Sunday, March 3, 2013

The Patriot 105 Airbrush: Conversion Kits

Many people ask me which airbrush I would recommend and out of the two I usually throw at people the Patriot 105 is one of them.  The other is the Krome for more detailing work but I find that the Patriot 105 is great for more general use with it's .76mm needle. However, most don't know there are conversion kits to push the needle down to a smaller size.  Read on to learn more.

The patriot is a very good all around general brush.  I love using it and Lester Bursley loves using it.  It's also very forgiving for any beginners just getting into airbrushing as the trigger isn't as touchy as the Krome and there's more leeway between fine line to wide spray.

Because of the large needle size, it is also forgiving in the ways of clogging as you are able to shoot thicker mediums through it.  It sports the .76 out of the package which is really the "taper" size of the needle rather than the actual outlet of the nozzle.  The nozzle measures about a .5mm hole.  So it's really tough to say that the needle size is actually a .76.

There were some confusion this this and i have asked Ken about this and he hasn't been able to get back to me about it yet. I'm hoping to talk to him more about this when we're at Adepticon.

But this post isn't about trying to figure out the actual needle sizes are to be officially when talking about what comes with the Patriot but let's just use the tapered measurements to talk about conversion kits for this brush.  There are actually three conversion kits out there and I'll cover them here.

To size down to a .63 needle size, you can get the medium conversion kit for about $10.50 at amazon here:
Badger Air-Brush Company Medium Conversion for Model 105, 155, 200NH, 360 and 3155

To size down to a .51 needle size, you can get the fine conversion kit for about $12-15 at amazon here:
Badger Air-Brush Company Fine Conversion for Model 105, 155, 200NH, 360 and 3155

Finally, to size down to a .35 size, you can get the super fine converversion kit for about $16-18 at amazon here:
The super fine conversion kit seems to be a smacker to find.  I think you can also check out or call webairbrushes.com and they should have it in stock or can get it for you.  Dick Blicks might have it as well.

Just remember that this kits comes with a regulator, needle and nozzle and you should CHANGE all three parts out for what's on your airbrush now and make sure you keep them separated so you can tell the difference.

And of course, if you want to get the Patriot 105, you can grab it on Amazon right now as of this writing for $60:


So I hope this helped you guys out as I've been getting a few questions about this of late.

Love y'all!

4 comments:

  1. can you also get a needle protection thingy like how the Krome as those to pins on the side? because im kinda scared to bump it into something and bend the needle

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  2. Yes webairbrushes.com has that super fine needle. I got it from them a month or so ago. If you go to webairbrushes.com - click on Spare Parts - then Patriot 105 - then at the top where it has "Home > Airbrush > Badger Air-Brush Model 105 Patriot > Model # 105 parts" you click on model # 105 parts on the end and it'll take you to a list that has all of those needles in it.

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  3. It is disappointing that Badger does not show precise tech data on its products like nozzle size! I wrote them a email last Friday 2016-07-22 (ya! this article is still useful even 3 years later!)
    asking the exact nozzle size on the Patriot 105-1 and the 3 conversion kit:
    General Purpose Conversion 41-046
    Detail Conversion 41-045
    Super Detail Conversion 41-044.

    Their great primer Stynylrez ask for 0,5mm nozzle size or larger, and I was assuming the Patriot 105-1 was using its largest needle size to use this primer.
    (we say needle, but the actual size measured is the opening of the nozzle, tell me if I am wrong)
    So I am waiting for their answer.
    By the meantime I used a not too precise micrometer, to measure the nozzle size by measuring the tip of the needle at the beginning of its tip, where it close the nozzle... rough measure I know, but the results make sense:
    on the Patriot 105-1, I measure 0,5mm, and on the
    Super Detail Conversion kit needle 41-044, I measure 0,25mm.
    To follow...
    Hoping this comment will catch interest!

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    Replies
    1. I was very close of the exact dimensions!
      I got that answer from Candy at customerservice@badgerairbrush.com:
      "Sorry for the confusion! The Patriot comes with the .5mm nozzle (which is also the size of the 41-045 conversion). The 41-044 conversion kit has a .3mm nozzle and the 41-046 conversion kit has a .75mm nozzle.
      I hope this helps! Please let me know if I can help you with anything else."
      You are also right about their customer service, they are good. Sent the question Friday, got the answer today Tuesday!
      Thank you again.

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