Looking for detail airbrush

Joe Pacelli

Young Tutorling
So I started with a Creative Art Airbrush which was part of a kit from Jerry's Artarama. It was the airbrush which included 3 needles, .2 mm, .3mm and .5 mm plus the air compressor.
I just recently picked up an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS at Hobby Lobby and the wife has been using it mainly for her anime garage kits and loves it.
I put the .5mm in the creative air this weekend and tried to prime something with it and the air pressure was non-existent. I swapped it to the .2mm and while the pressure was better it didn't cover very good.
So I switched to the Iwata and it was like night and day the difference. I was able to prime the piece in no time, the coverage was even, and the brush handle so well.
So now I've given up on this Creative Art airbrush and figured I would get my wife a good detail brush. So I know the Iwata is a great brush and they have the Custom Micron.
Either the CM-C or CM-C+ which are .23mm or the CM-SB which is .18mm
But I know my wife uses a lot of supplies from Mr. Hobby, and they make the Creos Air Brush.
The PS771 GSI Creos Mr. airbrush Custom 0.18mm, and it's 1/2 the cost of the Iwata
So does anyone have experience with either, or both preferred?
How is the Creos airbrush brand?
I also hear parts are easier to get for the Creos vs the Iwata. is this also true?
 
The Mr.Hobby/Creos brand are knock off Iwata designs or knock off Olympus designs depending on how you look at it. They are quality airbrushes and perform well for the money, they are not up to the quality of a Custom Micron though and can be tough to find parts for. If you want a high quality fine detail airbrush then you honestly can't go wrong with a Harder & Steenbeck Infinity 2 in 1. You get a 0.15 needle/nozzle set and a 0.40 needle/nozzle set. So you are good for fine detail work and general work.

Harder & Steenbeck INFINITY CR 2 in 1 | Spray Gunner
 
The Creos bushes are not "knock-off's" as they are made by the same company that made Olympos brushes, and still makes all of the Iwata brushes - in the same facility(s). While they are relatively new in the States, they have been available in Japan for more than a decade(maybe 2) - although they have undergone a couple of name changes. The company that produces them will make branded brushes for any customer willing to place minimum quantity orders, with the vast majority of parts cross compatible between brand names. The bits that make them each individual, like the nozzle opening, nozzle cap exit bore, and needle taper remain proprietary for each brand name, keeping them distinguishable from one another. The differences between the the needle, nozzle, and nozzle cap between Iwata and Creos are measured in the 0.001" range. Having a good many of the Creos brushes, I can tell you there is absolutely no deficiency in quality to any other Japanese brand in any sort of compatible price range. I should mention here, that I have spent a fair amount of time actually measuring difference (down to the thousands of an inch, or fraction of mm), and testing performance out of them...

With Spraygnner being the only US importer at present, parts can at times be a little hard to find... but, Spraygunner is fantastic on staying on top of such things, so any issues tend to be few and far between. In a pinch, Iwata parts will do the job, as they all fit - but, are more expensive. I know with Covid there has been long delays in getting inventory from Japan, but this has effected more than just Creos, and more than just USA inventories... I understand they are carrying more quantity on spares now. Iwata parts were also out of stock at many retail places for quite some time.

I have several Microns; Iwata's and Olympos varieties. I wind up using the PS770, or it's head pieces more often than any of the others.
 
Last edited:
Hi there I have a iwata custom micron cmc .23 needle you can not go wrong great for extreme detail and also excellent for general use little more expensive than creòs but you will not regret the price you pay for it happy hunting.
 
I agree, The Creos bushes are super quality. I have used a ps270 and a ps770 Both super smooth and function superbly.
 
We're trying to have all the parts available 100% of the time, but that's not always happening and I don't want to be one of those guys who blames everything on COVID - but honestly, that's the reason we hear from our suppliers/freight forwarders all the time.
Even if the part you need is "out of stock" on spraygunner.com - feel free to reach out to our Customer Service. We will do our best to keep your airbrush running and it happens that we even pull out parts from the new airbrush in stock to supply our customers.

Thank you guys for your support!
 
