So, what brushes do you use?

[CrusherJoe]

Brush choice is very much a personal thing. When I first started out I didn't think that much of it -- I honestly thought those cheap-*** brushes you got at Michael's or Hobby Lobby were great.

Experience is a cruel but efficient teacher I suppose. :)

So nowadays my brush of choice for pretty much everything is a venerable Winsor & Newton Series 7 Size 0. It's such a versatile brush, good for covering (small-sized, admittedly) area and for detail work (down to painting in the creases between power armor plates). I wish I'd listened to the advice I was given oh so long ago and gotten one of them first...but I don't think I would appreciate it nearly as much as I do now if I had.

What about you guys? What brush(es) do you use? Have a favorite?

[Bulwark]

Honestly, the last brush I used for 40k was a 79 cent, 2" wide brush from Home Despot.
Granted, it was only used to drybrush some large terrain pieces.

[Darkseer]

Games Workshop 'Standard' Brush all the way baby.
Small drybrush for basecoating and...well, drybrushing.
For basecoating tanks, I now use the GW Tank Brush.

I've been very impressed by the quality of GW brushes, even if they do cost that bit more.
The Standard Brush is great for detail too, because it keeps its point and isn't as flimsey as the thin bristled Detail Brush.

I'll never use the GW Detail Brush ever again.

[Dosadi]

I've been using GW brushes for years. I just picked up some of the new Citadel brushes (black handles, colour coded ends) and I have to say they are quite nice.
I've tried the Windsor Newton Series 7's but for their price I didn't find them all that impressive.

For the most part I use Standard brushes (1's) and 00's for details. I also have a 10/0 I use for eyeballs.


Dosadi

[Oswald Shot First]

I've got a set of the new GW brushes, and they're pretty good for the price.

I want some Series 7's, but some combination of brush priming with gesso and general incompetence at brush care has me going through brushes very quickly, and I don't want to ruin a nice, expensive brush.

[CrusherJoe]

I've been using GW brushes for years. I just picked up some of the new Citadel brushes (black handles, colour coded ends) and I have to say they are quite nice.
I've tried the Windsor Newton Series 7's but for their price I didn't find them all that impressive.

For the most part I use Standard brushes (1's) and 00's for details. I also have a 10/0 I use for eyeballs.


Dosadi
Interesting, you're the first person I've heard say something like that. What material are the Citadel brushes made from? I'll admit to being a bit spoiled by the Kolinsky sable. :)

[Demosthenes]

Citadel standard brush for base coats, fine detail for everything else. Occasionally I use a small drybrush if I'm using that technique

[RealGenius]

What material are the Citadel brushes made from? I'll admit to being a bit spoiled by the Kolinsky sable. :)

All but the drybrush and stippling brushes are Kolinsky sable. I think the stippling brush is nylon. It is pretty coarse, but I'm not sure.

[Dosadi]

The new Citadel brushes feel like WN Series 7 to me. I also like the slightly larger handles. Will they last as long? I don't know yet as I only bought them last week. Als I had to test out a few before I found ones that retained their shape (tip). Lucky for me the dudes at my local GW let me fiddle with their brushes before I bought them. The other nice thing is that they went down in price (something rare for GW); at least they did in Canada.


Dosadi

[CrusherJoe]

Coolness, I'll check them out. I'm not really in the market for new brushes, mind you, but I don't think there's anything wrong with at least giving them a once-over. Plus, I don't think you can ever have too many brushes...

[Darkseer]

The other nice thing is that they went down in price (something rare for GW); at least they did in Canada.

That was just Canada :(

[RealGenius]

Has anyone tried the Rosemary & Co brushes? I've read a few positive forum posts about them, and the price is pretty decent (http://www.coolminiornot.com/store/section.php?xSec=115), but not had any first-hand experience.

[CrusherJoe]

What I would really like to find are good brushes to use for drybrushing. Yeah, I know, "good brushes" and "drybrushing" don't belong in the same sentence normally but what I mean are brushes that stand up or are purpose-built for drybrushing.

