"Detail paintbrushes" Topic

Hi all,

Wondered what your favourite paint brush is for detail work, buttons, straps, piping etc. I need a few new ones, would you say some types are better for acrylics versus oil based paint like humbrols?

For small minis, I use a pin (I drilled & epoxied a BB to the back end to act as a handle.) You can pick up tiny drops of paint with the pointy end (just use a paint extender to keep the paint from drying out too quickly…) Also, easy to clean, just push it through some newspaper… ;-)

I pretty much only use acrylics and my fine detail brush of choice is the Windsor Newton Series 7 OOO.

Hi Tim,
I used to use army painter psychos, about £6.00 GBP each. Last okay, work well (if you pick one with a good tip) but flawed. There's so little brush there there's nothing to hold any paint.

Have made the switch to Artis Opus. Again you need to pick the brush yourself to make sure the point hasn't been wrecked. M series OOO are my go to fine detail brush. Slightly dearer at £10.00 GBP My two have lasted well, I rinse regularly, use brush cleaner and Vallejo brush restorer prior to putting them away.

I've also got an S series OO which has a fine enough point to do 15mm figure strap work.The OOO is much more reliable when plucking up the courage to do tartan.

They are available in a fancy wooden box, which is very tempting. I must confess I keep looking at it, my finger hovering over the add to basket button, but I wouldn't use most of the brushes. I splash blocks of colour on with cheaper brushes, then use the posh brushes for the finer stuff.

10/0 brush is best mostly (15mm), find the curling tip on brushes works for lots of things.

I use the same one as McKinstry.

I tend to use a rather worn W&N S7 Miniature '1'. The hairs left are just the core of the brush but still have the stiffness and spring of sable. You could use a '0' but, for some unknown reason, the hairs never seem to have the same stiffness.

In my opinion smaller brushes are a waste of time, just get one with a decent tip and you don't need it to be tiny.

I paint mostly 3-10mm figures and that is fine enough to do strapwork on a 3mm figure.

Thanks all, I ve gone for a two pronged assault. A dozen ultracheap Chinese ones from somewhere in the net to use and abuse. Then a set of the rather lovely looking Artis Opus for best – these rather exceed my painting talent by the sound of them, but Mrs W has very nicely volunteered to get them as a present 😁