The Gaahleri Premium Series Mobius 0.2mm dual-action airbrush comes at a time when more and more hobbyists are picking up airbrushes to paint miniature figures, Gunpla, and other small, detailed models or components. Known for solidly designed airbrushes that won’t cost you an arm and a leg to purchase, Gaahleri steps up with its Premium Series Mobius models, offering you a choice between airbrushes with a .2mm and .3mm nozzle ($77.99).
Inside the beautiful packaging, you’ll find the airbrush, paint cup and lid, replacement O-rings, and a tube of needle lubricant. The airbrush weighs all of 4 ounces (112 grams), with an ergonomically shaped trigger that I find took a little getting used to, because I found my finger tended to slip off it. However, with use, as with all things, I grew accustomed to it.
Up front, you’ll find a micro air-control (MAC) valve to adjust the volume of air flowing to the nozzle at your chosen air pressure. It’s a nice addition to an airbrush for fine-tuning your spray patterns and isn’t included with all brushes. The 1/10-ounce paint cup is small, which shouldn’t surprise you since this is an airbrush meant for detail painting. If you’re planning to paint an aircraft carrier, maybe kick it up to a .5mm brush with a siphon feed. Still, I would have liked to have a slightly larger cup for longer spray times before refills. You can purchase the 1/3-ounce cup found with the .3mm version separately.
In back there’s a lever adjustment knob to control the tension on the trigger and an adjustment knob to limit trigger pull. For people like me, this last adjustment knob is a nice feature, because after I know what I’m painting, I can set how far the needle pulls back and then just concentrate on painting.
Disassembling the airbrush, you can appreciate how much thought Gaahleri put into engineering the Mobius. Yes, it's an airbrush, and the parts are by necessity small, but they don’t “feel” small. While delicate, they’re substantial and don’t feel like they'retheir going to break, bend, or fly off easily to be devoured by your carpet monster or roaming neighborhood blackhole. And you’ll notice the placement of seals in key areas that may have caused you trouble on other airbrushes, like the throat beneath the feed cup, behind the nozzle cap, or around the spring case.
Gaahleri highlights the Mobius handle’s patent-pending, spiral-shaped, cutaway design. It allows easy access to the adjustment knobs, but I’m not sure of its functionality beyond that point. It certainly looks cool.
For me, though, the spiral MAC nozzle makes this airbrush stand out. About ½ inch long, it has six grooves along its sides to channel air evenly down to the tip. It is self-centering without any need of a wrench for tightening. What’s more, the nozzle is made from aluminum, not brass. While slightly softer than brass, aluminum is more resistant to corrosion and tarnishing, which could affect your painting.
After spending several paint sessions with the Gaahleri Premium Series Mobius 0.2mm dual-action airbrush, I can say that I enjoy using it for detail work. It feels good in my hand, I don’t get tired using it, and it produces fine patterns. I still can’t produce a consistent pencil line with it, but that’s my limitation, not the airbrush’s—I’m lucky I can get a pencil line with a pencil. If you’re in the market for a small-nozzle airbrush and have $100 to spend on it, the Mobius 0.2mm would be a fine choice. I would spring for the larger paint cup, too.