Anyone try the Takumi Micron yet?

Thanks for the feedback Dave. Cracking painting that.

Thanks Andre! I took a bunch of photo's while painting, and hope to get a step-by-step together. I want to make sure it is different than the piece that was published in Step-by-step magazine of Silvia's piece, though. On canvas, I could not use many of the techniques used in the original piece and article. I also found that the sealer I used, which was "Satin" Createx UVLS clear added a sheen to the surface that I had no trouble working on, but has made getting photo's a dickens due to glare, and reflections. I just finished matte clearing the finished painting, and that has helped a bunch.
 
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Got my order in. Maple Airbrush in Canada got a few in this morning and Donna gave me a call. So I got my order in right away.

If you're in Canada or the Northern States, I highly recommend them as a supplier. They ship same day and are a delight to deal with.

A heads up though. Supply is somewhat limited and Iwata are being cagey about timelines for the next orders. I guess there is some issue with supply chain or factory time. So I'd move on it right away.

I'm looking forward to taking it for a spin and comparing to my SB. @DaveG 's review cemented my decision. By the sounds of it, it's only an slight incremental change in performance from the V2, but... I'm a very big fan of the shorter front end of my classic era brushes (T&C, Wold, etc) and it's been a wish list item for me on the micron series for quite a long time. It's something that makes a big difference for me due to hand size and comfort.

Also the pseduo gravity / cup feed should keep paint in the chamber, even at very low pressures like with a gravity feed like the CM-C. So I look forward to trying it out.

Should have it early next week, or on the weekend. I'll share my thoughts once I've had a chance to take it through it's paces.
 
I was wrong.:eek:ops:
The TAKUMI has better paint response than the sb with the new cub.
I still don't quite understand how that is possible.
But it has now been confirmed several times.
The only thing I can think of is because the paint chamber in the airbrush is smaller.
you have more gravity effect.
The distance from the cub entrance to the bazis head is only +/-3mm at the sb.
So the paint path is not that much shorter.
Was surprised how far the head actually goes into the airbrush.
see picture.
 

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I was wrong.:eek:ops:
The TAKUMI has better paint response than the sb with the new cub.
I still don't quite understand how that is possible.
But it has now been confirmed several times.
The only thing I can think of is because the paint chamber in the airbrush is smaller.
you have more gravity effect.
The distance from the cub entrance to the bazis head is only +/-3mm at the sb.
So the paint path is not that much shorter.
Was surprised how far the head actually goes into the airbrush.
see picture.


On the CM-B version of the Micron, the back of the post on the head is visible it the bottom of the color cup... The side feed hole on the SB is located at just about the same distance from the front edge of the brush body.

Yes, I was surprised not only that the Takumi seems to respond faster, but that is it actually perceivable by the user. I thought about it all night, the night before last, and then spent a couple of hours yesterday working with an SB v2 with the Takumi cup... Still I find the Takumi to respond faster. Even more puzzling to me, is that once I really thought about it - the reduction in length on the brush comes out of the body from between the trigger, and feed hole. Theoretically, the distance from feed hole to nozzle tip remains the same between the SB v2 and the Takumi. The area that changes the most between the two brushes is actually the air path. It is shorter on the Takumi than it is on the SB v2...
 
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I was wrong.:eek:ops:
The TAKUMI has better paint response than the sb with the new cub.
I still don't quite understand how that is possible.
But it has now been confirmed several times.
The only thing I can think of is because the paint chamber in the airbrush is smaller.
you have more gravity effect.
The distance from the cub entrance to the bazis head is only +/-3mm at the sb.
So the paint path is not that much shorter.
Was surprised how far the head actually goes into the airbrush.
see picture.

Hmm... I wonder if it is just down to machining. I looked up Takumi, and they are one of the handful of manufactures that can do sub micron accuracy in machining for lab and other low tolerance work. As a guy with a background in engineering and the hard sciences, I've been surprised with how much turbulent flow can be caused by small imperfections in any channel. I'm only guessing here, but maybe the air channel is just more accurately machined? I'd think that wouldn't matter once it meets the air cap though, but maybe it does?

Turbulent flow is still a bit of a mystery, even in physics. But if you can minimize it in a system you'll get much better ability to siphon or carry other medium.

In something as small as an airbrush however, I would think the difference would hardly be noticeable.
 
hahahaha, "Takumi" means "artisan" in Japanese. The same company that has always made the Micron (and a vast majority of other Japanese brushes) is still producing them.
 
hahahaha, "Takumi" means "artisan" in Japanese. The same company that has always made the Micron (and a vast majority of other Japanese brushes) is still producing them.

Interesting. Takumi Manufacturing has a long history in Engineering supply (day job stuff) for precision machining in all kinds of areas, even in CCPM parts for RC helicopters. I know they are super big in automotive too. They're heavily marketing their latest plants with sub micron accuracy to vendors and suppliers all over the engineering world.

I never knew they did the Microns as well. That's kinda cool.

So if they've been behind the scenes all the while, what is it about the latest model that made Iwata Medea put their branding up front on them? Some kind of partnership? Any idea?

Back before they changed the laws on hobby aircraft where I lived and made it practically impossible, I used to build and fly RC helicopters as a hobby. Takumi make some of the highest quality and least likely to break steel linkages and rotor mechanics (at least compared to Align and the like). I bought quite a lot of their parts over the years. I had no clue that it might be the same company making them that made the airbrushes I was painting the helicopters with. Have they always been involved back to the Olympos days?
 
hahahaha, "Takumi" means "artisan" in Japanese. The same company that has always made the Micron (and a vast majority of other Japanese brushes) is still producing them.
Or are you just saying that Iwata is branding just using the term Takumi in it's original sense, and not in reference to any manufacturer? I'm maybe a bit slow today.
 
Or are you just saying that Iwata is branding just using the term Takumi in it's original sense, and not in reference to any manufacturer? I'm maybe a bit slow today.

That is what I am saying - it is part of the name of the model, not a reference to a manufacturer. Meaning the brushes have been designed by, and for "artisans". Literally, it is the "Artisans Eclipse", and "Artisans Micron". You will note the "SB" has been dropped from both names...
 
Yay! It arrived!

I'm a grown man with more years behind me than ahead of me, and a collection of dozens of airbrushes. I really shouldn't be this excited by a brand new airbrush. But... I guess we all have our vices. LOL

I'm really looking forward to comparing it side by side with the SB. Not expecting a world of difference, but any little bit helps. Also having another micron handy for color changes or wet on wet techniques can't hurt.

Won't be testing today sadly. Did something to my shoulder yesterday, so it's gonna be a day or two before I can paint comfortably. I guess the wait will make it all the sweeter. LOL.

241975615_10157854893617651_5577615152261797389_n.jpg
 
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