I need to buy some new brushes as mine are getting worn out. But I don’t know what to buy.
I usually buy Games Workshop brushes but in recent years they’ve not been lasting me all that long and don’t seem to hold a point very well. They have changed their supplier in recent years a couple of times and the last good brushes in my opinion that they had were a red colour on the “handle”, don’t know who the supplier was though.
So, I’m looking for good alternatives.
I’m in the UK but I can probably order online, and I’m mainly looking for finer detail sized brushes, especially as I need to use one to finish my 1/72 Jolly Green Giant.
Please could someone here recommend a good but inexpensive brand that I can find in the UK (or online with inexpensive shipping) because I have no idea what to look for other than kolinsky sable (which I believe is a type of brush not a brand name)?
Quite frequently for small detail work I use the end of a toothpick- those sharp double ended ones. I shake the paint bottle, then take the top off and place it upside down (the top, that is) on my bench. I dip the end of the toothpick in the paint left in the top. It seems the amount left is about the optimum amount- no worrying about exactly how far to dip the toothpick in the bottle.
Now, the toothpick does not hold much paint, compared to a brush. But this is a tradeoff. You have to keep dipping the pick a lot, but you do not get the problem where a brush suddenly finds a crack or something and a lot of paint flows out all at once, marring the finish.
I do have expensive Kolinsky brushes but I use ultra fine eyelash micro brushes. You can buy 100 of them for under $3-4 on eBay. I bought 500 for $10 on eBay. The beauty of them is you use one and throw it away. No cleaning is needed. They are also perfect for applying glue.
I used to use “modeling micro brushes.” When I happened to look at my wife’s eyelash micro brushes, I realized that they were essentially the same as more expensive modeling ones. There’s nothing special about modeling micro brushes.
Thank You for the tip on the eyelash brushes. I just bought a bunch for almost nothing and they paint perfectly. I love these kind of tips that works great AND saves modeling dough. Chrisk thanks. Terry
I paid almost $100 for 4 ultra fine Kolinsky brushes. After discovering eyelash brushes, I sold the darn expensive brushes on eBay and actually made a profit!
Thanks guys. Some interesting ideas here. I’ve come across some Italeri brushes so I’ll give those a go as I’ve got one of their larger size brushes at the moment that I use for applying Future and that seems to be holding up quite well. I can get a set with various sizes for about £8 ($13ish).
I have been wondering for awhile- can you still buy pen points and the pens they fit in? Seems to me that they would work with thinned paint. And, I do know folks who do some detail painting with ink- black or colored ink.
I’m a big fan of modern synthetic artist’s brushes. One brand is called “Golden Taklon”; there are lots of others.
On the basis of about 55 years of modeling, I am firmly of the opinion that the fuss about sable-hair brushes is mostly myth. They’re great brushes, all right, but the synthetic ones, in the hands of a good modeler, can do exactly the same thing - and cost a fraction as much.
They can be had in every conceivable size and shape - from 10/0 to several inches wide. Art supply stores like Dick Blick, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and A.C. Moore’s have a huge assortment of them - frequently in sets that save even more money. $5.00 buys an excellent synthetic brush - maybe even two.
I just want something that lasts for more than 3 or 4 brief uses without the tip bending and become useless for detailing! Sable, horse, hog, synthetic, whatever, I just want the brush to last!!!
The new (I say new, but actually they’ve been around for at least thirty years) synthetic brushes, if you clean them reasonably thoroughly (and don’t use them for CA adhesive or epoxy), seem to last at least as long as sable ones. I’ve got some synthetic brushes that I’ve had for years. I’m not hyper about cleaning and maintaining them, though, for the simple reason that they’re so cheap.
There’s an A.C. Moore’s arts and crafts store in the same shopping center as our local Barnes and Noble, Target, and grocery. When I’m there for some other purpose I usually stick my nose into A.C. Moore’s to see if it has anything interesting, and I frequently walk out with a package of brushes.
I got a laugh out of the Forum’s automatically bleeping Mr. Blick’s first name in my earlier post. It’s the common 4-letter nickname for “Richard,” starting with D and ending with K. Well, ok; this is a family website. But I feel sorry for all those who use that nickname routinely; I guess they have to call themselves “Richard” here. And I suspect the **** Blick company would not appreciate hearing that its name is considered an obscenity.
Do people still name their kid the DK word? It was not uncommon back in my days to know several guys with that name. Don’t believe I even know anyone with that name under the age of 60.
If you want good paint brushes then its then look to the art supply companies. Try this one, they have many types of both synthetic and sable from budget prices to incredibly expensive. Water colour brushes are the ones that you will find have the finest points.
From what i’ve been told by artists, sable brushes (sable being actual animal fur) are best used for water colours - ie, their primary benefit is that they hold water well and will suck up water colours.
I don’t think they are actually all that necessary for us modelers who use acrylics and enamels - i almost exclusively use enamels for brush painting, so i never buy sable, just the synthetic brushes.
I was under the impression that paint thinner would dissolve some types of synthetic fibers used in brushes. I have always bought real hair brushes because of that. I think it was the nylon fibers that were a problem. I suppose there is all kind of fiber used in brushes that are synthetic, and they usually do not identify WHICH fiber.