Good form Badger... shame about the poor quality sneaking through.
I had a big gouge on mine near the air cap when it came out of the box. Badger sent me a replacement. Problem is, the replacement airbrush has far too much play in the trigger unless I set the trigger tension really high and is just NOT a smooth running airbrush. This is the last Badger I will buy. They do have EXCELLENT and timely customer service but their quality leaves a LOT to be desired. For being their top of the line model of airbrush, it should run and perform a heck of a lot better than mine does. I regret ever buying the Krome airbrush and SINCERELY wish I would have just sprung for an Iwata HP-C or Highline or a Harder and Steenbeck. Just my opinion based on my purchase and experience with Badger's customer service. Ken, the guy that sent me the new Krome was really awesome and got me my replacement faster than I expected, but even the replacement Krome just isn't up to snuff quality wise for me and was a bad letdown. I used to use the Badger made Thayer and Chandler Omni airbrushes and those were pretty good for the money but my Krome experience has me looking elsewhere. Too bad I sold them to buy the Krome.
and here I sit using the same badger Airbrush 15 years later and still my go to brush, often you can just get a bad airbrush and does happen in all brands but sometimes its also because the user doesn't understand how to best take advantage of the quality. When going into higher end brushes paint reduction and understanding PSI become a different ball game and perhaps your just getting frustrated as you expect to be able to adjust nothing but all of a sudden get better detail, a new gun means a new learning curve rather than instant success..Even using a micron it doesnt work like that and generally most have to re-learn reduction to get it to perform at its best, not saying thats the case here and maybe you just got a dud but i'm sure you'll see a lot of success storys/paintings done with the krome. I personally think Badgers quality is 100%, as is their customer service in trying to sort the issue but perhaps its just not the gun for you, consider though the fact it may be you..Send me the krome and I'll see if its broken LOL, will even send ya my old iwata eclipe to keep you painting , since I don't use it anymore LOL..but not every manufacturer will suit everyones needs and perhaps a different brush may suit your needs more, but to be fair it may not be the brush.
and here I sit using the same badger Airbrush 15 years later and still my go to brush, often you can just get a bad airbrush and does happen in all brands but sometimes its also because the user doesn't understand how to best take advantage of the quality. When going into higher end brushes paint reduction and understanding PSI become a different ball game and perhaps your just getting frustrated as you expect to be able to adjust nothing but all of a sudden get better detail, a new gun means a new learning curve rather than instant success..Even using a micron it doesnt work like that and generally most have to re-learn reduction to get it to perform at its best, not saying thats the case here and maybe you just got a dud but i'm sure you'll see a lot of success storys/paintings done with the krome. I personally think Badgers quality is 100%, as is their customer service in trying to sort the issue but perhaps its just not the gun for you, consider though the fact it may be you..Send me the krome and I'll see if its broken LOL, will even send ya my old iwata eclipe to keep you painting , since I don't use it anymore LOL..but not every manufacturer will suit everyones needs and perhaps a different brush may suit your needs more, but to be fair it may not be the brush.
^ and perhaps your the CEO of iwata for all I know LOL, and sorry for me its hard to judge someones skill level or experience with no work posted here, no links to who you are elsewhere (well none I could find on a quick glance of Dungeon works) we're perhaps I can have a look and see the artist you are and how that may indeed affect your opinion. I will be happy to pay you $50 for it then but again I don't doubt bad experiences occur, 2 n a row though I think is quite rare for any higher end manufacturer, but manufacturing f ups do happen..I see good and bad in every brush and every manufacturer but personally try really hard not to impose that thought on others, especially beginners who may find one gun or another their perfect match and perhaps again its just not a good match for you. Perhaps you just like to collect airbrushes and try lots of different ones as you mention, but sounds like you had some of the best so why not just continue with what you had and if a spring you feel is the seconds main concern why not just use a different spring and better tune the brush to your liking? and did the firsts gouge actually affect the running of the airbrush as a gouge in the side of the body or near the aircap may not look pleasant but also may not affect the airbrush itself, but your post doesn't indicate this either way so won't assume it was just an aesthetic thing and it may have indeed damaged its performance and probably would have sent it back myself. Not doubting your ability but I often see people buying an airbrush and often posting blame the airbrush for its lacking of performance before considering other issues and selling that to others as a brush issue rather than a user issue, for example that spring tension that you find an issue may fit someone elses ability perfectly but do understand it may not have suited yours, but is that a reflection on quality or a reflection on us all liking something a bit different?
Its not you m8 but me, am a pessimist on my best day LOL, its just when I see comments that say quite boldly that their quality leaves a lot to be desired I do get irritated, in case ya missed that LOL, not that I really care about what brush I or others use if it gets the job done. There has been a bit of a shift in Airbrushes of late and it seems everyone thinks you need a micron to do a job and thats the message beginners are generally been given both here and at numerous sites yet everyone overlooks the common sense aspect of it may not suit me but it may suit you, heck detail guns are only good at doing detail LOL, they lack in every other area of airbrushing needs and someone comes in and says I need a general base coat gun and everyone still screams micron LOL..
How we post those opinions I think needs to be looked at more carefully because all they are is opinions, there is no best airbrush, just a hand that knows what to do with one or doesn't and I hate seeing people, especially beginners who dont know better throw big bucks at airbrushes because they read somewhere this or that is crap, its only crap to that particular user, others may make that brush sing and that beginner has no chance of getting what a pro can out of that same airbrush. I started like many with a knock off went to iwata then tried a badger and found my gun of choice, but not long ago had to go back to a knockoff due to lack of spares and my experienced gained with other brushes still managed to create some I feel OK work, amazing work has been created for years before the micron and higher end guns came along..Not that I'd suggest that to anyone as a gun of choice but being as experienced as you are no doubt are maybe you can see where I am coming from..We all have different shaped hands and personally I cant stand gravity's of any description anymore as my hand just doesnt like the feel of them but I do understand others may be different in that area..I posted the way I did because I assumed likely it was just a cosmetic thing that your judging the whole line on and would have sent it back myself as i mentioned as you pay some bucks you should get reasonably quality but considering the gun is half the price of other higher end guns I dont think its completely fair to line em up againts each other in that way, as you don't actually mention how it sprayed, I will of course apoligize for coming across brash but have seen so much badger hating of late I dont mind sticking my hand up to question those kind of views but do understand its a personal choice and opinion, but it helps that others see that also. Being as experienced as you are I think its people like ourselves that should understand these concepts well and perhaps try to remove any bias we can and better inform beginners of pros and cons of all brushes and perhaps to relay info a bit differently as reading your initial post it does come across very negatively because of a) a gouge that doesnt affect perhaps the performance and b) a spring issue that is easily fixed, it suggests to others that the Krome is a bad airbrush and in reality it isn't considering its ability and cost relationship of both gun and spares to other higher end options and have seen amazing works springing from them regularly..
But again sorry if I came across too harsh.. but thats just me and one day I'm sure I will grow up LOL
All brushes have a learning curve, sounds like you got the khrome figured out
no I read all the post and have responded to your last post stating(The krome is starting to preform as advertised)And yes sticking Mechanisms and gouges are manufactures defects and do slip thru from time to time Bu t I also know ken stands behind his airbrushes and if you sent it back after you found them he will do everything he can to make you happy with his product !Did you just read the last post and not the whole thread? Sticking mechanisms and gouges on a new airbrushes are not related to learning curves. They would fall under manufacturer defects.