Iwata Airbrush Lineup: Eclipse, NEO, Revolution and More

What Iwata makes

Iwata airbrushes come from ANEST IWATA Corporation. The company's own airbrush page lists iwata as its airbrush brand, next to SPARMAX and AIRREX, and says the company also makes compressors, vacuum equipment and coating equipment.

An airbrush is a small spray tool that mixes paint with compressed air and lays it down in thin coats. Model builders use one for car bodies, aircraft camouflage, soft shading and clear coats.

On Amazon US, the listings carry two names, Iwata and Iwata-Medea. Our data merges them here. The 21 listings in the grid fall into these groups:

• Eclipse: HP-CS, HP-BCS and the Eclipse Takumi
• Eclipse systems: two HP-CS kits with a compressor
• NEO: CN and BCN airbrushes, two Beginner sets and a CN gravity kit
• Revolution: CR and HP-CR3
• Trigger airbrushes: Hi-Line HP-TH, Medea NEO TRN 1 and TRN 2
• Medea sets: Intro and Deluxe
• Air and care: Power Jet Pro Dual compressor, cleaning kit, refill pack and a maintenance tool kit

Our data doesn't fill a nozzle, pressure or feed field for these listings yet. Everything I say about a specific listing comes from its title. If the title doesn't say it, I don't either.

Iwata airbrush basics: feed, action, nozzle

Three words in a title tell you most of what an airbrush does.

Feed

Feed is where the paint waits before it reaches the nozzle.

• Gravity feed: a small cup on top; paint runs down into the airbrush
• Siphon feed: a bottle or jar underneath; the airflow draws paint up
• Side feed: a cup clipped to the side

Gravity suits model work, because you mix a few drops of a color at a time. Siphon suits big base coats and quick swaps between pre-mixed bottles.

Action

ANEST IWATA explains the two types plainly. On a single-action airbrush, pressing the button releases air and paint together, and a knob sets the paint flow ahead of time. On a dual-action airbrush, pressing down releases air and pulling back releases paint, so you change the paint flow while you spray. ANEST IWATA calls dual action the most widely used type and says it suits shading and gradients.

Theo heard that explanation and summed it up for his class. "Down for air, back for paint. Two steps, in order. That's an equation with a trigger." I didn't argue. He wasn't wrong.

Nozzle

The nozzle is the tip the paint leaves through. ANEST IWATA gives this guide:

• 0.2 mm: fine detail work
• 0.3 mm: the general choice, from fine lines to fairly wide areas
• 0.4 and 0.5 mm: larger areas

Nozzle size also changes how much air the airbrush uses, per the same page. A bigger nozzle asks more of the compressor.

The Iwata Eclipse line

Five listings in the grid carry the Eclipse name.

• Eclipse HP-CS: gravity feed, per its title
• Eclipse HP-BCS: siphon feed, per its title
• Eclipse HP-CS system with Smart Jet compressor: the HP-CS plus an air supply
• Eclipse HP-CS system with Silver Jet compressor: the same airbrush with a different compressor
• ECL 350T Eclipse Takumi: lists a 0.35 mm nozzle

The HP-CS and HP-BCS make a clean pair to compare. Same family, different feed. If you paint small batches of hobby color, the cup on top is the simpler habit. If you paint large, even coats and like mixing ahead in bottles, the bottle underneath is the one.

The Takumi's 0.35 mm sits between the general 0.3 mm and the larger 0.4 mm on ANEST IWATA's guide. I approve of a number that tells you exactly where it stands.

Who the Eclipse systems suit: someone starting from zero who wants the airbrush and the air supply in one box. Who should skip them: anyone who already owns a compressor. Then a single HP-CS or HP-BCS listing is the part you're missing.

The NEO line

NEO listings in the grid:

• NEO CN: dual action, per its title
• NEO BCN: siphon feed, dual action
• Beginner Airbrush NEO CN Gravity Set
• Beginner Airbrush NEO BCN Siphon Set
• NEO CN Gravity Feed Airbrush Kit

Two of these say Beginner in the title. That's the maker's word, not ours, and it's useful. The CN is the gravity version and the BCN the siphon version, so the same feed choice from the Eclipse line applies here.

A set or kit listing usually adds parts around the airbrush, such as a hose or extra cups. Read each title and the listing's contents before you assume a compressor is inside. None of the NEO titles here mention one.

The Revolution line

Two Revolution listings are in the grid: the Revolution CR and the Revolution 4530 HP-CR3, which is gravity feed per its title. Our data doesn't record nozzle sizes for them. Read the listing for the nozzle before you choose between a Revolution and an Eclipse.

