The Ace Series GHAC-Swallowtail Barbatos Rex Ver. Airbrush from Gaahleri I’ve never used a trigger style of airbrush, and to be honest I thought I’d hate it – but join me today as I check out the recent release GHAC Swallowtail from Gaahleri.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I’ve been loving my Mobius 0.2 mm airbrush from Gaahleri, which is the only reason I agreed to try out their GHAC Swallowtail airbrush.
Complete transparency: yes, Gaahleri sent me the airbrush, but as always, I can promise you, you get my honest impression with no expectation from the supplier.
The swallowtail was on May 31, 2023, as part of Gaahleri's Ace Series lineup. This airbrush has been marketed as having an ergonomic trigger design developed to enhance ergonomics, making it ideal for extended painting sessions. The release also promotes its versatility, as it caters to both fine detail work and broader applications.
The boxing I have is a collaboration with US-based YouTube influencer Barbatos Rex. Barbatos Rex has built a strong following through his hands-on, honest reviews and deep experience with airbrushing and model painting.
This particular model was developed based on his feedback during testing—it’s designed to combine fine-line precision with smooth, wide-area coverage.
The airbrush is packaged beautifully and comes with the 3 different-sized needle configurations—a 0.28 for detailed work, a 0.5 mm for greater coverage, and finally the 0.7 mm house nail for flood coating and greater paint flow.
There are two sizes of paint cups, a 1/3 and a 2/3 fluid ounce volume. These are considerably bigger than I am used to.
You also receive spare seals as well as a quick-release fitting for your air supply.
The first thing I do when I get an airbrush is remove the trigger stop. This is an adjustable screw that adjusts the movement in the trigger, which ultimately limits the amount of paint that will flow through the nozzle. I find it gets in the way; however, if you are new to airbrushing, it may help with controlling your paint flow.
The airbrush comes with the 0.28 needle installed and is first put to the test using the new VMS primer, which I am currently testing.
The paint is poured directly into the cup and not thinned in any way, and I begin to paint. Immediate flow, and surprisingly the trigger action felt quite natural in my hand with a good level of control. Something I wasn’t expecting.
One of the things I like about the Mobius I’ve been using is the ability to remove the needle and cut for easy cleaning—a moistened cotton bud makes short work of the cleanup. Just remember to remove the needle if you want to go poking around in the end of the nozzle!
In terms of a single-colour, complete-coverage style of painting, the airbrush ticked the boxes… But if you have ever watched some of my build videos, you will know I like to paint in an imperfect mottled style, so I loaded the cup with an AK Real Colour Lacquer thinned with Tamiya retard thinner to around 30% thinner to 70% paint.
Again, to my surprise, not only were the paint flow and application predictable, but also the way it felt in my hand seemed very natural and very comfortable. The way I was holding it wasn’t something I’d actually considered; it was pretty much just how my hand landed on the tool. My pointer finger was lining up the target, and my middle finger was controlling the trigger. Although I found my trigger finger changed depending on the application.
I found the cups that come with the tool a little big for the way I paint but was pleased to see the smaller cup from my Mobius just screwed in place. My philosophy is the less paint on the model, the better. I find the smaller cup is easier to gauge the amount of paint in it and easier to clean… So if you are looking at this boxing, I’d recommend picking yourself up the smaller cup to complement it.
Applying camouflage freehand is one of the joys of airbrushing, so again for the AK Real Colour, I applied a basic freehand pattern in the same way I would using the traditional style of airbrush. As a further exercise in control, I practiced painting within the lines with very little trouble in doing so.
But I wanted to really dial this test up, so I went next level.
A post-shading technique is a lot of fud to apply and can look amazing, but it does require a high degree of control in order to execute properly.
A heavily thinned mix of AK Clear Smoke and Rot Braun is mixed in the cut. This is about a 90/10 thinner-to-paint mix. Because the paint is so thin, control is paramount because too much paint on the surface will cause it to spider and pool. I’m working on the shading over panel lines and rivets as well as adding effects around the camouflage pattern I’d just created. Creating these freehand camouflage patterns is one thing, but the ability to follow the exact same line is another… And surprisingly, I found this incredibly natural.
Creating vertical streaking is another thing I like to do with my airbrush, and this again was on par with anything else I’d used.
As mentioned, the kit comes with 3 needle sizes; you can clearly see the difference between the 0.28 and the 0.7 mm needles—obviously the 0.5 is somewhere in the middle of these.
To change them out is a relatively easy process and begins with carefully removing the needle.
You then remove the nozzle cap, as this is unique to each of the needle sizes. Because these caps are specific to each needle, Gaahleri suggests this will reduce dead zones where paint might splatter or spray unevenly as well as help reduce dry tips.
The engineering and design of the nozzle is a drop-in element that requires no special tool to remove, which simplifies the cleaning process as well as the changeover.
The 0.7 literally hosed the paint on, and I went through it extremely quickly. The difference was astounding, but the coverage it gave was very good. This needle would be perfect for those of you looking for excellent coverage in a single colour, or, of course, it would be perfect for varnishes.
CONCLUSION The trigger style of airbrush isn’t a new concept, and I was almost certain I wasn’t going to like it, but this turned out to be an unexpectedly enjoyable experiment. After trying this and feeling how naturally it sat in my hand, I have to say I have completely changed my tune. It gave me an excellent level of control, and the three needle options really give the modeller a tool for just about any modelling application.
I wouldn’t completely swap my Mobius for this, but I can see myself using the two tools together depending on the style of application.
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