brushes, paints and putty, what to get?

[LilBoyPip]

i have, for the past 11 years, used exclusively products from games-workshop to paint, making and convert my models..

anyway this leads me to the question of that alternatives are there out there which people would rate well, brushes and paint?

i have been using milliput (standard and superfine) for the past few weeks and i am slowly getting used to it and the like, i was just curious on what magic sculpt is like and how people would rate that?



anyways thank you very much

Oliver

 

[jcichon]

You can never go wrong with W&N series 7. Best brushes ever! Milliput is ok but Aves apoxiesculpt is better for most stuff. Green stuff tends to be softer when dry. PP has nice paints too along with reaper

 

[Einion]

i have, for the past 11 years, used exclusively products from games-workshop to paint, making and convert my models..

Oh man, sooo need to try some different stuff! GW's equipment is notorious for being pricey and having been shocked at the current prices of their tools just this past weekend in a copy of White Dwarf I see that trend has continued in spades - eight quid for a goddamned craft knife? And £4.10 for one sculpting tool when you can pick up sets of 12 for about double that price!

/soapbox

Their paint is about the only thing I'd suggest is okay to keep on buying; it is overpriced too but if you like some of the colours and they do the job then use 'em. But it is a good idea to at least try other brands to see what's out there and what might work better for you; most people eventually end up using more than one brand, for the best (or just favourite) colours in specific areas.

anyway this leads me to the question of that alternatives are there out there which people would rate well, brushes and paint?

Lots of prior threads on both questions that are worth searching for.

i have been using milliput (standard and superfine) for the past few weeks and i am slowly getting used to it and the like, i was just curious on what magic sculpt is like and how people would rate that?

MagicSculp is very highly regarded for sculpting and many pros use it; it's my favourite sculpting compound overall (although different things have their own strengths and weaknesses). Broadly speaking I'd say MS is so much better than Milliput there's no comparison, but many masters have been made from Milliput so it's obviously a viable option and for the best results (it's a top-class carver's medium for example). But it has certain issues, and once you've compared to something like MS or ProCreate most of them become immediately, and very, obvious.

In terms of plastic sculpting, working 'wet', if you have any GS it's worth trying a blend of it with your two Milliputs, see what you think of the working characteristics. This kind of thing is the first thing I tried when seeking something better to work with (i.e. before getting MagicSculp).

You can never go wrong with W&N series 7. Best brushes ever!

Erm, you can indeed go wrong with Series 7s; see past threads for details. Any time someone says something like "they're the best brushes ev-ah" I want to know what they've compared them to

Einion

 

[LilBoyPip]

thank you for your input guys

what is a good site to mail order stuff like this? as around me i am very limited to what i can get

i have one small hobby shop that sells milliput (hence why i bought it) and it has various paints ranges but a lot of them are enamel paints, and i have a hobby craft, i think i tried brushes from their once, i still have two of them which i use to dry brush, they have seen better days

 

[me_in_japan]

where are you in the world? I'm in rural japan, and there aint much in the way of hobby shop going on out here

I use Maelstrom Games in the UK for paint, as they do free international shipping if you order more than a tenner (which I inevitably do.) *edit* note that they can't send GW paint overseas due to the recent overseas sales embargo implemented by GW. You can get around this problem quite simply by just not buying GW paints
For putty/tools I like Heresy miniatures, but to be fair, I just like Heresy minis a lot for pretty much everything
For brushes, I'm afraid I can't help you. I'll be watching the responses to this thread myself, actually, as I could use a decent brush supplier

 

[LilBoyPip]

Ahh a location would have been useful for this question. I live in England

And cheers I shall have a look at what you said

 

[Spoontoes]

For my money:

Brushes - Raphael8404 series, I *absolutely* love these brushes, previously I tried W&N Series 7 - good but not as good as my Raphaels and the GW jobs - which I thought wern't actually too bad - though again not a patch on either of the other two.
Paint - Vallejo Model Colour, I recently went spend bonkers and bought the whole set (at a very reasonable price to be fair), very nice paint, I also have a bunch of GW paints which are pretty good too.
Putty - I use Green stuff and Milliput - mostly I've used GS but milliput is creeping in a bit more now.

