What brush?

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daemon boy

New member
hi there, recently, my last paintbrush died on me and sadly went to P.V.A heaven!
i was just wondering what paintbrushes i should look out for, any ideas?
ta
 
Friar

Friar

Dorks for Orks
Article this is a great article, and if ya can get em w&n series 7 are spose to be the best also heard some good things bout raphael brushes.


personally I just got some new brushes unfortunatly Michael\'s (had a gift card) doesn\'t carry the series 7 or raphael brushes so I got what looked good (unfortunatly with how their displayed finding the size and one without the brush bein completely buggered isn\'t easy) a w&n cotman sz. 0, grumbacher golden edge 3/0, a loew-cornell comfort 18/0 these 3 where all rounds, and an 18/0 spotter from loew-cornell (was going insaine tryin to get a pair of eyes done this one works wonders).

well hope this helps I also keep a batch of size 0, 00, and so on cheapies on hand for doin base coats, priming, mixing, and so on.

Good Luck :)
 
squig hunter

squig hunter

New member
I have tried both Da Vinci and W&N (series 7) And I must say I think the W&N is far superior, that said, I new use the Da Vinci mostly for larger areas (as I bought a bigger brush) and the W&N for the smaller and they work well that way. the thing I found about the Da Vinci is that the tip doesen\'t say together as well and it occasionall sheds hair(s), while the W&N doesen\'t. Hope this has been helpfull to ya mate;)

squig
 
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bullfrog

New member
I must admit the the W&N brushes are really nice to use but for the price they would want to be. If you have any bargain art stores near you give them a try to get a good price.
Anything Kolinsky sable will give you a decent job regardless of branding. However I have had some trouble with the Vallejo Kolinsky brushes as when you look closely some of them dont come to a fine point and have longer/shorter hairs in them and need to be trimmed to be able to use. When you pay for natural hair you shouldnt have to bring them up to scratch.
As far as fine detail work goes....
I can\'t remember when or where I got it from but I have a Fay Good miniature liner brush from Germany that I swear by for things like eyeballs etc. It has much longer hair than a fine detail brush but isn\'t too soft to use as required. For all I know it could be a really crap brand but it works for me.

Still...don\'t overlook the usefulness of imitaion brushes. They are perfect for basecoating and getting into any places that will destroy your good sable, making your expensive brushes last longer.
 
S

Severatus

New member
Go to Joannes fabrics or Michaels or comperable craft store look for American Painter Brushes.

They are the ones with the dull grey colored handle are the best & most reasonable priced.

I use 10/0 & 6/0 liners for most everything.

If you do a lot of blending you might profit from a thicker liner.

These brushes need inspection before purchase, be sure they are of the best possible quality when compared to one another.

I actually run the bristles through my lips ( with a tad of saliva * I know what yer thinkin* ) dont worry your the only wierdo doing it unless you have the misfortune of living near me :)

If the bristles dont line up to point = dont buy

If they have extra long bristles extending from the rest = dont buy

If you find one that meets the above criteria run it back & forth test for any rouge hairs / broken hairs ( been bent too long , wont go back )

These brushes will need a bit of breaking in, use them to fill spots after priming a mini with watered down paints.

When they are used will give you amazing blending & straight line potential.

They will also start to hook this will give you the ability to make lines, dots, reach details with accuracy ( like curved tip dentists tools )

Give em a shot they are super cheap easy to find.

TH
 
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godfather

New member
I agree with the others that the Da Vinci and Raphael are really good as are the W&N 7. unfortunately some high end brushes end of bing duds so it can be a hit and miss sort of thing. For example W&N series 7 form some of the art store dealers that I have talked to and my own personal experience are not as good as they were the point tends to split. From what I understand this is a function of the brushes no longer being made in England but farmed out to another country. having said that the cheapest place that I have found to buy brushes on the net is Dick blick art supplies. My general advice is buy the best brush you can afford.
 
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DaRat

New member
Here is another good article about brush selection.

