"Are you satisfied with your paint brushes?" Topic

Are you satisfied with the brushes you use to paint your miniatures?

(a) Yes, I'm completely satisfied.

(b) No, I'm not satisfied because ____________ (please explain)

(c) More or less; some are better than others.

(b) I simply cannot afford the brushes I want.

I like the ones I'm currently using, but the line has been discontinued and I can't find any that are as fine.

Same as Punkrabbit – in an ideal world I'd use high end artists' sables, but they're well out of my budget. That said, I'm surprisingly pleased with a pack of Humbrol brushes I picked up on a whim recently at Hobbycraft – definitely much better than I really expected for the price.

A…mostly!

A.

A. I'm not that picky about them.

My sables, definitely. The Taklon brushes I experimented with, definitely not. Once the Taklon brushes form that "J" curl at the tip they're only useful as trimmed off dry brushes.

(d) I am more this week than I have been in the past.

I use mid-range brushed (and aspire to mid-range talent), but stumbled across fingernail painting brushes and styluses very cheap (while looking for waterslide decals, which apparently also go on fingernail and come in sizes quite nice for 28mm banners and shields as it turns out).

While they certainly haven't upped my game, they are designed with lots of fine points, very firm and the styluses are very good for the very small details that require brushes that get destroyed quickly. I think the styluses are stainless, so I am guessing they won't fall apart as quickly.

So, basically easier to use, quicker to clean, and (hopefully) more durable than the detail brushes I have used up 'til now.

Hate the j curl.

a. Winsor/Newton Series 7 Minis from Dick Blick.

Tom

I go through them pretty quickly, I don't clean them well, the j curl sometimes comes in handy if its just right for facings.

Agree with Gerryowen. Very happy

What 14Bore said. I'm rough on brushes, and use them long past their prime.

My main one has a bit of an "L" bend in the tip, I'm so used to it, I would probably have trouble adjusting to a new one.

As bad as I paint? I should complain about my brushes??

Ummm no. I have a vision in my head of what my beautiful skill should look like. My freakin brushes get in the way!

So, um that would be ….. B

A. Windsor/Newton Series 7 – expensive but they last. I painted 700+ Calpe Prussians and it is still going strong.

Sable yes, but I am finding I much prefer the Rosemary brushes nowadays:

link

I'll second wrgmr1, W&N Series 7 are the best price for their longevity. Still using brushes I bought in 2011. I've never had brushes, including other Kolinsky sables, that are as good as these.

decent brushes are a very small cost compared to the rest of my hobby purchases. I buy the best. It's a worthwhile investment.

You definitely get what you pay for. Although recently I did have a bad Series 7 that sent last long at all. First one ever in 30 years or so of using them.

Maybe about 15% of them.
I buy mine at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Cheap. And when they wear out I have a dry brushing brush. I have a lot of dry brushing brushes.

A..Winsor & Newton series 7, very expensive, but very good brushes. Also like my 'cheapo' brushes for more mundane duties, like dry brushing, and applying primer.

Yep. Windsor & Newton series 7. 'Nough said.