Hope you enjoyed another comic strip by Master
Darksol from
All Things 40K. I like the fact that you can see the expression on that Guardian's face, it was so =__=" after he heard the pun. The pun guy really reminds me of Barney
Stinson from How I Met Your Mother. Nice, thanks Master
Darksol for this one!
Back to today's topic after I got a little attention from you. Today I'll be talking about paint brushes. I've been painting for almost a year and a half, so I've practically used up lots and lots of paint brushes. Some lasted me long, some died fast, and some were just victims of my lack of knowledge back then.
I'll be talking about some of the brands I've used so far. I've never ever thought of buying cheap brushes. Simply because I believe in quality. If the brush I'm paying for is meant to paint miniatures, it will do it's job splendidly.
The first brand is
The Army Painter. Created by 2 gentlemen (I believe it's 2). These brushes are created by war-gamer painters for war-gamer painters. I hope you take some time to browse through their site and learn about how they make their brushes.
The bristles on these brushes have specific kinds of material used for specific brushes. It's to control the flow of the paint, the amount of paint it can hold and how it would release paint. I would say that it's a genius! The handle is made in a triangular shape so that our hands could hold it better. This helps those who have bigger fingers or hands. Simply because holding a rounded small surfaced object will cause your fingers to be tired.
The only thing is, for the more detailed brushes, I tend to hold the brush closer towards the bristle for more control. Meaning, it's very difficult to hold for the more detailed ones, though after some time, I got used to it and it was very good anyway.
Prices for the brushes are reasonable. That's why I got myself a new set of brushes. The Army Painter, recommended.
Next up, Citadel. Out best friends at GW who sells us miniatures also has brushes to sell for us to paint them of course.
I've actually used some of the brushes and found that the Fine Detail brush performed quite well. Though it's life span was short. Look at the brush closely and you may see the bristles have nearly fallen completely off. Citadel Brushes tend to lose it's bristles. Even when I use the Standard Brush, without reason, the bristles just keep coming out.
I used the Dry Brush to it's maximum potential and I find it very satisfying to use.
Bottom line is, for the price you're paying, GW brushes will last you, just not that long. I would consider them as "disposable/expendable brushes" for very rough use.
Some of us might have heard of Tamiya, some of us might not. These brushes are not that cheap and they actually last quite a while. I only use them when my other brushes need to "rest". But I think I won't be buying anymore of this brand. Tamiya makes car, plane, bike and other models, so their brush is more of a multi-purpose kind of brush. And the bristles always separate and fray after a while.
The wooden handle on this brush peeled off as a result of me accidentally leaving it in the water cup overnight. I was painting the night before and I immediately went to sleep forgetting about the brush, so the next morning the wood started to chip and peel off.
I've been using the Red Sable Kolinsky 0 by Vallejo since I've been painting my Tyranids, meaning that this brush here has lasted me more than 200 miniatures already. The condition is slowly deteriorating, but as long as the bristles are still intact, they're good. For the price I paid, I'm very satisfied with it.
The second brush was used for more extreme detailing. Though I find myself rarely using it. The paint tends to dry up right before I can even reach the miniature. So I'll just keep it till I need it. I use it to paint scripts on purity seals, but it takes a little bit of mixing with water to ensure the paint won't dry up that fast.
I'll be looking for more brands of brushes as I continue on painting, though we develop a favourite all time brush, it will eventually die out of extreme usage.
Remember DO NOT BUY CHEAP BRUSHES. Invest in some quality brushes and I can assure you, you won't be so frustrated to have dead brushes lying around.
"Been busy these few days again, though I'm painting whenever I have the time, there just doesn't seem to be enough time. Thanks for reading."
