I currently use EE standard brushes for most of my painting; I like their size in hand, absorbancy and resistance. they are pricey though and would like and alternative. So, what's your favourite?
I use Italeri 000 for painting and a bigger brush I got from a craft shop for doing washes. I am quite hard on the brushes so use 2 or 3 every couple of months
Series 7 Windsor & Newton...(Series 16, if they still make those ?)..
WHEN I get the chance to use them. ;)
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: Fenton on 10 February 2015, 10:14:35 PM
I use Italeri 000 for painting and a bigger brush I got from a craft shop for doing washes. I am quite hard on the brushes so use 2 or 3 every couple of months
Wow! Small, no wonder you go through them!
Quote from: Techno on 10 February 2015, 10:16:32 PM
Series 7 Windsor & Newton...(Series 16, if they still make those ?)..
WHEN I get the chance to use them. ;)
Cheers - Phil
What size Phil?
[Whilst waiting for Phil's answer]
This is good because (1) its a question I've been meaning to ask to see if I can improve my results on my 10mm figures and (2) I need new brushes (I'm wary of ordering online and tend to go to the art shop - hobby shop went out of business - to buy my brushes because I want to ensure I get a good point on the brush). Grip, when you say EE brushes could you clarify, please? Ta.
I use The Works £1.99 for 4 0, 000, 00000, 0000000000) for detail work, Still on my first set and I brought them about the middle of last year.
http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/paint-brushes/nylon-round-brush-set---pack-of-4/5052089006089
For drybrushing I use any one of these, also from The Works. They are hard and scrape over the top surfaces very well.
http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/paint-brushes/boldmere-flat-brush-set---12-pack/5052089134607
For acrylic washes I use a slightly bigger brush. I have a specific brush for magic wash and another, separate brush that is only used for enamel varnishes. Another large artists very soft watercolour brush is only used to remove bits of fllock from figures. Sometimes I will buy a brush from the GW in town or at a show, depends on the state of my current lot.
I suppose if I could be ar*ed I would use W and N top of the range but to be honest even though there are a couple of art shops in town but I've never looked, those Works ones do it for me.
I have bought some from The Works some have been great but have had a few bad ones from them
I'm really shocked you guys use brushes from the Works. I will give them a look.
West, EE (Evil Empire: Games Workshop) ;)
I got one from The Works turned it upside down and all the bristles fell out
Quote from: Fenton on 10 February 2015, 11:10:29 PM
I got one from The Works turned it upside down and all the bristles fell out
Yeah
that's what I expected ;D
W&N Series 7 S1,2,3. I find a good point is the most important criteria, in my experience too small a brush doesn't hold enough paint and with some acrylics it's dry before you can apply it, unless you're quick.
GW brushes as I use their paints and their brushes are the only ones I've found to work with them.
I have to go in the shop though to go through the best points and the standard has dipped last couple of years. Started using a new one tonight, nearly threw the f**king thing through the wall!
Hobbygames, Cotman, Citadel, Boldmere (The Works) and Pro Arte Prolene in use currently.
Assorted types in sizes 000, 00, 0, 1 and 2 plus some big flat brushes for basic colours on large things (like 20mm scale tanks) and a couple of make-up brushes for drybrushing things like tanks and buildings.
If I'm painting every day I'd expect to trash at least one brush of one size or another every month. At which point they are usually relegated to applying glue or similar chores.
Some GW ones I've had for years, Humbrol that I got via a Xmas present for our son and one other I can't remember the name of. Basically when I need a new one I just pop into out local model shop and look to see which ones are good and for a reasonable price.
I use the better quality Humbrol brushes, some by Javis (pure sable) and a few by GW. I also buy from Art shops and will look at the Works brushes now too.
Sorry to be so long !.....
Size 0 & 1 for just about everything.....VERY occasionally 00.
Cheers - Phil
Quote from: SV52 on 10 February 2015, 11:13:49 PM
W&N Series 7 S1,2,3. I find a good point is the most important criteria, in my experience too small a brush doesn't hold enough paint and with some acrylics it's dry before you can apply it, unless you're quick.
