Rudy -
I first attempted airbrushing about 50 years ago, results were so terrible and I really felt so much frustration, that I thought "why bother?" The AB's were just mediocre inexpensive ones, can't even recall what they were. But I had seen such beautiful finishes done by other modelers and thought, "I have to be smart enough to do this."
My first decent AB was a Binks Wren, single action external mix. I think within about a dozen sessions I had come to feel some confidence, and was turning out reasonably satisfactory jobs. It all was about learning the cleaning and adjusting chores, after dozens of dis-assemblies and cleanings I knew pretty well how the parts interfaced.
My next one was the old Paasche VL, not a loving relationship at the first uses, lot's of frustrations again. I could NOT understand the manual, (my fault,) I was reading too much into it. So, I assembled and dis-assembled it many many times, until soon enough I began to get the picture of how it all worked together as a unit.
Along the way, I saw that I had split the tip with the needle, due to improper assembly and handling. After replacing it and learning the proper way to assemble and adjust it, it served me well and reliably for many years. Following it, I bought the V, Talon and VJR, all worked reasonably and reliably.
A few years ago I had a run of some poor quality parts delivered to me by Paasche, when I would do a rebuild of one of my AB's. I use them pretty much daily, and every so often I do replace the more delicate parts, to prevent a breakdown. No clue as to why the service became questionable, after so many years of perfection, maybe foreign suppliers now?
Anyway, after using Iwata, Paasche, Binks, Badger and others, I now use almost exclusively Badger's. Reasons? Reliable to an extreme, great quality parts, low purchase price and perfectly acceptable finishes, for my application.
I own most of the Badger models currently produced, my most used are the 100 series, G and LG, the Patriot 105, 200G and even the old 200 siphon. Easy to clean, few parts to fiddle with, simple assembly and adjutments.
And you're right, many Badger users are still using their 20-30-40 year old 200's. I 've been using my Badgers now for several years, not one failure, very few parts replaced in preventive maintenance.
Most of the common name AB's are capable of good finishes and are fairly reliable, not to be demeaning or insulting, but they all do require familiarity and proficiency in order to perform well.
I'd suggest spending some time taking it all down to nothing, take your time and re-assemble carefully, checking to see how all of the parts interface. Repeat that several times and I believe you'll see how some problems can be avoided. Then you'll gain confidence and just enjoy the heck out of airbrushing your models, when you see consistently good results.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, not that I'm such an expert, but willing to help in some way if I can. Don, at "Don's Airbrush" website is very good at answering questions, I don't think there is much he doesn't know about airbrushes.
Best of luck with your efforts. And I agree with GMorrison, Badger 200G (for gravity) is one great, high quality sprayer, easy to use, clean, assemble and adjust. I highly prize mine.
Patrick