Airbrush 8-Holes Pattern Air Cap for GHAC-Swallowtail

The eight-hole cap for the Swallowtail

Eight small holes around the circumference feed additional air to the nozzle. That breaks the paint into finer droplets and the resulting mist is softer than anything a simply built cap can achieve. The difference shows best where two shades are meant to meet with no visible boundary. Gaahleri lists the part as an accessory for the GHAC-Swallowtail gun; the cap also encloses the needle tip, so it protects it both when the gun is put down and during cleaning.

When to reach for it

• Fine misting and smooth color transitions on cowlings and fuselages
• Shade modulation, where a coarser mist would leave a grainy surface
• Work with metallic paints, where uneven atomization of the pigment shows up first
• Controlled narrowing and widening of the sprayed line according to the paint flow
• Shading miniatures, where you work with very small amounts of paint

Who the part is for

Owners of the Swallowtail who do camouflage schemes with soft transitions and want a cap reserved for that kind of work will appreciate it. Switching between two characters of sprayed line then takes a moment and calls for neither stripping the whole gun nor resetting the trigger.

The holes are narrow and clog readily, above all when working with thicker paints. Rinse the cap after every session and let it soak. Work clogged holes clear with a soft bristle brush, never with wire or a needle; any widening of a hole shows in the sprayed line.