We're trying to have all the parts available 100% of the time, but that's not always happening and I don't want to be one of those guys who blames everything on COVID - but honestly, that's the reason we hear from our suppliers/freight forwarders all the time.
Even if the part you need is "out of stock" on spraygunner.com - feel free to reach out to our Customer Service. We will do our best to keep your airbrush running and it happens that we even pull out parts from the new airbrush in stock to supply our customers.

Thank you guys for your support!

Thank you for being so good at your business. Living in Alaska, I get tons of excuses from online merchants as to why they can't ship here. You guys though ship to me super fast and have been amazing to work with.
 
Thank you for being so good at your business. Living in Alaska, I get tons of excuses from online merchants as to why they can't ship here. You guys though ship to me super fast and have been amazing to work with.
Spraygunner shipped an H&S infinity and spares to Australia cheaper than I could source it locally and shipping was super quick too.
I had questions that were answered quickly.
I recommend Spraygunner highly as a first stop when hunting supplies
 
To the original poster Joe.
For a detail brush you have more than a few options available to you. The most important question you need to ask yourself is do you want some detail or fine detail from the brush? A brush optimized for fine detail(say a Micron or PS770) isn't going to be very useful for regular work. While I have a Micron SB V1 modded up to V2 and a converted Olympos SP-B with full Micron internals, both keep the color cup outta the way while I'm working.
What are you most comfortable with? I personally detest C cups on detail brushes as they get in the way and hold too much paint for practical purposes IMHO. While I'm not familiar with the PS771, the 770 comes highly recommended from all that have purchased so no worries for you there. Last I heard, Procon was batting around doing a side feed Micron/770 but not sure if that has been released yet. COVID doubtlessly hasn't helped but you could also look at an Iwata HP-B or HP-SB as well and use a 770 fluid nozzle and needle and make a Micron as well or a super up HP with the newer V2 parts and Spraygunner has the 770 parts.
Hope that helps,
Chris
 
To the original poster Joe.
For a detail brush you have more than a few options available to you. The most important question you need to ask yourself is do you want some detail or fine detail from the brush? A brush optimized for fine detail(say a Micron or PS770) isn't going to be very useful for regular work. While I have a Micron SB V1 modded up to V2 and a converted Olympos SP-B with full Micron internals, both keep the color cup outta the way while I'm working.
What are you most comfortable with? I personally detest C cups on detail brushes as they get in the way and hold too much paint for practical purposes IMHO. While I'm not familiar with the PS771, the 770 comes highly recommended from all that have purchased so no worries for you there. Last I heard, Procon was batting around doing a side feed Micron/770 but not sure if that has been released yet. COVID doubtlessly hasn't helped but you could also look at an Iwata HP-B or HP-SB as well and use a 770 fluid nozzle and needle and make a Micron as well or a super up HP with the newer V2 parts and Spraygunner has the 770 parts.
Hope that helps,
Chris
771 is the same as the 770, just with a polished finish rather than the more satin. So you’re more familiar with it then you thought :thumbsup:
 
771 is the same as the 770, just with a polished finish rather than the more satin. So you’re more familiar with it then you thought :thumbsup:

Siroxx,
Did Procon release a side feed 770? Just curious as I have used several of the 770 parts to upgrade a few brushes from Spraygunner.
Regards,
Chris
 
Siroxx,
Did Procon release a side feed 770? Just curious as I have used several of the 770 parts to upgrade a few brushes from Spraygunner.
Regards,
Chris

Nope. The side feed the produced is the PS276. It is a .3 brush with a larger, screw-on side feed cup. Very good performing brush. I converted one to a .2 including an adapter to use Iwata style side feed cups.
 
Nope. The side feed the produced is the PS276. It is a .3 brush with a larger, screw-on side feed cup. Very good performing brush. I converted one to a .2 including an adapter to use Iwata style side feed cups.
This… lol
 
Like some folk here, I have an airbrush collection that might border on the unhealthy. LOL.

Having the Creos 770, Olympos 200C, H&S Infinity, the CM-C, CM-SB, CM Takumi, Sotar 20/20 and even vintage detail brushes like the AB Turbo, I figured I might try to address this.

