Has anyone purchased/tried out the new Krome airbrush by Badger??
I believe its a higher end version of the velocity??? I assume it’s spray characteristics would be equal/same as the velocity??
Your thoughts??
You can find more info at the ARC forum. Cyrus Tan was instrumental in the Krome coming into being.
The obvious difference is the nickel chrome finish, the tapered cup design from the Patriot 105, and the plastic fitting around the airvalve from the Sotar. The trigger and internals are also from the Sotar. It has the same 0.21mm self-centering nozzle & tip from the Velocity. - Cyrus
However, it does not seem to be available anywhere, including webairbrushes.com. Hope that it is not a vapor ware.
MidTenn Hobbies has begun shipping them.
Don
They show zero stock. And the item is not in the Badger direct order section.
Read the welcome message on the home page.
Don
Badger should have named it the Velocity Block II.
It looks like Badger took all of our reviews, feedbacks, opinions and gripes from this forum, tweeked the Velocity which resulted in the Krome.
Unfortunately, it also appears that they’ve made the Velocity a little too indestructible for any of us to justify buying another.
UPDATED: 05/05/11
Obviously, the timetable slipped a bit, but the new Badger Renegade Krome arrived early this morning, and shipments have begun! Boxes were pre-assembled a couple of days ago when the shipping notice arrived, so it looks like all Pre-orders will ship today without any problem. New orders are beginning to arrive since the shipment date was released in a few internet forums, so we could be either out or have very few left by the end of the day. More are expected Friday, with continued shipments next week. An unexpected result of the release date slipping was that this first shipment was more generous than expected!!
The pictures on the product page will be updated later today to show off the updated finishing touches incorporated since we received the prototype, and I’m sure you’ll want to take a new look!
Don, You sure have the insider scope.
The Renegade Krome added $30 to the price (compared to the old Renegade) at MidTenn. Badger finally realize that those cost added features are the modeler looking for. They also ships with an adaptor for the Iwata hose. One thing it does not have is the Patriot style self-centered nozzle.
Now at the same price point, it would be very nice to see a comparison review of the H&S Evolution Solo, the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and the Krome. The first two are current modelers’ favorites. The Krome is a new comer to the scene.
The Renegades and the Krome tips are self centering, like the Patriot. They are just real tiny. The lack of threads is a blessing and a curse. No threads means they won’t strip or break during assembly, and no wrench is required. But, it also means that they can fall out when you remove the head, and they are really hard to find on the floor. Ask me how I know. [:)]
Don
Don,
How prophetic! I droped mine yesterday for the first time. I held my breath and did not move for a moment, lucky for me the cat saw it fall and “pointed” it out for me by sniffing at it.
I’m suppose to have one delivered Monday. I’ll try to get some thoughts up on comparison with an older velocity and a couple of other .2mm airbrushes I have or can borrow.
Yea. That’s what I meant “not Patriot style” which is bigger.
The Iwata and H&S self centered nozzle are bigger too. It helps not to get lost in the carpet. In fact, the H&S design does not fall out automatically.
another fine product from Badger. i want to try.
I had a chance to try out the new Krome yesterday.
As you can probably guess there is no difference in spraying (vs. velocity) as far as I can tell. I would like more time to really see how fine I can spray with this brush. It comes with the .21 n/n installed and you also get the .33 n/n as well…nice touch!
The Krome felt a little heavier but still well balanced. Some of the internal parts look different ie: rocker lever, needle chucking nut, tensioner, and the needle itself is shorter in over all length. The metal cap is a good fit and not difficult to remove like some metal caps can. If you like cutaway handles you’ll like this one and the large needle travel adjustment knob on the end.
I did notice that the trigger is exceptionally smooth and it seemed even smoother than my Velocity with the trigger upgrade. I 've tried allot of A/B’s and this ones a keeper 
There was a small article in Airbrush Action (I think it was last month) about an updated rocker lever and teflon needle seal in the Renegade and Omni 4000 brushes. I have an Omni and the trigger is pretty smooth. Been a while since I read it but in the discussion on the Krome over at ARC I believe it was said that at least some of the internals were from the Sotar. I like the finger rest on my Sotar and am glad they used it on the Krome. And I agree, adding the .33 setup is a nice touch. I’d really like to know how the two different tip and needle sizes compare when you have a chance to try it out. Giving serious thought to ordering one myself, looks like a good deal.