Trigger airbrushes: Hi-Line and Medea NEO TRN

Three listings use a pistol-style trigger instead of a top button:

• Hi-Line HP-TH
• Medea NEO TRN 1
• Medea NEO TRN 2

You hold a trigger airbrush more like a small spray gun. Some hands like a trigger. Others like a top button they can work with one finger. The data has no answer for your hand. If you can, hold both kinds before you buy, even a friend's.

My hand prefers the button. My hand doesn't get a vote on your purchase.

Medea sets

The Medea Intro Airbrush Set and the Medea Deluxe Airbrush Set are bundles. Their titles don't list the airbrush model, the nozzle or whether air is included. Open each listing and read the contents line by line. A set that leaves out the air supply is still a good set. It just isn't a complete one.

Air supply: the Power Jet Pro Dual

The Power Jet Pro Dual Airbrush Compressor is the one compressor in the grid sold alone. It suits someone who already owns an Iwata airbrush, or plans to.

ANEST IWATA gives three pieces of plumbing advice for its airbrushes:

• A pressure regulator: keeps spray pressure steady
• An air filter: keeps water, oil and dust from the compressor out of the airbrush
• A thin hose: it names 2 × 3 mm tubing for its own airbrushes

It lists a spray pressure range of 0.10 to 0.29 MPa. In US units that's about 15 to 42 psi. Detail work happens near the bottom of that range. Read a compressor's maximum as a ceiling, not a setting.

Cleaning and maintenance listings

Three listings are care, not painting:

• Medea Airbrush Cleaning Kit
• Medea Airbrush Cleaning Kit Refill Pack
• Professional Airbrush Maintenance Tools Kit

A refill pack for a cleaning kit is the most honest listing in this grid. It assumes you'll use up the first one, and you will.

Paint dries in a nozzle a fraction of a millimeter wide, and a dried nozzle stops a session. Clean right after you spray, with the cleaner the paint maker names. I keep the cleaning water in its own jar with its own label. It says "not coffee". Nobody has asked why.

What a first Iwata session needs on the bench

The airbrush is one item on a short list. Before the first coat, you want all of these within reach:

• Air: a compressor, with a regulator and a water filter
• Hose: the right fitting for the airbrush and the compressor
• Paint and matching thinner: from the same paint maker
• Scrap plastic: an old runner or a plastic spoon to test the spray
• Cleaner and a cleaning pot or jar: for the end of the session
• A stand or holder: so the airbrush never lies on its cup
• A window you can open: or a booth vented outside

The test spray matters more than it sounds. Thin paint behaves differently from one bottle to the next, and a spoon tells you that before the model does. If the spray isn't even, go back to the paint maker's thinning guide. Change one thing at a time, then test again.

How to pick an Iwata airbrush

Here's the order I'd use with the grid:

1. Air first. Do you own a compressor? If not, start with an Eclipse HP-CS system or plan the Power Jet Pro Dual alongside an airbrush.
2. Feed second. Gravity for small batches of model paint. Siphon for big coats from bottles.
3. Button or trigger third. Three listings say trigger in the title.
4. Beginner or not. The two NEO Beginner sets say so in the title.
5. Cleaning fourth, and same day. A cleaning kit belongs in the first order, not the second.

For a first airbrush on plastic models, the safe middle is a dual-action gravity feed with a nozzle near 0.3 mm. That matches ANEST IWATA's general nozzle size and its most widely used action. Read each listing for the nozzle, since our data doesn't record it.

For other makers, the airbrush kits page compares Iwata with Master Airbrush, Badger, Harder & Steenbeck and others by feed, action and nozzle. For what to spray, see model car kits and Gundam model kits.

Ventilation comes with the airbrush

My one opinion on this page: ventilation isn't optional with an airbrush. An airbrush turns paint into fine mist on purpose, and you stand right beside it.

The EPA lists paints, solvents and hobby supplies among household sources of volatile organic compounds, chemicals that become gas at room temperature. Its first steps to cut exposure are to increase ventilation when using these products and to meet or exceed the label's precautions.

Airbrush, solvents, cement: Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves.

Keep the airbrush, thinner and cleaner on a high shelf, away from kids.

Who should skip an Iwata airbrush for now

Skip the airbrush step if you've finished only one or two kits. A brush and a spray can cover a first car or plane. Skip it, too, if you can't paint by an open window or vent a spray booth outside. And if your next kit is snap-fit and molded in color, it may not need paint at all.

Air first, paint second, cleaner always.