Agree with you completely on this; that's why I use 1 or 0.
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 11 February 2015, 12:37:48 AM
GW brushes as I use their paints and their brushes are the only ones I've found to work with them.
I have to go in the shop though to go through the best points and the standard has dipped last couple of years. Started using a new one tonight, nearly threw the f**king thing through the wall!
The "point" disappears far more quickly than they used to; the reason I like GW brushes though is the resistance and thickness of the handle.
Have they chunked the handles up, now ?
The early ones were too narrow for my liking, which is why I stuck with the Windsor and Newton brushes.
The bristles were longer than I liked, too.
Cheers - Phil.
Quote from: Techno on 11 February 2015, 08:02:08 AM
Have they chunked the handles up, now ?
The early ones were too narrow for my liking, which is why I stuck with the Windsor and Newton brushes.
The bristles were longer than I liked, too.
Cheers - Phil.
Pretty much the same they've always been Phil ;)
Never used W&N but bristle length is key; cannot stand brushes when the tip is "sloppy" (and if that's not an open goal for Nobby, nothing is :) )
Hmmm...
Have to say that when the first batch arrived at the studio, I didn't like them nearly as much as the W&Ns....So like most of the others, I stuck to those.
One of the painters DID prefer the GW ones, as he liked the fact that the bristles were a tiny bit longer.
Cheers - Phil
I use "The Works" 4 for £1.99 for the majority of my painting. they do fine detail brushes for general painting and flat ones that are good for drybrushing.
I also use the Pro Arte range which hold the point better for fine detail work
The Works ones don't keep a point as long as the Pro arte ones but are a less than a quarter of the price, so i buy three packs at a time and throw them away reguarly.
For Bases, buildings and terrain I use flat brushes from "Tescos" that are flat brushes about 8mm across and only £1.50 for three. They paint quick and are brilliant for soft drybrushing .
I also use a 1 inch Flitch (windowframe Brush ) for terrain from a DIY store
Size 2.
Rarely size 0.
The size doesn't matter, it is the tip that matters.
8) :o
when painting 10mm -
[Undercoating]
Army Painter Monster brush
[Miniature Painting]
Army Painter Basecoating brush (majority of the painting)
Army Painter Detail brush (faces)
[Drybrushing bases]
Foundry Drybrush brush
[Shading washes]
Foundry Blocking brush
Quote from: barbarian on 11 February 2015, 11:47:23 AM
The size doesn't matter, it is the tip that matters.
I agree completely :)
I also use GW brushes. The first "detail" brush I bought (about eighteen months ago) was brilliant, but the replacements have been fairly so-so. I also use a 000 sable kolinsky from J P Perkins that I bought from the local art shop. It's now started to "hook" after a couple of weeks use.
QuoteIt's now started to "hook" after a couple of weeks use.
Why do they do that >:(
That's why I use GW no matter their other faults, they never hook.
Search me, Matt. :(
Quote from: barbarian on 11 February 2015, 11:47:23 AM
Size 2.
Rarely size 0.
The size doesn't matter, it is the tip that matters.
8) :o
Agree to a point (no pun intended), the length makes a significant difference to me :-\
Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 11 February 2015, 12:23:28 PM
Why do they do that >:(
That's why I use GW no matter their other faults, they never hook.
My GW's never hook; agreed ;)
I know that not cleaning
thoroughly really affects them; also, if the undercoat / glue is not
completely dry (as in bone dry) this can make them hook too.
I've just bought some brush soap to help clean mine :)
Now I like a brush that hooks. It allows me to have more control over the paint, especially if the 'hook' produces a straight line effect.
Quote from: RoyWilliamson on 11 February 2015, 02:10:28 PM
Now I like a brush that hooks. It allows me to have more control over the paint, especially if the 'hook' produces a straight line effect.
I find it irritating beyond belief; mine are invariably relegated to dry-brushing / highlighting.
Windsor and Newton Series 7 1,0 and 00. Always clean with artists brush cleaner and preserver afterwards as they cost a small fortune (my three cost me £25) but they last and have made a big difference to my painting.
