End of a mortal enemy

I must unfortunately announce the demise of my Iwata Eclipse HP-CS airbrush, veteran of something like 15 years of use.

Today was just the last straw. There was no longer any paint coming out of the front of the airbrush. I disassembled it more than once, scrubbed it with thinner and little wire brushes, and finally had to surrender to the inevitable. The airbrush was no more, singing with the choir invisible, pushing up daisies, and other such Python references.

I suspect the little bullet shaped nozzle in the front of the brush, which cannot be cleaned physically (the opening on one end is too small to allow anything like a wire or pipe cleaner to pass through) is finally occluded with dried paint. That would likely explain the diminishing amount of paint that has been making it to the model from the paint cup. There were bubbles in the cup, which implies that some passageway was blocked. I decided to check out parts prices to keep from having to buy a new brush, but the nozzle, needle, and o-ring (all of which are damaged) came to $42 via Amazon, while a new Iwata HP-CS was $139. So, after consultation with my wife, I decided that it basically amounted to getting a replacement brush for $100. Seeing that I have always liked my Eclipse (when it worked the way I expected), and it has given many long years of service - and you know my production is higher than most modellers, not counting 2015 - this seemed like the proper thing to do. At some future point perhaps I will replace that clogged nozzle, giving me a backup brush.

It does mean that the coming days of blog entries will be filled with writing up completions and construction, since there will be no airbrushing going on til the new recruit gets here mid-week.
But finances being what they are, it was a decision that did require some thought. My BluRay player is fatally down, too, so my entertainment options are becoming limited!

But look what just jumped on to the workbench and demanded some construction attention.