Badger Patriot 105 Review: The One-Tip Gravity Airbrush, and How to Buy One Used

The Patriot 105 is Badger Air-Brush Co.'s everyday gravity-feed airbrush: a dual-action, internal-mix brush with a small cup on top and one idea at its core. Instead of a set of interchangeable tips, Badger fits a single needle and nozzle that it says sprays everything from inks to properly reduced lacquers, from pencil-thin lines to a 3-inch pattern. Badger, which says it has made airbrushes since 1964, still sells the Patriot directly, alongside a newer Xtreme version with a 0.3 needle and nozzle. This review works from Badger's own instruction book and product pages rather than bench time: what the 105 is designed to do, where it fits for scale work, how the Xtreme differs, and exactly what to check before you pay for a used one.

Badger Patriot 105 at a glance

Source: Badger's Model 105 Patriot instruction book and Patriot 105 product page. Badger's own site is being rebuilt, so both documents were read from the Internet Archive's 2025 copies of badgerairbrush.com; the price is a special-offer listing on the store Badger links from its homepage, checked September 2026. Badger's documents disagree on pressure: the instruction book gives 15 to 50 psi with about 25 psi as the most efficient setting, while the product page says 30 psi and also 10 to 15 psi, so the table shows both.

What the one-tip design means for scale work

Many airbrushes are sold in several nozzle sizes, with parts you swap to change jobs. Badger's argument for the 105 is the opposite: one precisely matched needle and nozzle, with fewer spare parts to buy and nothing to swap. Its manual explains how the line width is controlled instead. A fine line or small dot comes from working very close to the surface with very little paint released; a broad pattern comes from backing away and pulling the trigger further back.

For model work, that makes the 105 a generalist. It covers primer, base coats and clear coats, and Badger's documents pitch it for fine-line detail too, though they give no nozzle size in millimeters for the standard 105. If you want a stated detail size, the Xtreme version (below) is specified at 0.3. For what nozzle size changes in practice, see our 0.3 mm vs 0.5 mm nozzle comparison, and for why a cup on top suits small-scale work, our gravity versus siphon feed breakdown.

How to run it

Badger's triggering sequence is the same as any dual-action brush, but the manual spells it out: press down to start the air, pull back to start and increase the paint, push forward to reduce or stop the paint, and release to stop the air. Start moving before you press, keep moving until after you release, and never hold still, or you get what Badger calls the "barbell effect" of heavy dots at each end of a line. The manual blames runs and sags on three habits: forgetting to release the trigger at the end of a stroke, moving too slowly, and holding the brush too close.

Fill the cup one-half to three-quarters full and fit the cap to avoid spills. Badger sets the trigger at maximum spring tension from the factory; if you want a lighter return, the manual says to partly unscrew the spring screw, not the whole tube shank assembly.

Cleaning and routine care

The instruction book's routine is short and worth following every session, because Badger warns that the brush's small passages block easily when paint dries inside:

1. Pour any usable paint back into its bottle, then spray until only air comes out.
2. Run the appropriate cleaner through at broad and fine patterns until it sprays clear.
3. With the cup empty, turn the brush upside down and press the trigger to clear what is left.
4. If paint has dried, try solvent, then strip it: needle out first, then the head, and soak the tip in warm soapy water or solvent for about ten minutes before clearing it with a toothpick.

Two details are specific to the 105. The needle comes out through the openings in the cut-away handle, so you loosen the needle chuck and pull it straight back without removing the handle. And when you refit the tip, Badger says to loosen the chuck and back the needle out first, tighten the head by hand, then slide the needle forward until it stops, never forcefully, or the tip can split. A cleaning pot and cleaner kit makes the flush routine easier, and our guide on how to clean an airbrush covers the full teardown. Badger's manual also tells you to spray in a well-ventilated area; for lacquers, add an organic-vapor respirator.

