Gaz Taylor Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Have speed painted and dipped yet another army, I want to try and paint something nice and enjoy the whole painting process and i'm on the look out for some new brushes. So my questions for you are: 1) What is in your Brush collection and how do you rate the brushes? 2) What would you recommend for somebody on the market for some new brushes and where do you get them from? 3) How do you care for your brushes? I'm not brand loyal or anything like that, but I want some brushes which are good quality and will last. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dez Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I have used my Winsor and Newton Series 7 sizes 00 to 1 exclusively for a few years now. You can get them for about $15 each, and as I've had them for about 3 years now it's totally worth it. They've kept their shape, I don't think I could be any happier since I took the plunge and bought them. I do use a couple of other brushes for things like large area base coating (old GW brushes) and washes. I use cheap as it gets for dry brushing. I used to use GW and Army Painter brushes, but found I'd have to replace them every month or two. Masters Brush Cleaner is the way to go, and I've tried lots of different methods over the years. It's kept my Winsor and Newtons in perfect shape. After painting, I just rinse the brushes in a bit of water. I then 'roll' them in the Masters, and massage it into the bristles. I'll rinse again, roll again, and shape into a point with the Masters Cleaner still on the bristles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie Grimwood Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Windsor and Newton S7s 000 to 3 never used the 000 or 00 the others hold such a fine point. Excellent brushes I'm a fairly workman like painter but even for me they've improved my painting. Also GW wash brushes and I really like the GW dry brushes, the new flat ones, they're excellent and offer really good control. If you fancy some WN7s there's always good deals on amazon I got mine for less than £10 a brush which I though was pretty reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADDriot Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Winsor and Newton 7s are great. If you're on a bit of a budget, I've been really impressed with Broken Toad brushes. I bought a set of 4 for £24 and they're performing really well. There's not a hugely noticeable drop off in quality between them and Series 7s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_rex Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I use WN Series 7s, the Citadel range and Rosemary & Co. Series 33 brushes, but if I could only use one brush it would be a WN Series 7 Number 2. I'd not heard of Broken Toad brushes, but I love the name so I'll have to try them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I've far too many brushes for my own good 1) My core brushes (for proper painting rather than drybrushing/oil/washes etc) W&N Series 7. My "top end" brushes that get the most use, love them and hug them and they'll last a long time. Sizes 2, 1 & 0 and another Size 2 and 1 that I use only with metallics. Size 1 gets the most use Rosemary & Co. Series 33. My "middle-range" brushes. I find they don't keep their tip quite as well as W&N so tend to use them for things like controlled washes now. GW base brushes. Wedge brushes get used for applying base colours down, small and medium get used for applying large areas of metallics or "special" paints (blood effect etc). 2) I'd likely suggest a Size 1 and 2 W&N and hunt on Amazon (you can get some with Prime), these will become your main work horses forever. If the person were a brand new painter (i.e testing the waters) I'd say the same sizes from Rosemary & Co. If they stick with it then upgrade. Putting into perspective what you can get away with, my Bloodbound were painted using four brushes: W&N Size 1 and 2, the large GW base brush and a GW medium wash brush - that was it. I'm not going to profess to be the best painter, but it was a pretty reasonable result. 3) Brush soap (and tucking them into bed next to you). Masters is probably the easiest to get hold of (Amazon Prime again!) but Games & Gears brush soap is pretty reasonable. I generally wash my brushes after each sitting (occasionally in between too) and leave them on the dish drainer to dry off (you can rest them on the ferrule in such a way that they're slightly angled down). Never leave brushes in a pot of water. Don't use your 'best' brushes for applying washes or metallic paints that separate easily (I'm looking at you Retributor Armour) One thing I will say is that I invested in the Games & Gears Ichiban brushes (did it on the kickstarter) and was really disappointed. The handle of these brushes comes off to cover the tip and they have a slightly fatter handle/ferrule. However despite being sable, the brushes themselves don't come up to scratch when compared to W&N or Rosemary & Co. They're OK if you're travelling but I'd not rate them as anything other than an occasional brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoffeeGrunt Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Gunna put one in for my Pro-Arte brushes. They've been real troopers considering their low price point, they've lasted me a year now with no real deterioration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulsmith Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I'm still using a full set of old GW brushes, the coloured ended ones denoting what type of brush. They fair alright, I think after my ironjawz are done I'll be angling for more. Also have an army painter detail brush which is nice, but honestly doesnt feel too different from the GW ones. Definitely going to have to get some brush soap to try and improve brush longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alasdair Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I use the larger Citadel brushes for drybrushing basecoating and washing, then Brokentoad and Winsor and Newton S7 for detail work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sadysaneto Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Used to use w&n series 7. found rosemary & co. series 33, never looked back. For basecoating i use pretty much any soft brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riyathe Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Best 2 brands ive used are Windsor and Newton series 7 and Raphael, ive heard da vinci's are said to be top notch also but havent tried them. W&N also do a series 7 miniature line of brushes specifically for miniature painting but some people prefer the normal 7's as they hold more paint. I find raphaels larger bodied than the 7's but also find they cant take a beating a hold a point like the series 7, as pretty much everyone in this thread has testified series 7 is so popular for a very good reason, if you havent tried them before get a size 1 or a pack of size 0-3 fir ~£35, best money you can spend honestly. I bought mine here, maybe cheaper elsewhere, not sure. https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-winsor-&-newton-series-7-brush-set-(4).htm also the masters brush soap aas so many others use is great for keeping your sable oiled and getting paint out from near the ferrule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuneBrush Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 6 hours ago, Riyathe said: W&N also do a series 7 miniature line of brushes specifically for miniature painting but some people prefer the normal 7's as they hold more paint. The biggest issue with the miniature series 7 is that the bristles are shorter so the paint dries really quickly. Not an issue for oil or enamel but for acrylic it's a nightmare. I bought a size 0 once - pretty much unusable for anything, plus you gum up the ferrule really quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb_rex Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 All hail @RuneBrush he speaketh the truh! The belly of the brush, the fat round part between the ferrule and the tip, is one of the major plus points of the standard Series 7s. This part acts like a reservoir of paint and/or water (if you've got you're paints thinned correctly), which supplies paint the tip and prevents it drying out too quickly on the brush. I'd love to try out the Raphaels but I have no idea where to get hold of them or order them from, in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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