Peeler And Walkup weren't the only ones working to improve the airbrush in the early and mid 1880's. John Whipple of Wisconsin was granted a patent on July 3, 1883 for improvements to Peeler's original design. His wind-wheel  was made from two disks with the vanes sandwiched between them, similar to a water wheel,  whereas Peeler's was a simple disk with the vanes formed by bending part of the disk downward, like a pinwheel. Whipple also has a novel, thinner needle assembly that looks like a square bow, as in bow and arrow. The needle can be much thinner which allows for a finer line. He is granted two more patents in November, 1883 and January, 1884. The first patent uses a small gear on the wind-wheel to drive a larger gear. It is a twin needle design as both the wind-wheel and the large gear have needles and there are two air blast tubes to operate them. The paint troughs are bent up so that, according to Whipple, they retain paint when the "distributer" is used in a vertical position. It also has a "step" design in that the handle is elevated from the "mechanics" to allow hand room when using the airbrush. In this patent he is refuting the walking bar concept. The second patent makes a 180 degree turn and incorporates the walking bar. The patent shows both a single and a dual needle version. The two needle design uses his bow needle as well as a tapered one. The design has two other features, a guide to support the needle at both ends and separate thumb and finger operated triggers to adjust the air and the needle(s) during use. Two of Whipple's innovations, the wind-wheel design and the needle guide were later used by Walkup. Poor Mr. Whipple's two best ideas, the finger operated needle adjustment , allowing for easier and single hand operation and the needle guide were a day late and a dollar short. Two months prior to his filing, Walkup had filed for a similar idea that used a single trigger.

    Every once in a while an airbrush pops up that is really nice and doesn't catch on. Unfortunately, the Bass is one of those airbrushes. It was made in the late 1970's and early 1980's in Northridge, California, a suburb of Los Angeles by Donald Bass. The handle is made of nylon and is very comfortable and easy to use. It’s a basic single action, external mix airbrush and it will accept the same cups or bottles as a Paasche H or Badger 350. The major differences are the 3/8" thick white nylon body's funny ergonomic shape, the trigger mounted farther forward than usual, and the air inlet at the rear. These combine to give it a balance and feel that are exceptional. It's too bad that wasn't successful because it's a high quality airbrush and is far more comfortable to use than a similar Paasche or Badger. A lack of advertising doomed it the marketplace.