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Replacement for GW brushes


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Hey guys,

 

I am sick and tired of the gw brush range. I was thinking for replacements and was leaning towards the army painter brushes or kolinsky ones. My problem is, what are the sizes of the gw brushes, so that i could find replacements for them or a alternative company. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks

Vivster

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GW sizes ... clunky, huge and massive :)

 

I think their fine detail brush is a #2, the starter brush is a #8 and the tank brush is #24

 

Don't forget, brush size can vary between manufacturers so if you want an exact match to a fine detail brush, you may be looking at anything for a 00 to a #4 depending on who makes it. Personally I like Lowell Cornell's liner brushes and use 0, 6/0 and 18/0 sizes for painting and use GW's starter brushes and Tank brushes for dry brushing, terrrain and the like.

try popping into an independant retailer that sells GW products and comparing them off the shelf i've picked up the army painter fine detail (bit smaller than the GW version from what i can tell) and the insane detail brushes and think they're pretty good so far.

Hand cannon online - brush review.

 

I hope that helps :)

 

Hey guys,

 

I am sick and tired of the gw brush range. I was thinking for replacements and was leaning towards the army painter brushes or kolinsky ones. My problem is, what are the sizes of the gw brushes, so that i could find replacements for them or a alternative company. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks

Vivster

I generally use cheap synthetic brushes. They cost me about 1 pound and when they start to go to crap i just chunk them and grab a new one. I'm very rough on my brush's so i don't bother spending for top end when the result is just going to be the same. A gw brush for instance last me maybe a month if i use it regularly and half that if i use it heavily to give an example.

What the hell are you doing to your brushes that they fall apart in a month?

 

Personally I like the GW brushes for basic work but there's a real limit to what you can do with them - W&N Series 7s are excellent for detail work and I thoroughly recommend them. I haven't tried the army painter brushes, what are they like?

What the hell are you doing to your brushes that they fall apart in a month?

Painting a LOT. Seriously though, GW brush's have never really lasted that long and/or kept there shapes for more than 6 months tops. To keep that in mind i have been painting models for 18 years. :)

Stoped using the GW brushes when they changed to machine bound synthetic hair at the same price (or more) as the old brushes. I tried the Winsor & Newton Series 7 on the recomendation of a friend and would highly recomend them to anyone that takes care of the equipment they own, if used properly these brushes will last forever.... well a long time anyhooo. W & N have recently changed how these brushes are made so the quality is slightly lower than previous incarnations however that still makes them 1,000,000x better than the GW brush range. Also note that the quality on the W & N is so good that you can use larger size brushes like the 1 or 2 for most detail work because they hold a nice point and the tip can contain lots of paint without drying too fast making intricate freehand work lots easier.

 

I use 2 sets of brushes one set for normal paints and inks and the other for metalic work, so far the set used for metalics is still the GW synthetic pubes range but is about to be swapped out for some Rosemary & co brushes from their pure kolinsky sable 33 range on the recomendation of fellow painters. The price seems fantastic, apparently the quality is top notch and best of all they are hand bound.

 

https://www.rosemaryandco.com/index.php?cPath=275_365 linky for any interested :)

What would be a good soap to get to care for my brush. I am thinking of getting the W&N Series 7 sizes 00, 0, 1, 5/0 and 3 what do you guys think - for a space marien army

 

realistically, you need two winsor newton brushes, any more and you're wasting your money.

 

a Winsor newton 00, and a 1 is plenty, really you only need those for careful brush work. you would be better off getting a bigger synthetic brush that you can chuck after loads of use for the larger size. water is fine, you don't want to soap up the brushes too much or you'll kill the oil on the hairs and you won't get a fine tip again. DON"T EVER use them for drybrushing. ever. at all. ever. I use this stuff every now and then, http://www.artistmaterial.co.uk/products/M...-Preserver.html

 

but really, you don't want to be working your bristles too hard very often, or you'll kill the point.

And that's all you're paying for really, a fantastic taper that holds much more paint than the next brush.

 

I've had two winsor newton 000 and 00's each, and they have lasted me for 5 years.

 

of you want a cheap alternative to a winsor newton, buy a beater brush, and use a razor blade to trim the hairs down to produce a taper. It takes some practice, but it's an alternative if you don't feel like flashing out. But the point is, for any given miniatures, you should be able to paint most of it with two brushes. so instead of buying a whole bunch and expecting greatness, why not buy one, see what you like about it, and what you dislike, and let that shape your next buy.

 

:)

 

hope that helps.

All I can do is echo what's been said here. I use W&N Series 7 and they are worth every penny. As said, just two or three of these taken care of will last for years. I use "The Masters" brush soap to keep them clean and conditioned. I prefer a #1, a #0, and a #000. The 1 and 0 are for general work, and the 000 for when I need something really fine.

 

Also, as has been said, stock up on some cheap Taklon 'throw-away' brushes. They will perform well when new, but wear out fast. But they're so cheap, it's fine.

Yeah, that's something worth mentioning about 'The Masters' soap. It's great for doing just that, saving brushes.

 

We all do it sometime, get distracted and put down a brush loaded with paint. When you get back it's turned into a little paint-tipped spear. Just a bit of the soap will get the paint to release gently, bring it back to perfect shape.

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