Quote from: Leman on 11 February 2015, 04:38:56 PM
Windsor and Newton Series 7 1,0 and 00. Always clean with artists brush cleaner and preserver afterwards as they cost a small fortune (my three cost me £25) but they last and have made a big difference to my painting.
Just ordered two WNs; size 1 and 0. Be nice to see what all the fuss is about :)
Another thing that'll probably set me apart from some, is that I don't like those real hair / sable brushes (or whatever they're made from).
I like the synthetic nylon stuff.
I had an Andrea Miniatures brush that was nylon and since then they've been my prefered choice. I think the Army Painter brushes I'm using are nylon, they don't seem to be sable anyway.
Never been able to use them as after two or three uses the tip always curves over for me.
Quote from: RoyWilliamson on 11 February 2015, 04:46:24 PM
Another thing that'll probably set me apart from some, is that I don't like those real hair / sable brushes (or whatever they're made from).
I like the synthetic nylon stuff.
I had an Andrea Miniatures brush that was nylon and since then they've been my prefered choice. I think the Army Painter brushes I'm using are nylon, they don't seem to be sable anyway.
Will not and cannot use nylon; they just don't feel right ;)
Also, nylon don't come to a proper point the moment you put paint on them :-\
Quote from: getagrip on 11 February 2015, 05:54:01 PM
Also, nylon don't come to a proper point the moment you put paint on them :-\
Hmm. They work okay for me. Strange that.
Though, some't similar, is a conversation I was having yesterday with a chap who mainly uses pva or cheap superglue to stick stuff together as he can't get away with Loctite superglue. Me being the exact opposite. Tried lots of different glues and it's Loctite that I swear by (and not just when I glue my fingers together).
So my WN series 7 arrived today and I have to say I'm very impressed :)
As to comparisons, it's about 5mm longer than a GW brush end to end (so no real difference there) but the WN handle is 1mm bigger in diameter. This may not sound huge but a 20% difference creates a considerably different feel in the hand. I like a fatter handle which is why I can't use some other brands and so WN it is for me from now on.
Only problem is the price, they're about 2.5 times more expensive. Time will tell if they last longer. They certainly put down colour beautifully ;)
As long as you treat them with care, Gareth. :)
Cheers - Phil.
Harris 2".
1/2" for the details.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Techno on 13 February 2015, 07:11:34 PM
As long as you treat them with care, Gareth. :)
Cheers - Phil.
Always, always, always :)
Have my little pot of B&J brush soap at the ready ;)
Quote from: fsn on 13 February 2015, 07:25:56 PM
Harris 2".
1/2" for the details.
;D ;D ;D
And we have the evidence on another thread..."white Russian" ;)
I did use army painter brushes but found the tip bent after a week or so, i get Rotmarder sable brushes here , some have Rotmarder/ Kollinsky so i assume they are from the same company as the ones sold in the UK as Kollinsky.
Mostly 2/0 00 and 000, not bad price at apx £3 a go, i have some that are over a year old, as Techno says , if you look after them they last , it's worth spending a bit more money for a good quality brush if your using it regularly.
The Revell brushes are also good value.
kev
Yep, Army Painter "hook" far too easily for me and some of their handles are just plain weird :o
I tell you a problem I've found with the Army Painter brushes, is that the glossy finish to the handle strips away at the places where I'm holding the brush.
I'm use to the writing fading away over time, but never had the varnish just vanish - I can't even say I saw it peal away :-\
The brushes still work fine though.
The Monster Brush with it's pyramid -like handle is weird though.
The pyramid brushes just don't work for me; the line is off set. It must be the way I paint but they feel "refracted"; weird I know =)
Quote from: kev1964 on 13 February 2015, 07:34:43 PM
I did use army painter brushes but found the tip bent after a week or so, i get Rotmarder sable brushes here , some have Rotmarder/ Kollinsky so i assume they are from the same company as the ones sold in the UK as Kollinsky.
Mostly 2/0 00 and 000, not bad price at apx £3 a go, i have some that are over a year old, as Techno says , if you look after them they last , it's worth spending a bit more money for a good quality brush if your using it regularly.