I tried the GW "small drybrush" and after one drybrushing session -- painting the ridges on the "flexible parts" of marine power armor (you know -- behind the knees, elbows, etc.) the bristles were bent and frayed to the point of being less than useful for the task they were supposedly created for. Needless to say, I haven't replaced it or "moved up" to the bigger version. For the time being I'm just using those craptacular "American Painter" brushes you can get at Michael's/Hobby Lobby for like $5.00 a pop. They tend to last a bit longer...but don't give the most spectacular results and when they go bad, they go from "useful" to "utterly useless" usually in the -middle- of a drybrushing session. It's frustrating, to say the least.

[Astrothumps]

I eventually started using the Raphael Brushes and now find it hard to use anything else. They are a little hard to find but can be found online for a good price. They hold paint and spread paint on minis better than anything I have ever used and I have tried them all.

[Death 0F Angels]

I got some winsor newton series 7 brushes a couple months ago, a week later i threw every GW brush i had in the toilet and havent looked back. If you think they are too expensive go to cheapjoes.com and compare the prices to GW brushes. I have not used any of the new GW brushes so i cant speak for those but i cant imagine them bieng better then series 7. 2 months later every brush still holds a fine point. Ive never had a GW brush that kept its point past 5 uses and ive gone through my fair share.

[daggitkiller]

I'm a WN series 7 fan as well. I invested in a full kit two years back and I use the #1 for most jobs. I've found it to have a better, more controllable point than a GW fine detail, not to mention paint flow.

I also bought some brush soap and started storing my brushes sideways in a cheap little tin brush box (the kind with springs for holders). Guy at the art store said upright lets moisture seep into the (name escapes me, the metal area). Anyway, in two years I haven't replaced one brush and the points are still superb. Money well spent.

[Dragonforge]

I use pretty much Raphael 8404's or Windsor and Newton #7's

Expensive yes, but you can't beat the quality for the brush and treated right they last a very long time. I am interested in giving the new GW brushes a try especially some of the flat dry brushes.

[fade_74]

I like the GW brushes. Maybe it is the way you are using em. Are you poking your drybrush into the model? I find that will ruin a brush very quickly. Smooth long strokes is the way to go. I actually drybrush the joint areas of SM just after priming...that way i can correct the edges as I basecoat.

oops...this was supposed to be directed at crusher joe

[evil_bryan]

Count me in the W&N Series 7 crowd, but my goto size is the #2. It still comes to that razor sharp point, but the larger barrel holds more and provides less of an opportunity to get paint close to the ferrule. After nearly 3 years of constant use, it's still in perfect shape. I bought a spare last year just in case anything ever happened to it, but with just some basic care I fear that first #2 stands a good chance of outliving me. :)

[vman]

Im waiting on the new GW brushes to arrive and i will be using those... Hopefully they are good

I hear good things about the WN brushes... i would use either the new GW or WN brushes and nothing else

[Lerra]

I've got a set of cheap brushes that I use for speed painting. I love em - great bang for the buck ($1.50-$3 per brush, Robert Simmons White Sable, from www.dickblicks.com). I have a few higher quality brushes that I save for special figs.

I end up having to replace my everyday brushes about once a month, so I don't like to invest much in them, especially for speed painting my space marines where I don't care about quality as much (I've got two armies - Daemons for painting, Space Marines for letting the new players/kids borrow, or when I want to paint without worrying about the details so much).

[CrusherJoe]

I like the GW brushes. Maybe it is the way you are using em. Are you poking your drybrush into the model? I find that will ruin a brush very quickly. Smooth long strokes is the way to go. I actually drybrush the joint areas of SM just after priming...that way i can correct the edges as I basecoat.

oops...this was supposed to be directed at crusher joe

No worries, I read the thread and knew you were talking to me. :)

As for how I drybrush, I use the side area of the brush and draw it over the area to be drybrushed relatively slowly for as long as I can. I'm pretty sure it's not how I drybrush (though I'll admit it could be).

