sunsanvil
Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2010
- Messages
- 490
Although Badger’s Renegade Series of airbrushes is (relatively) old news having been out for a couple years now, they’ve recently revised them a little. Having obtained one of the new toolings, I thought I’d share my experience with the Velocity (the gravity feed model of the series). For those of you already familiar with the Renegades much of this will be revisionary.
Since the initial release Badger has profiled the Renegade line as being the ultimate fine detail tool, primarily targeting automobile artists but that doesn’t mean it’s not of interest to us modelers. The main difference from their more ubiquitous guns are the paint tip and needle. The nozzle is minuscule, less than half the size of their regular ones, with a reverse flare to its shape as oppose to a strait taper. It is still threadless and is self-centering when held in its seat by the hold down ring. The needle has a very sharp cut to it, with only the slightest of 2nd angle at the tip, and is of polished carbide as oppose to the usual stainless steel. At the back is a conventional handle with a handy adjustable travel stop.
The micro tip in its seat.
In terms of what is new on this revision, an obvious change from the original is the cup shape, tapered as oppose to the original rounded bottom. More recently and more significantly (and what really makes this a v.2) is that Herman Robish, Badger's VP of Engineering, has done some design mods to the trigger, rocker lever, needle tube linkage, and inner seal. The rocker lever in particular has had its curve changed such that it contacts both the trigger and needle tube higher up. On the original Velocity and Spirit (the gravity and side feed models of the line) Badger had omitted their usual Teflon needle bearing in favor of a user replaceable O-ring. As of this revision the Teflon bearing is back, but it is user replaceable in that it is now part of the setscrew.
The new setscrew with integrated Teflon seal.
Ken Shlotfeldt, Badger President and CEO, has said of Herman’s mods that “…he has perfected smooth in my opinion “.
My observations will for the most part be relative to my incumbent gun, Badger’s 105/Patriot.
When most of us think “detail†in terms of airbrushing, we take that to mean a fine spray and/or tight line, and initially I thought “big dealâ€. With the right air, fluid, and a whole lot of patience one can get a fine line out almost any decent airbrush. Of course doing so tends to be a hit and miss process. As much as I love the 105, its finicky to be consistent when attempting fine detail or shading.
When I first fired up the Velocity, I at first thought something was wrong in that I had to pull relatively far back on the trigger to get any noticeable paint flow and I could tell not a lot of air was coming through (my compressor was kicking off mid stroke). Turns out that the Renegade’s head assembly is simply more restricting to the air and a simple +5psi over what you are used to is all you need to overcome it. So with the compressor dialed up to 23psi or so I got to work and within minutes my jaw was on the floor. Mind you I was using the exact same Vallejo ModelAir paint I’ve been using for years, but for the first time I was getting not only extremely tight and fine spray, but I was getting it consistently. With the 105 I was in the habit of having to wipe the needle tip with cleaner periodically during a session just to keep things going, but after 30 minutes of work the Velocity’s head was still clean and I was still getting fine, fine spray! This is how I always imagined airbrushing should be but never was, blaming it on a lack of some innate ability or gift on my part.
The action is definitely smooth. Smoother than the 105, though I unfortunately am not in a position to compare to the original Renegade action. The tension as set at the factory was a little tight for me but this is fully adjustable to your taste. A word of caution: while it is user serviceable, don’t mess with the Teflon seal/bearing and its setscrew if you don’t have too. Mine was a little too loose (cleaning fluid leaked passed it) and it took me forever to get it “just rightâ€.
While the gunmetal finish is undeniably distinctive and downright cool looking, I do wish the inside of the cup were the traditional silver as to better see what you are doing when cleaning it out. At the same time I must admit that, being overly fastidious about thorough cleaning after each session, I miss the cut away handle I’m used to, but of course you can’t really have that AND the travel stop*. This last I don’t think will be of particular benefit to me as the needle is cut in such a way that only at the extreme of the trigger action do you get anything other than a fine line…and at that it’s still what other guns would consider their finest spray (in other words there is not a lot of danger of suddenly flooding your model with paint… though goofs are always possible).
To me model painting has really evolved to an elevated art this past decade or so with techniques like color modulation and such. It’s not just free hand camo which calls for a fine, controlled spray. The Velocity delivers in spades, to the point where I cannot recommend it as a first or only gun: it’s just too fine for clears/varnishes and/or base coats (for which the Patriot is perfect). It might be interesting at some point to try the velocity retrofitted with the “fine†(as oppose to “ultra-fineâ€) assembly parts, but till then I would tell modelers that if they can only have one gun, or a first gun, definitely something more like a Patriot, but complementing it with a Velocity would propel someone to the next level for sure.
* As of this writing Badger has JUST realeased their latest airbrush: the Krome. Available for the time being exclusively through MidTennHobbies.com it addresses the few wishes I had about the Velocity in that they have gone back to their bright chrome plate finish and they have managed to incorprates a cut-away handle WITH the travel stop. There is an interesting plastic fitting added to the underside at the air valve (possibly for grip/comfort) and the basic kit includes BOTH the ultra-fine and fine assemblies.