The Xtreme Patriot: what changes

Badger sells a second Patriot 105, the Xtreme Patriot, in its Pro Production Series. According to Badger's product page, it adds a 0.3 needle and nozzle rated from hairline to a 2-inch pattern, a "High Roller" trigger, a Precision Air Control dial for fine-tuning airflow, a "Torpedo" nozzle tip meant to make tip-dry easy to clear, and a gunmetal "Accuracote Dark Ice" body finish. Badger also notes that the Xtreme's needle tip stays exposed when the trigger is not pulled back, so it ships with a protective tip cover and case, and you should use them. Badger's own store listed the Xtreme at $75 among its special offers and also lists a separate Patriot Arrow model, when checked in September 2026.

Who should buy one

Buy a Patriot 105 if you want an inexpensive gravity-feed brush from a long-running maker, one needle and nozzle for everything, and a lifetime labor warranty. Choose the Xtreme if you want a stated 0.3 detail size and finer airflow control. If you are cross-shopping, our Iwata Eclipse HP-CS review covers the most common gravity-feed alternative, and our Paasche VL review covers a siphon-feed brush for bulk area work. For the full ranking, start with our airbrush shortlist.

Buying it second-hand

The Patriot's simplicity makes it a reasonable used buy, but check what you are getting and what it needs.

Identify which Patriot it is. The Xtreme is the easy one to spot: a gunmetal Dark Ice finish, the roller trigger and the air control dial. A standard 105 has none of those. Badger's store also lists a Patriot Arrow, so make sure the listing names the model. Then ask what parts are fitted: Badger's parts diagram for the 105 marks a medium tip, needle and spray regulator as adaptable parts, so a used brush may not be in stock trim.

What wears. The needle (its point can bend or develop a small hook), the tip (Badger warns it can split if the needle is pushed in forcefully), the PTFE needle bearing, and the trigger assembly. Badger's manual covers the needle: clean hardened paint off by rubbing a pink eraser along it on a flat surface, and a tiny hook at the point can sometimes be straightened by dragging a fingernail toward the tip while rotating the needle. Badger says a bent needle may need to be replaced.

What to inspect before you pay.

1. The needle point, in a close-up photo, for bends or hooks.
2. Air and paint behavior. Connected to a compressor, it should pass air when the trigger is pressed down and add paint only as it is pulled back. Ask for a short video of it spraying water or thinned paint.
3. The spray pattern. Badger's manual says even a small amount of dried paint under the tip can misalign it and cause an uneven or pulsating pattern, so a lopsided spray may just need a careful clean and reseat.
4. Dried paint in the cup, around the tip and at the back of the handle, which tells you how the brush was cleaned.
5. What is included: the cup cap, a hose, and on an Xtreme, the protective tip cover and case.

Parts and service. The instruction book's parts list gives Badger numbers for the tip (41-003), head (51-071), spray regulator (41-033), needle chuck (50-010) and trigger (T604), which makes ordering replacements straightforward. Badger's direct store still sells needle and nozzle kits, including multi-packs for its Pro Production series. On warranty, the instruction book gives one year on parts and workmanship from purchase, but a lifetime warranty on factory labor, where after the first year you pay only shipping to the factory and any repair-related parts, and a lifetime warranty on the PTFE needle bearing, replaced at the factory with only the shipping cost to you. None of it covers negligence, accidents, misuse, or brushes that have been abused or altered, so contact Badger before you rely on it for a used brush.

How to judge the seller's claims. "Works great" is not evidence; ask for the spraying video. "Barely used" should mean a clean, straight needle and no dried paint in the tip or cup. Crusted paint around the tip means a strip-down at minimum, which the manual walks you through with nothing more than your fingers and, the first time, small pliers. Because parts are inexpensive and the design is simple, pay for completeness and a straight needle, not polish.

Sources

• Badger Air-Brush Co., "Model 105 Patriot Instruction Book" (operation, cleaning, parts list and warranty), badgerairbrush.com, read from the Internet Archive's August 2025 copy.
• Badger Air-Brush Co., "Patriot 105" and "Xtreme Patriot 105" product pages, badgerairbrush.com, read from the Internet Archive's 2025 copies.
• Badger Air-Brush Co., homepage (company history), badgerairbrush.com, checked September 2026.
• Badger Air-Brush Co. special-offers store (Patriot 105, Xtreme Patriot, Patriot Arrow and needle/nozzle kit listings), airbrushsale.com, checked September 2026.