Affter working with a revell masterclass “vario” for a few years now and generally being very satisfied with it as it is a real allrounder i feel i am ready myself for a “next step” airbrush.
After looking around for available/ affordable and most of all, logical replacement (i am not arrogant enough to think i will have stellar results with a HS airbrush given my skill level) my shortlist contains two candidates:
Badger 100LG
2.Revell masterclass “professional”
Which one would you want…? I am leaning towards the badger as i read more about it but on the other hand i have never encountered real flaws on my previous revell airbrush other than caused by my own stupidity…
I’m not familiar with the Revell Masterclass airbrushes, so not too sure what they’re like. However, I purchased a Badger 100LG about 12months ago. Before then, I had a Paasche H, which is a single action brush (had it for about 3 years before the Badger).
Anyhow, since i purchased the Badger, i’ve barely touched the Paasche. I find the 100LG absolutely perfect for my requirements. I mainly build 1/72 aircraft (WWII and Jets) and 1/48 armour (German WWII). I really like everything about the Badger and could almost feel my painting improve from the first time i used it. I find it’s so much easier to clean (despite being a dual action), the level of detail work (using a medium needle and nozzle) is spot on for my needs (and that’s without any real skill of my own) and parts are easy for me to source in Australia.
Whilst it might just be me, i find my paint finishes are so much smoother and the paint cover much better using the Badger than when i used my Paasche H. With the Paasche, I had trouble getting a nice layer of paint down, but now, it works everytime with the Badger.
Anyhow, those are my thoughts. So, i’d encourage you to go with the Badger 100LG, but of course, i haven’t used/seen/know anything about the Revell.
I’m sure somebody with much better knowledge than me will come along and assist soon.
I always suspect the Badger makes the 3 Master Class airbrush for Revell. At least one report at the UK AeroScale forum said that “Revell Fexible double action airbrush (which is an exact match for the Badger 360 Universal, it even uses the same parts numbers)”.
My vote goes for the 100LG hands down. I have had mine for a couple of years now, and use it for 90% of my AB work. The other 10% is my Badger 200NH and Badger Renegade Velocity. You really cannot beat the 100LG for everything from general spraying all of the way down to very tight work.
I with Keilau, I suspect the Revell is a Badger product. Whether it’s a Badger or an T&C Vega is hard to tell from the pictures. The Revell uses the squared end cap like an Vega 1000, along with the cut-out handle.
If that’s the case you can’t go wrong with either one. The Vega has a smallish color cup. is known to have a very gradual spray adjustment and is considered a detail airbrush. The 100LG has a larger color cup, and is also capable of quite fine lines.
I would buy either one, provided that parts are available. Are you buying it locally, or from an European online retailer?. What’s the difference in cost?
Phil has it pegged as the Omni 5000, and they look very similar, but the Omni has the bowl shaped spray regulator, while the Vega 1000 doesn’t.
Price difference between the two isn’t that much. Both would set me back around $175USD. Altough i saw the badger at an american internet store for $140 (guess importing it raises the prices a bit here).
Might wait a bit and purchase it overseas as i will be in the US next month… More and more inclined to go for the badger offering simply because people talk alot more about it than the revell offering. Both would be (as i understand it) good and sensible purchases so it would come down with “gut feeling” if you will[:)] Parts for both airbrushes are easy to come by btw.
Thanks to everybody for their opinion and advice. Appreciate it[t$t]
Well, I own two 100LG (medium and fine), a 150 and a 200, so I’m a bit biased towards Badger. I had an Omni 4000 that I bought at the Badger Garage sale for $35 or so, but sold it to a friend who was looking for a cheap way of getting into airbrushing. It was a nice airbrush, but since I already had spares for the Badgers I opted to stick with them.
Enjoy your airbrush, and come back and give us your review!
Since you are in Europe, I would take a hard look at H&S Evolution Silverline, oe even the standard Evolution Solo. They can be had at very good prices, and you wouldn’t need to think about import taxes and such.
Earlier you said that you didn think that your skills would be up to a H&S. I would say that you don have to worry about that. IMHO, the prime reason for the H&S’s to have reached a high popularity among modellers are their ease of use.
You should be able to get the 100LG for under $80 from any of the Badger operated internet store. But you need to use one of the many modeling site name as the discount code to get the 40% off. However, shipping and import duty may bring it up from the $80 substantially.
From the price point, it makes a lot of sense to check into European made airbrushes such as the Harder & Steenbeck Evolution. It is a different airbrush (Don’t hit me. I did not say better.), less expensive than the Revell and worth every penny you pay for it. But I suggest getting the 2-in-1. You get both the 0.2 mm and the 0.4 mm nozzle/needle sets which should cover all your modeling need. The Solo is 0.2 mm only, good for aritistic work that needs fine detail.
There may be a little of re-learning jumping from the Revell to a H&S. The H&S not only has smaller nozzle, but a much longer needle taper too which makes the trigger action quiet different.
I would say that the long taper makes it even easier to use, at least when it comes to detailing. Not much learning necessary.
The 2-1 is a good alternative, but one of the attractive things about the H&S’s is that you can always add to the basic airbrush up to the point of, and beyond the more expensive models. This makes the first investment seem less hard on your wallet. [:)]
I 100% agree that it is much easier to build up skill with a longer taper airbrush. The longer, linear transition with the trigger pull is better for detailing AND general modeling task too.
The same comment applies to the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS that you can add the large needle/nozzle set (0.5 mm) to the standard 0.35 needle. But Iwata is more expensive than the H&S in Europe. It makes H&S a better buy in Europe.