The Revell brushes are also good value.
kev
According to Wikipedia, Kev, Kollinsky is a type of weasel (not a true sable) from whose tail the relevant hairs are plucked. And I thought she was a Russian ballerina....
Synthetic brushes for me mainly Golden Taklon, Daler or Reeves. Think I have used the Works ones too.
Quote from: NTM on 14 February 2015, 11:18:59 AM
Synthetic brushes for me mainly Golden Taklon, Daler or Reeves. Think I have used the Works ones too.
Can you actually get a point out of any of them once the paint is on?
Quote from: getagrip on 14 February 2015, 11:21:12 AM
Can you actually get a point out of any of them once the paint is on?
For me; yes.
With sable brushes; no. Individual bristles keep going off at odd angles from the rest.
I wonder if it's got something to with how I put the paint onto the brush - I just dip the point in the paint, not a lap on the side surface, a true push it in movement.
Being an absolute tight a*&e and having read this thread I was intrigued by people using brushes from The Works (never having even considered them as a choice). So this morning on the shopping trip 'I' had to do (the 'Boss' having injured her back) went into our local The Works in Kendal and purchased some. One thing to note straight away they only had sealed packs so wasn't able to actually check the individual brushes, but I thought I would give them a try.
I use a wide variety of brushes ranging from hobby brushes (Plaid, GW, Revell, Humbrol, etc.) up to NW. Normally I have 5 or 6 brushes of each size ready for when I sit down to paint so as when one starts becoming 'tired' I can wash it out and carry on painting with a replacement, so work can keep flowing (unless of course Rugby is on the TV when I will undoubtedly think the brushes need a good wash and left to dry naturally, normally for about 1 1/2 hours. ;) )
Mind you although I haven't taken the brushes from the Works even out of the packaging I am not enamoured of them at this precise moment. I missed a delivery this morning by the postman - now I have to wait until Tuesday to get it redelivered, not so bad if it was something unimportant - but this is a delivery from Pendraken. >:( (A week ago I would have been able to just go to our local sorting office and pick it up, but oh no not now, our local Post Office closed and a sub-sub- post office has opened up instead in one of our local shop!)
I put up a post on my Blog about paint brushes back in January:
www.michaelscott.name/1809/1809blogpost181.htm (http://www.michaelscott.name/1809/1809blogpost181.htm)
If you're ordering Winsor and Newton Series 7 remember there's a difference between a 'standard' and a 'Miniatures'.
Cheers, Michael
Well, well, well; thanks Michael. :-\
Quote from: getagrip on 14 February 2015, 11:21:12 AM
Can you actually get a point out of any of them once the paint is on?
Don't have an issue with that at all
Been using my WNs for a couple of days now and, I have to say, they are very, VERY good ;)
I use a mixture of brushes,
however my GW fine detail brush is doing very well at the moment, it has painted all of the Sudan figures on both sides and all of the knights to date.... worried it might give up the ghost before I finish them. :o
Quote from: Maenoferren on 16 February 2015, 01:37:42 PM
I use a mixture of brushes,
however my GW fine detail brush is doing very well at the moment, it has painted all of the Sudan figures on both sides and all of the knights to date.... worried it might give up the ghost before I finish them. :o
Hate that. There's brushes and brushes and, even though you may stick to one brand, just occasionally you get a really good one that just suits you. :)
Then it dies :'(
Quote from: getagrip on 16 February 2015, 01:59:47 PM
Hate that. There's brushes and brushes and, even though you may stick to one brand, just occasionally you get a really good one that just suits you. :)
Then it dies :'(
And GW brushes tend to be slightly kamikazi. :o
Quote from: Hertsblue on 17 February 2015, 10:16:48 AM
And GW brushes tend to be slightly kamikazi. :o
There is an element of that but I've still got some that are 20 years old! (relegated to basing and dry brushing but still).
