I'm curious: If you bought the Gaahleri Swallowtail airbrush recently, what do you think of it?

[Monty]

I'm asking because I saw a Barbatos Rex video where he used one and got fantastic results, especially with the fan attachment.  When it comes to paint recommendations and modeling equipment tests, Barbatos Rex's word is usually gospel to me.

OTOH, I just finished watching another person review the same 'brush, and there wasn't a whole lot about it that he liked.  I'd say his biggest gripe was that the fan tip seemed to spray more heavily toward one end of the spray pattern, which showed up on the test paper.    

Anyway, I'd like to know what you think of yours.  Comments + a number grade (1-worst, 10-best) would be great.  

[Nacho Z]

Monty, I have a Swallowtail and I am happy with it.  I do not have the fan tip and probably never will.  Pardon the pun, but I'm not a fan of the fan tip.  My workhorse is an Iwata Eclipse and the Swallowtail is not as refined, IMHO.  I have sprayed primer and color on one model with the Swallowtail and I was happy with the results.  I used the .5mm needle.  I bought it for these features; trigger, removeable paint cups and multiple needle sizes.  I am happy with it so far and have no doubt that I will use it to shoot bodies from now on. 

No grade from me just because it is so subjective.  I like the Swallowtail and I would recommend it to anyone.  It is not on the same level as my Iwata but not everyone needs or wants an Iwata.  It does things, or maybe I should say, it has features that the Iwata does not.  For me it is just another tool in the hobby tool kit.

[Bugatti Fan]

Gaahleri Swallowtail ?    Never heard of it before. 

Where is it made?    What does it cost?   Any chance of a photo on here?

Just curious really, as I have some old Badgers that have served me we!l over the years.

[peter31a]

6 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Gaahleri Swallowtail ?    Never heard of it before. 

Where is it made?    What does it cost?   Any chance of a photo on here?

Just curious really, as I have some old Badgers that have served me we!l over the years.

If you check out Gaahleri.com you can find out about their line of airbrushes. They now have a distributor for Europe, I believe. Chinese made. New company that introduced itself last year. I've only used their base model trigger brush so far but I quite like it and the Swallowtail is supposed to be a better brush.

[Bugatti Fan]

Thanks for the info Peter. I had a look at their site.

Edited April 5, 2024 by Bugatti Fan

[bill-e-boy]

10 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Just curious really, as I have some old Badgers that have served me we!l over the years.

Me too

One of the guys in our club bought one along a couple of meetings ago. It looks to be well made and the needles are extremely sharp. He had not used at that point. It is a Barbatos Rex special and was purchased direct from Gaahleri.com

 

[Mike P.]

I have had the Gaahleri swallowtail airbrush since June 2024.  I too bought it based on the review by Barbatos Rex.  This is my experence.

When I received the airbrush it would not blow air in first stage.  When you pulled the trigger it would immediately start spraying paint instead of just air coming out.  I contacted Gaahleri and the determined the "Needle Chucking Guide" was the problem and quickly sent me a replacement and that took care of the problem.  They said the collar on the needle chucking guide probably had slid out of position due to rough handling during shipping.

The gun sprays very good.  I have sprayed with the fan cap.  I did spray one car model with it using enamel paint and it did fine.  But, I do agree with Nacho Z.  It does not a even fan spray.  That being said I have not set down with it and really put the fan cap through a good test.  I was pleased with the way it sprayed the one car I did use it on because I was able to spray the whole car quicker.

But, after 3 months of using the Swallowtail the Needle Chucking Guide is starting to give me problems again.  It started doing the same thing it was doing when I received it.  That is not blowing just air when you first pull the trigger.  Since I know now what causes it I can quickly remove the needle chucking quide and put the collar back into position.  But, it keeps happening.  

I actually contacted Gaahleri today to see if they have a solution to the problem.

Again, the airbrush sprays very good. I mostly use the 0.3 nozzle.   Atomization is very good.   And, again, I have used the fan cap very little.  

Also, the airbrush is easy to clean because of the large opening where the cup screws on.

 

[Exotics_Builder]

8 hours ago, Mike P. said:

I have had the Gaahleri swallowtail airbrush since June 2024.  I too bought it based on the review by Barbatos Rex.  This is my experence.

