spares are readily available in the UK but obviously I can't speak for South Africa.

 

Dave G

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

@Skodadriver, thanks for the reply. I'm a bit of a clumsy clod myself, so durability is always good in a product! 

 

The Raptor is a Talon with a smaller paint cup, so I'm viewing them as the same brush to simplify things, unless otherwise noted. Fortunately the supplier has brought in spare needles, hoses and fittings so I'm sorted in that regard too. 

[Matthew1974]

I use a Paasche Raptor (RG-3S) and I am very, very happy with it.  After using it for six months I can say that I am extremely pleased with the purchase and do believe that Paasche is excellent value for the money - I would recommend it to any modeler.  The smaller cup doesn't bother me and in building 1/72 and 1/48 scale aircraft and 1/35 scale armor, I never found it to be a showstopper.  I cannot actually speak for Iwata, Tamiya, Gunze, or Harder & Steenbeck but I know people are very happy with those as well.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

No complaints my very first A/Brush was a Paasche D/A back in ‘88.