Hey guys , well I've been out of the hobby for a good 15 years or so and just found my way back. It's incredible what's out there nowadays in terms of information, techniques, tools, and paints. Not to mention the online communities like this one. Amazing .

Anyway, I'm looking to pick up an airbrush and compressor to shoot Vallejo acrylic paints and I'm wondering if the Badger Renegade Velocity will be versatile enough to handle my basic needs ie. primers, base coats/shading, clear coats etc.

I'm strictly working on 1/35 scale AFV's.

Got my eye on this set here, but I'm certainly open to suggestions if I'm barking up the wrong tree:

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/barer1vvewit1.html


Thanks!

The Krome is an excellent airbrush and that is a reasonable price for a complete set up. But...you may find the .21mm nozzle on that particular model a bit fine for general work. Are there larger sets available? If so, you may want to buy additional nozzle/needle sets for covering larger areas...say a .5mm or .7mm (I see that there is a .31 option which might suit you better). If the Krome is only that size, you can consider several other excellent Badgers (like the Patriot), or any of the other major brands (hard to go wrong that way). Chicago Airbrush Supply is an outstanding dealer with a huge selection, great prices and superb customer support.

For information on specific brushes (and comparing one to another), you may find this site useful:
https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/

If you are looking for something for both fine detail work and for larger areas you should perhaps look at Badger's Renegade Krome:
http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/barekr2in1.html

As you can see it comes with a .21 set-up but also supplies a larger .3 set up too so you can work on larger areas with the same precision. There are reviews of the Krome and a good many other airbrushes on this website- just use the search function to see if a model you are interested in has a review- most Badger airbrushes have a review here on Armorama.

Take your time to make a choice, consider your options and look around- the airbrush is a tool you'll use a great deal so its best to consider it for a while beforing clicking that 'Buy' button!

Thanks for the info guys! The three brushes I have it narrowed down to are:

Badger Krome
Badger Renegade Velocity
Badger Patriot 105

I do see there's a 0.3mm needle kit available for the Velocity. Is that going to provide enough coverage for painting larger areas? The Patriot 105 will accept 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5mm needles according to this link:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/badger-airbrush-needlenozzle-replacement-kits/

So, maybe the Patriot 105 will be better suited for general purpose? Or are their other factors, aside from needle size, I'm not considering?

The Patriot is an excellent "all rounder". With the various needle/nozzle combos you can spray all sorts of different media with a wide range of coverage. From Don's review site, I think they offer a .7mm set as well. You cant go wrong with any of your choices.

Hiya

Can I start by saying that I have a Badger Renegade Velocity, it's the only airbrush I've ever owned or used so I have can't make any comparisons. I can only tell you of my experience.

I like the paint flow lock on the end - not sure what its called but it limits the amount you can pull back on the trigger.

The nozzel cap needs to be done up extra tight - hard to believe not too tight otherwise air blows back into the cup. Even greasing the thread only helps slightly.

The cup has a recess at the bottom that is incredibly hard to clean.

The cup cap doesn't last long.

The nozzle doesn't always seat properly. Causing an inaccurate aim

The brush is covered in some sort of coating which flakes off if you use a sonic cleaner. This is the worst part - it flakes off both inside the brush and out. Never had anything else do that in the sonic cleaner.

As I said this is the only brush I've used but I find it hard to believe there isn't something better?

Hi Andrew

I'll agree with r.e.arance about the Patriot 105 being a great all rounder airbrush, also it is a great airbrush to start out with as its fairly forgiving in its usage and cleaning.

I'll have to disagree with Andy on some of his points on the Velocity. The Velocity is a bit more demanding of the user. esp for proper thinning of paints.

I've had mine since they came out and never had much trouble with it.

The nozzle is snug but only hand tightened.

I don't see how the nozzle can be seated wrong if its in place correctly.

I will agree the recess in the bottom of the paint cup is a bit hard to clean and isn't badgers greatest design concept.

And as for the black krome plating, no problem with mine, but I've yet to put it in an ultrasonic cleaner, and prob will not.

The Badger Krome is very similar to the Velocity, with several design refinements and I've read they used the trigger system from the Sotar. Its my favorite of all my Badger airbrush's.

For a starter airbrush I'd recommend the Patriot 105, for more advanced usage I'd have to recommend the Krome over the Velocity.

just my 2 cents worth. for what its worth.

Delbert

Fair enough Delbert.

Perhaps my 'problems' are borne out of inexperience. I'm certainly not suggesting you can't get a good result with it. The inaccurate aim is only a fraction and once i give it a practice toot to establish where it's going i can easily accommodate it.

Please don't use it with an ultrasonic it will knacker it.

I'm having a lot more success using tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner through it, the flow is much more predictable. The lacquer thinner is probably why my cup cap hasn't lasted long!

Just trying to help

Andy

A quick FYI.

Badger makes a Metal Color cup cap for the Badger Krome, It also fits the Velocity.

Also Most common cause of Off center spray is a bent needle tip. (Just something to check, I've bent several of them as they are kinda small.)..

Delbert

I suppose the Krome is a more demanding airbrush for the user- that being said it is easy to pick up and spray- but it takes a healthy amount of practice to get it working to the best of its considerable ability- and not just in the trigger work- as Delbert pointed out the Krome needs paint thinned to that mythical 'just right' consistency- it takes some experimenting with it to get both what you and the airbrush are comfortable with.

People have also mentioned the Badger 105 here- personally I've never used that but I have used a Thayer & Chandler Omni 4000 (there's a review of it here on the site) which is somewhat similar and is a great all-rounder airbrush.