When I received the airbrush it would not blow air in first stage.  When you pulled the trigger it would immediately start spraying paint instead of just air coming out.  I contacted Gaahleri and the determined the "Needle Chucking Guide" was the problem and quickly sent me a replacement and that took care of the problem.  They said the collar on the needle chucking guide probably had slid out of position due to rough handling during shipping.

The gun sprays very good.  I have sprayed with the fan cap.  I did spray one car model with it using enamel paint and it did fine.  But, I do agree with Nacho Z.  It does not a even fan spray.  That being said I have not set down with it and really put the fan cap through a good test.  I was pleased with the way it sprayed the one car I did use it on because I was able to spray the whole car quicker.

But, after 3 months of using the Swallowtail the Needle Chucking Guide is starting to give me problems again.  It started doing the same thing it was doing when I received it.  That is not blowing just air when you first pull the trigger.  Since I know now what causes it I can quickly remove the needle chucking quide and put the collar back into position.  But, it keeps happening.  

I actually contacted Gaahleri today to see if they have a solution to the problem.

Again, the airbrush sprays very good. I mostly use the 0.3 nozzle.   Atomization is very good.   And, again, I have used the fan cap very little.  

Also, the airbrush is easy to clean because of the large opening where the cup screws on.

 

This is good info.  I won one at our club's contest in May but have yet to try it since I have several other brushes, mainly Iwatas.  Guess I should check it out and see how well it works.

 

[Mike P.]

I have an update. I contacted Gaahleri yesterday and they immediately replied.  They said there has been a lot of complaints about the needle chucking guide and they redesigned it.  The new design is in production now and they will send me one as soon as they become available.  

[Vessey]

On 10/29/2024 at 10:41 AM, Mike P. said:

I have an update. I contacted Gaahleri yesterday and they immediately replied.  They said there has been a lot of complaints about the needle chucking guide and they redesigned it.  The new design is in production now and they will send me one as soon as they become available.  

I'm interested in hearing about the updated part when you get it. I have one of these airbrushes and I noticed it sometimes feels like the air delivery is hesitating, I'm wondering if this part is the cause.

Other than that issue it's a good brush. The materials and finish are as good or better than my GSI Creos brushes.

[Bill Eh?]

On 10/29/2024 at 10:41 AM, Mike P. said:

I have an update. I contacted Gaahleri yesterday and they immediately replied.  They said there has been a lot of complaints about the needle chucking guide and they redesigned it.  The new design is in production now and they will send me one as soon as they become available.  

I have both a Gaahleri GHAD-68 and a Swallowtail that were purchased last year. I'm wondering how far Gaahleri will be willing to go in terms of providing customers with this updated needle guide component for free. I would hope that the needle guide component is the same for both of these Gaahleri trigger style airbrushes.

[Delmo Kitsalp]

I have two Gaahleri airbrushes including the GHAC-98D with the original style chucking guide. It was a problem immediately because the two parts of that chucking guide are not mechanically fastened together so the lever that the trigger pushes against would very easily fall off its mounting post, especially while cleaning.

But it seems like chucking guides are pretty common parts, I swapped the Gaahleri one with one out of a different brand of airbrush, and bought an Iwata chucking guide off a major online retailer for under $10 shipped once I knew that worked (and that was long before Gaahleri apparently redesigned the part). Obviously that's not free but if Gaahleri doesn't replace the part out of customer goodwill at least it's not an exotic fix.

[leon Byleveld]

Good Day  folks

i Bought a Collaborative Edition Swallowtail  (Barbatos Rex)  Gaahleri , and i am beyond impressed .

Been in the plastic model game for 51 years and had several air brushes but this gun is superior to what i previously owned   

The delivery of the paint (Tamiya enamel) with the 0.5 needle was very  smooth and even, my spray job came out 100%

i have been spraying for the last 30+ years and this is the best results i have seen with the first time try .

I will recommend this product to any buddy who appreciates a good quality air brush .

 

thanks GAAHLERI 

Leon South Africa

 

 

 

  

[Monty]

Leon, glad to hear you're pleased with your new 'brush, especially when spraying enamels, as they are almost always my go-to paints.  

Some say the optional fan cap (+/- $25) makes the whole process even better.