I wanted to see how i got on with it before splashing for anything more expensive. Short story is i love it. Even witha cheapo brush the finish is far superior to anything i can do with a normal paintbrush.
The above 2 brushes are available for £65 for the 150 and £85 for an anthem. What are the pro’s and con’s of both brushes and what would you chaos reccomend as a good starter double action brush. Be aware, cash IS an issue so please be realistic about costs (not over £90 if possible)
*Edit, I spray Vallejo Acrylics exclusively, anything else and i get a stinking headache no matter how well ventilated i am.
I own a Badger 150 so I can attest that it’s an excellent AB [;)] I hear the Anthem is a bit better which is reflected in the price. The ebay ABs you have a link to look like generic 150s, but are probably not as well made. I gather they have plastic handles? Either of the ones you’ve mentioned in the title would do fine. I think I would save the £20 and go for the 150!
Both are good airbrushes used by several people I know here. I can only speak for the 155 as that is one of the airbrushes that I own. It is a great brush that does detail nicely as well as being able to handle larger coverage. I also spray nearly all Vallejo acrylics and had good results with it. I actually got slightly better results with my Badger 175 but the fine detail available with the 155 is better so it is a good tradeoff to use the 155.
I am not sure on pricing in your country but the Thayer and Chandler Omni 4000 is a vry good brush at a reasonable price, and it is gravity fed so even finer detail is possible with it. It is about the same price as a 155 here in the states so maybe it will be there also.
I did notice my painting became better when using the vallejo thinner which has a retarder in it. It is a biut cheaper to buy a big bottle of Liquitex or Goldens airbrushing medium though as I suspect it is similar if not the same as Vallejo thinner.
Good luck to you! And if you don’t already use it, needle lube (sold as Regdab by Badger and Medea Lube by Iwata) really help keep the tip dry associated with acrylics to a minimum.
Bgrigg - the generic one i am using is actually all metal. The part that is coloured and consequently looks plastic is actually metal, but it feels anodised black. I have heard previously that it maybe a Badger copy or possibly made by badger for the generic market (do they do this?). If this is the case it makes me wonder whether it is worth getting a Badger 150 if it will be the same as what i already use?
Tho999- It looks like the pricing heavily favours the US on this front. Prices online that i have found from shops in the UK for a Badger anthem dont start at less than £99. This ( it hink) is about $181 US. If i recall the badger anthem can be picked up in the US for $50-$60. A $120 dollar mark up to buy from a UK shop seems harsh to me.
shipping from the US would be about $40.00 tops I would believe… for the Anthem at www.bearair.com (complete kit with air hose and bottles etc…) it is $62.00, add about $40.00 shipping and that is approximately 55 British pounds. Yes you have to wait for 3 or 4 weeks to get it, but the price is right!
If you are talking Euros then: 82 Euros
it would be worth checking out the shipping to see if you can get one at that price…
Also I found an Iwata HP-CR which I also own and is my ULTIMATE brush… very fine detail, good at larger coverage, I use my Badger 175 for anything large but the CR does EVERYTHING else… (your brush you listed from ebay would do the same as my 175) here it is:
Either one would do great, the HP-CR in MY opinion is a little more adapted to small detail but the 155 is very close behind…
I hope you find what you want!!!
—edit—
I saw on the Iwata the seller posted free hose or free shipping, I believe the free hose would be more economical as it is $12 here in the US and the 3 pounds to ship would be the lesser of the two prices. The hose for your other airbrush would probably not fit the Iwata. Caution though, find out how available Iwata parts are in the UK (although I saw several of them on ebay.uk so they must be somewhat popular) The reason I say this is Hannants has all the parts for the 155 you could ask for… you wouldn’t want to have to wait for 2 weeks for a needle to arrive from the US for the Iwata…
It sure looks like the 150 Badger, perhaps it is. There isn’t much to the parts, so you probably should just keep looking. Gravity fed will give finer lines, the Iwatas are highly recommended as Tom mentioned. The T&C Omni line is also highly recommended.
You sure take a beating in the UK. What’s the VAT over there?
