DaveG
Airbush Analyst
While on the hunt for a Hodlein y2dash, the opportunity to pick up a brand new/old stock Hoblein Neo Hohmi side feed, .2 airbrush came up. After a little inner debate, I jumped on the chance to grab it, and so the rest is now history - here is a brief look at the brush for anyone that may be curious about them.
Interesting feature about the Neo Hohmi is that it features a three hole head system that varies from other manufacturers. Some people refer to it a Micron like, or Micron type performance. I don't get that out of it, but it is still interesting, and an effective set up. The base of the head is actually removable from the brush, but I did not feel the need to do so - just removed the air cap, and needle cap for photo purposes.
The brush is a .2 set up. The first thing I noticed was just how far the needle protruded from the head. Think Olympos needles stick out far? This thing blows it away!
I compared the needle to an Olympos Micron .18 needle - the diameter of the Neo Hohmi needle is fatter, and the taper is actually quite a bit longer than the Olympos. (Hoblein on top, Olympos on the bottom)
Another unique feature of the brush helps to explain why they call it "needle packing". This brush uses a fibrous material that gets inserted into small ports on each side of the brush to surround the needle, and "pack" the seal into place. The fibrous material is supposed to be wetted with "grease or vegetable palmade". I used mineral oil to moisten the fibers, and Airbrush Balm between the two sides to create a sandwich around the needle. Pressure is adjustable from both sides, right and left with small set screws that hold everything in place. Directions have you re-wetting the fibers once a month or as needed.
This brush sat for I do not know how long in a warehouse. The oils that were originally used on it had long since dried out, and gummed up - so the brush required a good cleaning before use. Easy enough - the brush has a very odd trigger setup, that works quite well, and offers a bit of adjustment. My personal preference will have me changing the needle spring with something softer. A quick test spray using Com-art transparent black straight from the bottle has the brush spraying fairly well. Things of note in this department - I needed to keep my MAC valve all the way open to get good atomization, and a line that was not broken or skipping. In contrast, I would use a Micron with the MAC valve open less than @1/3rd. Even with higher pressure entering the brush there was no more tendency for the paint to want to spider on the surface out of the Neo Hohmi. A relatively fine line was easy to maintain, and the lack of tip dry on that super long needle was noticeable out of the brush. I did not have to clean or pick the needle a single time while fooling around with the brush.
I'm including a recent sample of my work as a wrap up, just to give perspective about the kind of work that I do, and my ability with an airbrush...
Interesting feature about the Neo Hohmi is that it features a three hole head system that varies from other manufacturers. Some people refer to it a Micron like, or Micron type performance. I don't get that out of it, but it is still interesting, and an effective set up. The base of the head is actually removable from the brush, but I did not feel the need to do so - just removed the air cap, and needle cap for photo purposes.
The brush is a .2 set up. The first thing I noticed was just how far the needle protruded from the head. Think Olympos needles stick out far? This thing blows it away!
I compared the needle to an Olympos Micron .18 needle - the diameter of the Neo Hohmi needle is fatter, and the taper is actually quite a bit longer than the Olympos. (Hoblein on top, Olympos on the bottom)
Another unique feature of the brush helps to explain why they call it "needle packing". This brush uses a fibrous material that gets inserted into small ports on each side of the brush to surround the needle, and "pack" the seal into place. The fibrous material is supposed to be wetted with "grease or vegetable palmade". I used mineral oil to moisten the fibers, and Airbrush Balm between the two sides to create a sandwich around the needle. Pressure is adjustable from both sides, right and left with small set screws that hold everything in place. Directions have you re-wetting the fibers once a month or as needed.
This brush sat for I do not know how long in a warehouse. The oils that were originally used on it had long since dried out, and gummed up - so the brush required a good cleaning before use. Easy enough - the brush has a very odd trigger setup, that works quite well, and offers a bit of adjustment. My personal preference will have me changing the needle spring with something softer. A quick test spray using Com-art transparent black straight from the bottle has the brush spraying fairly well. Things of note in this department - I needed to keep my MAC valve all the way open to get good atomization, and a line that was not broken or skipping. In contrast, I would use a Micron with the MAC valve open less than @1/3rd. Even with higher pressure entering the brush there was no more tendency for the paint to want to spider on the surface out of the Neo Hohmi. A relatively fine line was easy to maintain, and the lack of tip dry on that super long needle was noticeable out of the brush. I did not have to clean or pick the needle a single time while fooling around with the brush.
I'm including a recent sample of my work as a wrap up, just to give perspective about the kind of work that I do, and my ability with an airbrush...
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. I will wind up trying other paints, and eventually work out reduction ratios to suit this particular brush.