I think maybe I was expecting too much from the brush, honestly. I know any brush made with synthetic material is going to split and fray no matter what -- and anything used for drybrushing is going to rush to that end. I guess I just didn't expect it to happen so fast.

[Zuckuss]

I personally use the Italeri brand of brushes. They are pretty cheap so I tend to get through quite a few of them, but the main reason is that they have the large triangular handles (like the rubber tips you used to get on pencils when you were a kid). Being a large ham fisted sort of guy I find these allow me to grip the brush better and have more control of my painting.

I would love to be able to use some of the high quality brushes but I find the handles are just too small and I struggle to keep a decent grip on them, with the brush sliding around between my fingers whilst trying to paint. Its either that or holding it so tight that after a few minutes it starts to get painful.

Any ideas for us ham fisted guys?

Zuckuss

[Cherub]

I have fat hands too. What I do is just hold the brush between my thumb and Index finger just tight enough that it doesnt flop around. If my fingers hurt im puching too hard. As for brushes it was W&N series 7 but with the new gw brushs I plan on switching over to them now as they work just as well for me.

[Hashshashin]

I use the Black Handled Reaper Kolisky Brushes and they have worked great for me, They keep a good tip after months of painting regularly with them. I want to get some series 7's I just haven't made it to a proper art shop recently.

I consider the old GW brushes crap and the only one I've used since I bought them four years ago, besides some stippling and painting on glue, is the tank brush. I am curious about the new ones though, peole seem to really like them.

Once you start using Kolinsky sable, I don't think you can turn back.

[Brambleten]

i havent got hold of any of the new GW brushes, but i plan to, as my favourite brush is just about dead. i got it with the first issue of battle games in middle earth with some goblins, and have been using it ever since. now though, its pretty much solid where i either forgot to clean it out or i just didnt clean it propperly. mainly use that and a small drybrush, along with a GW large brush for washes and a detail brush for everything i havent covered.

[Slann]

I go with a few brushes , for base coating I usually Winsor & Newton cirrus 110 size 1 or size 0 for base coat , Winser & newton spector gold 2 4/0 for eye's , and a Winser & Newton series 7 size 00 and 0 for detials and highlights/blending . I also from time to time use escoda they are pretty good too . But for the most part my series 7 does most of the work I have 2 back ups and havnt had to open those up for a long while series 7 really hold up well they are the best i use by far .

As for the new GW brushes IL give them a whirl for when I have to do speed painting and rush jobs . Though the stippiling brush seems cool .

I have a Cottman Winser & newton size 1 and a size 0 that I cut the bristles which made it flat I use these for dry brushing .

[AsgeirArnald]

I use pretty much exclusively Army Painter brushes. I use the AP Hobby Series Basecoating for (surprise!) basecoating and the rest are AP Wargamer Series. I use the Detail Brush and the Insane Detail Brush a lot. I have the Vehicle/Terrain brush but I mostly spray my base color on my vehicles, and I use the Monster brush for the big details on vehicles and the Detail brush for the rest. I also have a Loew-Cornell Spotter brush that I use for pretty much everything when the Army Painter Brushes aren't doing what I need them too.

[RedScorpionsGirl]

Most common brush I use, P3 Studio Fine Brush. This brush is amazing....It works for such small details as eyes, then you can scrub with it if you need to wet a spot and get rid of the over painting, it holds wash well, and it covers small areas great! A bit of an investment at 11.99, or if you can luck out, I found some for 7.99 (on my birthday none the less...it was cool). They are well worth it in my opinion, last count I believe I had 5-6.. I have actually successfully worn them out, and they still keep their point and don't curl, period.

[Kanaellars]

I am using the new GW brushes and I have no compliants at all with them.

They are good brushes, hold paint well, and seem to hold up to a decent amount of use as well.

[gwensdad]

The last few months I've been using some of the Army Painter brush line, specifically Regiment and Character. The strange thing I like best about them: the shape of the brush handle. Just makes for a good grip.