As for where from, I usually just google and pick the place I like the best for whatevever reason at the time, have no LGS or GW or hobby shops within easy reach.

 

[Einion]

Hobby Craft can be a good place to go for tools, although it's nearly always cheaper to shop online. Ditto when buying putty, brushes and paints.

For brush suppliers in the UK there's a prior thread on that topic specifically that's worth hunting down (look for the word quality in thread titles only), pretty sure I list four of the major UK online suppliers you could compare prices at.

For brushes, I'm afraid I can't help you. I'll be watching the responses to this thread myself, actually, as I could use a decent brush supplier

If you have to order from the US then Dick Blick would be my first port of call, often the cheapest on basic prices and their S&H is decent. Their after-sales service is also excellent.

Einion

 

[In Chigh P.I.]

I would say 4 or 5 well chosen colours from the Vallejo Model Colour range of paints would do you the world of good. The paints are more thickly pigmented, they mix well (in dilution and with paints of 'other' manufacturers) and last for ages (did i mention they were cheaper than GW too?)

and Miliput, yes yes yes Miliput! Love the stuff

 

[LilBoyPip]

where is a good place to get these from?

and i have been getting on well with milliput superfine great stuff

 

[dogfacedboy uk1]

You can never go wrong with W&N series 7.

Give them brushes to me - I'll have them splayed, hooked and ruined inside of doing one mini with them...... and thats just using them normally....

dfb

 

[ktooloo]

W&N brushes can be a bit hit or miss, though they are generally a huge step up from the GW brushes. I recently got a Raphael 8404, but have yet to have time to try it. I do like my W&N 7 series though. Just don't buy the "Miniature" variant of the 7 Series. It's not as good an idea as it sounds. lololol

For paints: GW are good, but as mentioned above they're really expensive for the amount you get. Vallejo has a handful of different lines of paint and are generally the cheapest base price when taking into account how much you get per bottle. The two biggest lines are Game Color and Model Color. Game Color is a direct answer to GW's colors or as close as IP laws allow. Model Color is designed for military models so it's a lot of muted colors. And there are a lot of colors in the MC line. Reaper has a their Master Series which is really good and come in "Triads", that is they have a base color and a shade and a highlight. It helps take some of the guess work out of shading/highlighting. The MS is also the 2nd largest line of paints out right now (2nd only to VMC iirc). Reaper have a new HD line (High Density) that is their version of GW's Foundation line. I haven't tried the HD paints yet though. And then the last of the mainstream brands is PP's P3 line of paints. Really good paint in my experience. They don't have as many different colors as the other brands, but they have some really unique hues/tones.

Shopping: Stores I visit in my area that also do a lot of online sales- http://www.brookhursthobbies.com/ & http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/ Online only shops that have been good to me- http://www.dickblick.com/ & http://www.jerrysartarama.com/ & http://www.fantization.com/ They're all US companies though and I've never had to look at their international shipping so I can't say anything for that. I've heard great things about http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/ but I have never shopped there. They're in the UK though so it's likely worth checking out to save on shipping. : )

 

[In Chigh P.I.]

Most hobby stores in the UK should at LEAST be able to get you all the stuff mentioned here (if not,they will probably close down just like my old store in Glasgow did..long story...wont give the gory details on a public forum though )

 

[dumbpunk7777]

Hi I have been painting on and off since 1997. I love GW but there prices are crazy. Every time I take a break and come back minis, paint, tools etc are way over priced.

Anyway. I use a lot of Vallejo paints. Most hobby (like hobby trains) stores will carry Vallejo. I like its consistency ad the dropper bottle a lot.

For brushes I use Raphael 8404 they rock, http://www.dickblick.com/products/raphael-kolinsky-red-sable-fine-pointed-round-series-8404/
and you can find them and W & N no 7 for a killer price.

Cheers

 

[LilBoyPip]

i managed to sneak a trip to my local hobby shop in between entertaining the missus and having a lads poker night, they actually had quite a lot there, for stuff for air brushes, hobby tools, about 6 different brands on paints, a shed load of milliput (which i knew about) and all sorts of other random jazz. i was impressed

 

[Dragonsreach]

Oh man, sooo need to try some different stuff! GW's equipment is notorious for being pricey. Einion is not kidding here, the most recent attempt at "Rip-Off" is the modelling emery paper boards 3 measly little sticks of Wet & Dry paper for £3.75. I buy 10 10x8 sheets of fine for £8.00 at Halfords.