I
really look after my brushes :)
I happened to be in The Works today with my son and thought I'd take a look at their brushes. Have to say I'm impressed: £3 for 22 brushes which, although aren't stunning quality and are clearly going to fall to bits, are great for big / messy jobs where precision isn't such an issue. :-bd
Picked up a couple of pallettes too for a £1 each; bargain!!!
Buy the best - anything else is a false economy. If you are using water based sable every time. Acrylic are a waste of money. No discussion.
I'll give up now then as I've obviously been wasting my time and money for the last 30 years
Quote from: NTM on 21 February 2015, 07:42:49 AM
I'll give up now then as I've obviously been wasting my time and money for the last 30 years
Isn't that the definition of a wargamer?
Quote from: John Cook on 21 February 2015, 01:49:08 AM
Buy the best - anything else is a false economy. If you are using water based sable every time. Acrylic are a waste of money. No discussion.
For painting; couldn't agree more. I do like cheaper brushes for the brutal stuff; drybrushing, basing, glueing etc.
Well I just got 4 fine detail brushes for £2 from the Works so I will see how they go. They seem a bit long, more like watercolour fine detail brushes but I'll give them a go and let you all know how I get on with them.
Don't like overlong bristles; no control.
I trash sable brushes just as quickly as acrylics so I'm happy to stick with the cheaper option for all tasks.
Quote from: getagrip on 21 February 2015, 08:20:18 PM
Don't like overlong bristles; no control.
I think it depends on the 'style' of the painter and the way he or she applies the paint.
From a personal point of view, I'd agree with you, Gareth....But I've known, and worked with, really excellent painters who preferred longer bristles.
It's just what suits the individual, I suppose. :)
Cheers - Phil.
Quote from: Techno on 22 February 2015, 07:30:44 AM
I think it depends on the 'style' of the painter and the way he or she applies the paint.
From a personal point of view, I'd agree with you, Gareth....But I've known, and worked with, really excellent painters who preferred longer bristles.
It's just what suits the individual, I suppose. :)
I think if this thread, like so many others, has shown exactly that; whatever works for you ;)
Yeah, I can't use the longer bristled brushes. They don't suit my method.
Quote from: RoyWilliamson on 22 February 2015, 11:06:59 AM
Yeah, I can't use the longer bristled brushes. They don't suit my method.
There's no resistance, hence no control; for me anyway :-\
I've never thought about it before now, but I reckon that's the thing that I found as well.
I've some Foundry brushes that are long, and some Army Painter that are 3/4 the length of them and it's the AP brushes that I go with every time.
They both have the same point, but the longer length meant that the middles sort of billowed out on me (between the two points of contact/pressure at both ends where I'm holding the brush and the points in contact with the miniature).
Just a quick note to say that the cheap brushes I got from the Works in Feb., the first one has just lost it's point so that is about 7 weeks of good usage for a 50p brush.
Quote from: Bodvoc on 08 April 2015, 07:53:28 PM
Just a quick note to say that the cheap brushes I got from the Works in Feb., the first one has just lost it's point so that is about 7 weeks of good usage for a 50p brush.
I bought some because of the chat here and they're great for the brutal stuff: glue, drybrush etc.
Couldn't use them for "real" painting though.
The Sumerians I posted are painted with "Works" brushes.
Quote from: Ithoriel on 09 April 2015, 08:21:59 PM
The Sumerians I posted are painted with "Works" brushes.
Wish I could use them like that ; would save me a bit. :)
I used GW for years, recently switched to rosemary and co series 401 red sable blend brushes and I ruddy love them! I also picked up a W&N s7 and R&C's own pure kolinsky brushes and I find both too soft for my liking
I use a 1 for normal work on 6/10mm models and a 000 for fine detail, got some masters brush soap and they're going strong
I also use R&C hoghair brushes for drybrushing and they are great too, tough as old boots and get the job done!
I use a Windsor/Newton series 7 #2 for everything, I would be so screwed without it. :'( Good thing I stocked up 8)
Recently changed to WN, they are really good.
I use GW for general stuff and Works "smart price " for everything else.
All of my recent figure painting has been done with brushes from the Works, as long as you clean them after painting they keep their point.