I once owned a Badger and an Aztek A470, both were junk in my opinion. Then I discovered Iwata air brushes a bunch of years ago and have never looked back. I’ve got an Eclipse HP-CS and an Eclipse HP-BCS, both outstanding air brushes. Quality through and through and superior customer service. I visited their booth at the Hobby Expo a few weeks back and what a bunch of great people they are. I checked out their new line of beginner air brushes, the NEO, and even that looks great. Can’t go wrong with Iwata.
I own an Iwata HP-A. a Paashe H series, a Badger model 200NH and a Badger Velocity. The Iwata is pretty much useless as it has a tiny reservoir and no way to hook up a larger one. It is really a small detail/touch up brush. It can spray a very fine line but has a bad habit of paint running out of the reservoir and clogging up the air valve. I no longer use it. The Paasche was my first brush and was OK but I don’t really like external mix brushes. I am firmly in the Badger camp as I love my two Badger airbrushes. I use an internal mix, single action model 200NH for general painting of acrylics and enamels. I use a medium needle and tip and it can lay down an extremely smooth layer of paint. I usually spray around 20 psi with paint thinned about 2:1. I dilute slightly higher for certain colors of paint if they are thicker. About 6 months ago I purchased a Badger Velocity double action, internal mix, gravity feed brush. I bought this to do weathering and spray a fine line similar to what the Iwata was able to do. I am not disappointed. Beautiful brush and can spray a fine pencil thin line if your paint is thin enough and your air pressure is low (less than10 psi). Another benefit is that Badger is American made and has a lifetime warranty. If the brush needs servicing in the future or parts replaced (even if the damage/cause was your fault) most times they will repair the brush and send it back at no charge. You’re only out the cost of shipping it to them.
I own a Badger 155 Anthem. It’s a dual action brush that rarely clogs and is easy to clean. I used to have a Badger 200 single action, and I just about couldn’t use it as it clogged often. The 155 will only clog after long usage (last time, I went through 3 siphon cups full of paint and it didn’t clog) and even then can be quickly wiped clean and one can once again paint. I highly recommend the 155 Anthem.