Which brush is best depends on what you want to do with the brush. If you are doing terrain, a cheap synthetic brush is best. If you are doing fast army painting, a synthetic or synthetic-sable blend will probably be best (since fast army painting can be very hard on brushes). If you are doing single mini painting, a good, high end Kolinsky Sable brush will probably be the best choice. Even then, if you are poking at recesses and hard to reach spots, a synthetic is a good idea.

I like the Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes, but I also like the Reaper Master brushes (a good Kolinsky sable brush). I have, but have not yet tried the Escoda Tamjir and the Davinci Maestro brushes.

Stay away from the W&N Cirrus brush (too soft, no much snap, not much spring, point isn\'t very good).

Dick Blick is a good place to order brushes, but order 3 of them at a time to reduce the per unit cost of shipping.
 
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Thunderhawker

New member
Hey godfather, if your brushes are splitting you need to clean out the ferrule. It will make them near as good as new. Just get some brush cleaner on you thumbnail and push upward from the ferrule. It should break down the dried and caked paint (even if you can\'t see it) and give you nice point. Also it doesnt hurt to recondition your brushes form time to time.
 
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daemon boy

New member
thanks to all of you guys/ gals, im going out now to have a look! cheers , you have been a great help!
i think i will look out for the winsor and newton series 7, as it seems to be the one most mentioned. thanks again!:idea:
 
StillLifeMiniatures

StillLifeMiniatures

New member
I\'ve been working with series 7 s for a while and love them.. I recently tried isabey kolinsky sable brushes... they were on sale and I think they are comparable with W&N...I bought them at Jerry\'s Artarama
 
Einion

Einion

New member
Originally posted by daemon boy
thanks i got myself a series seven and i love it, thanks lol so goooood! cost me enough though! £15 FOR 2
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Eek. Sounds like full retail.

If you want more quality brushes in future, and you have access to a credit card, have a look at Ken Bromley (Series 7 here), Art Discount (Series 7 here) or the SAA shop (Series 7 here).


Originally posted by Torn blue sky
yeah but they last, plus they\'re incredible quality.
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Only if you\'re lucky and get good ones - on both fronts, longevity and quality.

They are now not nearly as consistently good as they were (despite being so expensive).

Einion
 
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daemon boy

New member
thanks i\'ll look out for those in the future, when mine die! ( i do look after my brushes though, i have pretty soap too! lol)
 
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Thunderhawker

New member
Originally posted by Einion
If you want more quality brushes in future, and you have access to a credit card, have a look at Ken Bromley (Series 7 here), Art Discount (Series 7 here) or the SAA shop (Series 7 here).
Click to expand...
Hah! I am not the only one who lurks the art supply stores!
 
Einion

Einion

New member
Originally posted by Jakob Nielsen
Rune Kappel had the opportunity to develope his own series of brushes a while ago.
They are super-nice and of good quality - check out http://kaple.dk
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Those are very likely to be license-made by one of the established makers (as the Blick Master Series brushes are - made in Spain).

I wonder who the maker is? If you could find that out then you could compare the prices :)

Einion
 
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Stella Polaris

New member
Hi I'm new here, I didn't want to make a new thread just for one question so I thought I would bump this one ?

Anyway I am looking at starting miniature painting again and need to invest in some proper brushes, I haven't done this sort of think since I was about 13 so I was using the GW brushes back then.

Now I have a dilemma, what brushes do I buy? After a search of the forums I have come up with these two possibilities, but keep in mind I searched old threads so if these brands have brought anything knew please re-direct me.

Winsor & Newton Series 7 Miniature Kolinsky Sable Brushes - I pretty much had my mind set on these until I started reading that their quality had gone way down so I decided to search for a alternative.

Raphael Sable Series 8404 - This was the alternative I found.

Please can you tell me which one will be better value for money, better quality and better durability. If there are any other brands you would seriously recommend over these then please tell me.

There was also one other question I have. After choosing which brand I will buy what sizes do I go for. I will be painting miniatures from many different GW armies but will not really be going for huge stuff like tanks but more the smaller singular figures, so I won't have to go past size 4 possibly ?

So do you recommend sizes 000 all the way through to about size 3 ?

Many thanks
-tom
 
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