You can never go wrong with W&N series 7. Best brushes ever!

Erm, you can indeed go wrong with Series 7s; see past threads for details. Any time someone says something like "they're the best brushes ev-ah" I want to know what they've compared them to
Daler & Rowney, Rosemary & Co, Jackson's Art Supplies own :smile-big:
Daler & Rowney's Sable just don't work for me, can't explain it.
Jackson's Art supplies Not Bad (I'd have to dig around to get exact model) but good for initial work on fine detail and freehand lines.
Rosemary & Co, love them for Water Colours, not so for Models. To me they are too flexible/soft for me to get the control I want.
So I'm happy with the W&N 7's I have, plus I'm very fortunate to live within 20 minutes of a damn fine art store.

I have a couple of DaVinci pocket brushes for Water Colours and they are Seriously the Dog's Bits, but I haven't tried brushes in sizes 00,0,1 YET for models.
Since my W&N's last me Years, it'll probably be January when I think about trying them.

Einion

If you can get yourself to model shows, you'll be able to "cherry pick" stuff and talk to traders, look at their display pieces for ideas.
Next good one in the UK is Fiasco at Leeds Royal Armouries on Oct 30th.

 

[Tee999]

Lilboypip,
I wouldn't say I am a great painter and I am still learning. The thing I would suggest is try everything. I shop all over place. Online, Gameshops, Hobby Stores, WalMart, where ever.
I started like you using mostly GW products. Now I tend to buy different paints, brushes and cleaners. I keep finding out what I like and don't like. I think everyone ends up with there favorite paints, brushes, tools so on for what ever project they are working on at that time.

Hope it helps.


Tee

 

[Verm1s]

I have to back up Einion and say that, while milliput just has the edge in my personal preference, magic sculp is the better overall product. Although I still usually mix a bit of GS in with it when I use it, and other putties like procreate aren't to be sniffed at.

I don't dislike the GW sculpting tool for the price - I'd be prepared to spend more on a single tool - but because the quality is unbelievably shocking. My first sculpting tool was a GW tool, long before the grey & black revamp. Before I filed it into something useful, I gave it up because the shapes and edges were wide, irregular, and generally badly-machined. More recently I bought one of the current GW tools for comparison, and it's worse. The 'blade' in particular is a flat slab of metal with only a nominal, clumsy attempt at bevelling to make one side marginally thinner. It's more like a cheap screwdriver, and I wouldn't like to try forcing details out of it, or try to file it down this time.
The wax carver sets you see around are generally better quality, but this is the point I make my Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall plea to shop with the little guys, like Heresy Miniatures. (Where I got my second lot of sculpting tools) They're a bit more expensive, but it's a one-time purchase, and they'll miss your hobby shekels more than the big, generalised sellers on Amazon and Ebay.

And yeah, I agree about the rest of GW's tool shenanigans. Broke my heart to see people say it's worth it, because GW is 'convenient'. As if they never turned their heads to look at any other shop in the street.

 

[MAXXxxx]

If you have to order from the US then Dick Blick would be my first port of call, often the cheapest on basic prices and their S&H is decent.

well not if you want to get something from them in europe.
For a long time I haven't found a reseller for raphaell here (which is a joke, as it's made in france afaik), so on your recommendation I tried it from DB.
The brush prices are really good, but the shipping... $36 for 2 brushes because of weight and size... whaat? 2 size0 brushes are not that big or heavy. For that price in shipping thewarstore actually sends an armytransport case, which is much bigger and heavier.

For eu I found this one: http://www.gerstaecker.de
prices are pretty decent both for Raphaell and WnN, and shipping was under $10 for the same order I tried at DB.

 

[LilBoyPip]

I went to some random department store while I was out on my travels today, walked upstairs and there was a HUGE art section, mainly for work on canvas and papers, but the had a HUGE selection of brushes, so i took the plunge and bought myself two, a size 10/0 which is tiny and a size 0 i cant remember the brand but they seem pretty good, they keep a point well and are nice to hold as they have sculpted grips :_