Tony
Do you remember where that article was?
I hope that Don Wheeler and Cyrus Tan will each receive a free set with both nozzles from Ken Schlotfeldt. We will hear “how the two different tip and needle sizes compare”.
I’m looking forward to Don and Cyrus reviews as well!! Dons website has been a great help/resource to many modelers.
I did have a chance last night to try both tip sizes and the .33 is a very welcome addition . It sprayed great. If you don’t need the extra fine atomization of the .21 the .33 is the way to go. This will be size I leave in the A/B for 90% or more of my painting.
I used it to spray some floquil primer (enamel based) and it worked perfectly with no thinning required. My Peak C5 (.3n/n) has always required thining with this produc and had a tendency to skip.it probably requires a different thinng ratio so I can’t blam eit all on the A/B.
I also tried some future and it went on fast, very even,and wet . The last test was with some Gunze Mr. Color “bright silver”. If you have ever looked at this paint it has very large metallic particles in it. The .33 pushed it thru with ease. I did have to thin that one though.
For my last test, I sprayed some Model Air primer(acrylic) straight out of the bottle. It sprayed so nice I’m thinking on switching primers. it seemed like a perfect match.
One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is how “fast” the trigger is…meaning you don’t have to pull back very much to start receiving paint. Only my Richpen “Mojo” has a faster/smoother trigger. personally I like a fast/responsive trigger it just seems more intuitive.
BTW: if you did not already know , you can send your Renegade back to Badger for a free trigger upgrade and they will also replace the rubber “viton” needle seal with a teflon version. This really smoothes up the action.
Steve
Just my two cents worth [:D].
Steve
keilau, I didn’t buy the magazine, just looked it over, but I think it was in the issue before what’s on the shelf now. It was more of a sidebar I guess. In the first few pages of the mag they usually have a section for reviews or Q&A and that’s where it was.
Thanks for the input Steve, that sounds really good. I’ve intended for a while now to try Renegade parts in my Sotar to see if they would work. Partly because of cost but mostly for the .33mm setup. Now that I’m working again I hope to try it soon but may just have to buy a Krome to try swapping parts. [:)] And yes, a responsive trigger is what makes or breaks an airbrush for me.
Tony
Disclaimer….I am in no way affiliated with Badger Airbrushes, just trying to help out my friends here.
All,
First and foremost I want to pass on my gratitude to the folks at Badger for the OUTSTANDING service I received. Ken is a member on this forum and you can contact him if you have any questions.
Bottom line is a great product is getting better
I am passing this on to any and all of you that own the Badger Renegade Velocity. Badger has a new brush out called the Krome, and it has several improvements over the Velocity.
If you are like me, I love my Badger but do have a couple of little things that bug me on occasion. Things like pulling the trigger back can result in the rocker lever falling inside the body. These issues have been addressed!!!
Great news is that if you would like to upgrade you parts it is very easy and inexpensive to do so.
The actual process is… Badger will provide you the new design components at cost plus and S & H ($12.00 total for United States / International depends on the country it is going to). You can install the parts yourself.
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From Ken at Badger:
The trigger, which has a new finish material on it designed to aid in the movement of rubbing parts that are not “mating” parts. So the new finish material, which we are calling “glydecoat”, reduces the notability of any friction between the rubbing parts.
The needle tube/rocker lever assembly - the rocker lever also has the glydecoat finish. We have also increased the curvature of the rocker lever’s top tab to ensure the curved facing of the tab is all that rubs against the trigger, and never the top edge of the tab.
Additionally, the pin that holds the rocker lever on to the needle tube has been raised to shorten the trigger stroke for wide open spraying and eliminate the rocker lever’s recessing into the trigger slot if/when the needle is pulled back at the needle chuck (rather than at the trigger).
The inner needle seal bearing has also been changed from Viton to Teflon (PTFE). In ongoing internal product testing we have found a small percentage of special application based instances in which the current inner seal might reduce desired needle movement fluidity. So we are changing the Renegades to the same material, Teflon (PTFE), we successfully use for inner airbrush fluid sealing (around the needle) on the balance of our product line.
I got mine upgraded now and it really makes the trigger smooth. Great product is now even better![Y]
I will be really interested if Badger will offer the trigger upgrade for the Patriot. Mine is really really sticky. In fact, it does not return to its foreward neutral postion by itself after figure release.