Meurig, the 150 is a “nozzle” tip airbrush and the 155 is a “cone” tip airbrush. With a 150, you change the needle and head assembly for the type medium sprayed and/or the effect that you are looking for. The 155 has a “floating” needle that centers in the cone which allows one needle to do it all. Dixie gives an excellent tutorial - http://www.dixieart.com/AirbrFAQ.html. By the way, I own both brushes. Both are excellent. The 150 lays a slightly finer line, but the trade off is in the cleaning and the expense of the extra heads and needles. I am still getting the hang of my Anthem only because I started years ago on a 200 ( same head assembly as the 150, but single action ). Hope this helps.
Yes, the 200 NH is a single action version of the Anthem. The original 200 was the single action version of the 100/150 series, but has since been discontinued. If you like the old single action version, you can use the 150 as a fixed double action with the adjusting screw at the front of the trigger to get the same results.
How about the 200-20, the “detail” version? That appears to have the old style head still.
Another question for you Badger afficianadoes. My first AB (which I still have) was a 200, probably in the late 60’s - early 70’s. The rear handle was more cigar shaped, there was a groove around the body engraved with Badger, and the paint bottle lid was screwed to the bottom of the airbrush, you didn’t have the option of the quick change bottles or the color cup like the newer versions. Any idea when the last of this style were made? I sent mine back to Badger a few years back when I considered getting into modeling again, had it rebuilt, mostly for old time’s sake. I am not actively modeling at this point, mostly just fiddle with the AB’s for fun. I like to buy up inexpensive older ones off ebay and fiddle with them. I’m an electrical engineer by trade, but like the mechanical things for a hobby because it’s so different.
anyway - enough about me, anyone have any ideas about the old style 200 I’ve described?
Thanks!
tho999- I agree with you regarding the costs of getting one from the US… The costs make teh wait worthwhile in my book although that anthem you found on Ebay is a better price than i have seen anywhere else so that would probably be a better option.
Bgrigg- VAT is 17.5% but to be honest that is just part of the reason why our goods are more expensive. We have a saying int he UK “Rip off Britain”. Usually we pay pound/dollar for any items, I.E. what would cost $10 in the US will cost £10 in the UK, meaning we are a fait bit more expensive for most items.
ABARNE- After getting confirmation that mu AB is similar to teh badger 150 i was wondering if it was worth it as well… i was sure before this thread started but now im not so sure. What say you all about this, is it worth me retiring my current cheapo AB and getting something else?
That airbrush looks like a Thayer and Chandler Omni 3000 with a different rear handle section to me. Take a look at the Omni 3000 on this page: http://www.badgerairbrush.com/omni.htm
and see if the tip looks like yours.
If it is, it’s a great airbrush. I have two Omni’s, a 3000 and 4000, as well as a coupe of other brushes. The Omni 4000 is the one I use for the vast bulk of my painting.
Fizzwater, I too have the OLD style 200 with the vertical screw on siphon cap. I called Badger two weeks ago and they said they no longer had the srew on caps for that model. Mine is stripped completely for parts that I have used on my other Badgers. The head assembly is on my standard 200, the trigger is on my other standard 200 that I rebuilt, the needle is in reserve, and the air valve is on my Anthem.
Bummer on the cap, I got a spare when I sent mine back to them two or three years back to have it fixed up. I’ll have to look, see how many I might have…
i believe it is a Badger 150, i have one myself and Badger 150 parts seem to fit on it and look the same,
this shows each part, excuse teh paint on the tip [:p] thought i got rid of that, anyway it comes with a .35mm fine needle, so it should be a matter of just swapping head and needle, i bought a diff needle and flow regulator(lil tip that the needle blocks), from the badger 150 accessories, a large, and it all fits, however i need the nozzle cover changed as well as it is only for the fine needle, so i might just buy the whole head, hopefully not in aus as our prices are extortionate,$12AUD for the needle and $20AUD for the 4mm pressure regulator thing. ive seen the whole head for $12US online, so i’ll investigate into that
the brush itself i can only manage to get it down to about 5mm thin line, i cant get any finer, and going to close the paint thats sprayed gets pushed out of the way and doesnt look nice, but thats probably something ill learn to avoid, just wish i could get a wider spray, for basecoating, or should i purchase a mini spraygun instead? painting computer case sides and xbox’s,etc