The Creos detail brushes perform identically to the Olympos, and are effectively the same in all save cosmetics. Which makes sense as Dave mentioned, they come from the same company at the same factories. They are excellent brushes, with the 770 being much easier to get, as the Olympos stuff is mostly old stock, and many, if not all the brushes aren't made anymore. So you can still get stuff ordering from the factory in Japan, it's a bit of a crap shoot what they have left, and if you don't read Japanese, their website can be a bit hard to order from. Whereas the Creos line is the "new hotness" from that group, and are usually available from spraygunner.com in Florida as well as a few other places.

I'm a canuck, and have ordered quite a few times from spraygunner and they are always great to deal with and help with parts. Even if a part is listed as sold out, they'll try and help you.

The 770 performs very, very close to a CM-C in experienced hands. It's a good investment, and on a performance per dollar, probably your best bet.

If you are on a tight budget, the Sotar 20/20 is surprisingly good. Made in the US, so parts are easy to get. Not my favorite however as I have gorilla hands, and I don't like the feel as much as others on this list. It's similar in performance to the infinity with a 0.15 needle setup, but a little bit unpredictable at times.

The H&S infinity with a 0.15 setup was my first detail brush. It's a great unit, and very easy to use. Control at extreme fine detail doesn't feel like it's quite as predictable as an Iwata or Creos brush, but it gets the job done. Downside is that the brass on the nozzles can be soft at times, and I went through nozzles pretty regularly early on from too aggressive a cleaning routine. It is very easy to accidentally "trumpet" a nozzle, so I'd only recommend it for experienced folk that know how to go gentle on cleaning.

My daily driver is the Iwata CM-SB. Unfortunately none of the other current brands seem to offer a side feed on their detail lines, and for someone with giant hands like me, having the cup on the side instead of in the way in front of the trigger is an absolute necessity for comfort. Absolutely everything in the Iwata line is stellar, and they stand behind their products like no other company I can think of. The airbrushes are very hard to damage, parts are plentiful, nozzles are more durable, etc. Downside is you absolutely pay a premium for that. So their brushes and parts come at a dear cost.

If I was to recommend a first detail brush out of all of these, depending on your hand style, I'd really recommend the 770. I feel it's the best bang for your buck. It is virtually identical to the CM-C, parts are inexpensive, and it holds up well to minor accidents and dings. The nozzles and needles also work in the Iwata series, so if you later move to an Iwata CM series, you can use parts such as nozzle and needle from the 770 as backups for your Iwata.

I myself use an Iwata as my daily driver, as the side feed option (CM-SB) is an absolute must for me, but the differences between their CM-C (gravity feed) and the 770 are very minor, and don't justify the price difference to a new user IMHO.

There are other options out there, but for detail brushes, I think these are the pick of the litter. If you prefer gravity feed, you can't go wrong with a 770.
 
I agree with most of the above. Unfortunately, the word "detail" can be very subjective in this circle. A new user will have a hard time reaching the same level of "detail" with any airbrush (not just a "detail" oriented brush) compared to putting the same airbrush in the hands of an experienced artist. I can achieve very fine "detail" lines with my Iwata HP-CS with a .35mm needle and nozzle set and do so pretty much daily (that is my workhorse).

When it comes to new users, I almost always suggest spending less of your hard earned money on a good quality mid-range airbrush to start with. Quality, as you've realized, is very important. Once you've spent the time to learn good fundamental control of that airbrush, I think you'll be very surprised at what you can actually do with it. When you reach the point that you need something more, then it's probably time to start looking at the better "detail" oriented airbrushes. Make no mistake, those airbrushes do have their place in our industry. I own Micron's and the PS770. The reality is, many purchase those too early and can't really take advantage of what they are capable of. Buying a "detail" oriented airbrush does not make one a better artist. You have to practice.
 
I paint lures and am a toolmaker by trade I have spent years wringing out ever bit of proformance out of Chinese pot metal
Buy the PS770 now befor the prices go up again they are unbeatable at there current price. I could have purchased one delivered 2 years ago for $193 AUD, mine is on its way for nearly double that now. Words well and truely out.
 
Back
Top