Badger 150 Review
6/2011
If there is a classic Badger airbrush, this may be it. They've been making it a long time and there are a zillion of them out there. So, the design is old, but tried and true. When I bought my 155, I almost bought the 150 instead. I'm very happy with the 155, but I've always been curious about what I missed. Thanks to Ken Schlotfeldt, now I have a chance to find out.
Those familiar with the 150 might notice something different. The little trigger limiting screw, like the one on the Harbor Freight double action airbrush shown above, has been discontinued. Ken Schlotfeldt once told me that, although most people use it to simulate a single action brush, its original purpose was to back off the needle during shipping. You might also notice that the trigger is not shiny. It and the rocker have the new Glydecoat anti-friction coating.First Impressions It has a nice light feel. It weighs just 64g, partially due to the anodized aluminum handle. The crown type spray regulator fully protects the needle. Trigger action is nice and smooth. I will modify the tensions, though, to lighten them.
The handle is open on the back, and is just like the one on my Vega 1000.
Parts Breakdown
Here is what it looks like taken apart, except for the air valve. The brush comes with a wrench that fits the head.
The head is the same as my old version Badger 200, with the Teflon gasket and tiny brass tip. The gasket forms a seal between the air and paint paths. When it's worn out, you will see bubbles in the cup or bottle. I've found that you don't really need the gasket if you put a little sealant like Chapstick on the threads. A loose head will also make bubbles. The standard tip is .5mm medium. .25mm fine and .76mm heavy tip/needle/spray regulators are also available. The spray regulator is the crown type.
Here is something that struck me as strange. The picture on the left shows how the rear of the airbrush looks when it is assembled. The tube shank is tightened all the way, as it must be, and the needle chuck is tightened to grip the needle. Notice that there is hardly any adjustment range for the tension adjust. Effectively, there is no tension adjust.
In the picture on the right, you can see why. The top piece is the needle tube from the 150. Below it is the same part from a 155. In the 155, there is much more room between the tension adjust and the needle chuck. You couldn't use the 155 needle tube in the 150, because the needle is too short. But, this leaves the question of why the needle is so short.
The little brass tip and the head are the same ones as used in my old 200. Here it is above. They can be purchased as separate pieces or as one part. There is a procedure in the 150 manual on removing and installing the tip that involves a special reamer and bees wax. But, it might be better just to leave it in place. The tip by itself can be had for about $5. The combination tip and head assembly runs about $15.
Here is a comparison of the needles of the 150 and my old 200. The 150 needle is the top one. They appear to be the same, which you might expect since the tip and spray regulator are the same.Trying it out
Here are my doodles in food coloring on paper towel. On the left is with the .5mm medium tip and needle, and on the right with the optional .25mm fine tip and needle. The crown spray regulator blocked my view when I got close, and I think I could do better if I filed it back some.
It does a great job with enamels, just like the old style 200.
Conclusion
The 150 has served many modelers well for a long time. It's an old design that still works very well. It's not as easy to clean as the newer brushes, requires a wrench for assembly / disassembly, and there's that Teflon washer to fiddle with. The fact that a .25mm tip and needle are available give it a fine line advantage over the Patriot and Anthem. If you need this, it's something to be considered. There is also a .76mm tip and needle set, which should produce a very broad spray pattern.
Essentially, it's a dual action version of the old style single action 200. And it has the same nice spray characteristics. You could also say that it's the siphon fed version of the popular 100LG, since they use the same internal parts. This is a nice feature if you own both brushes.
It's a little lighter than the 155 and it sells for the same price. Spare parts are readily available and priced comparable to 155 parts. I still prefer the 155, but they are both good airbrushes.
Many thanks to Ken for the sample.
Feedback
Bill Grigg informed me that there is a Badger spray regulator for the 150 medium tip that fully exposes the needle. It is part number 50-0370, detail spray regulator, and it is the standard part on the Badger 200-20 detail brush.
Thanks Bill.