Equivalent to citadel brushes

[hd3]

I was wondering if anyone knew any of the equivalents to the citadel L base Brush and M dry brush? Im certain this is citadel overpricing tools. I heard the rosemary series 33 is good bit im not sure which is equivalent to a L base brush and M dry brush. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Grotsmasha]

To be honest, you only need "good" brushes for Highlighting, and finer details, think small layer and Artificer size. For everything else (M/L Later, Base Coating, Dry Brushing) go to your local Art Store or Dollar Store and pick those up, they'll last just as long, but save you significantly in the long run.

I'd recommend brush soap and cleaning after every paint session for the good brushes, will seriously extend their life.

Another tip in general, the biggest cause for frayed brushes is paint drying in the ferrule (the metal but holding the hairs). Make a conscious effort to never get paint more than 50% up the bristles and you'll increase their life even more.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I'll second Grostmasha's comments on brush soap and brush care - I can highly recommend "The Master's" cake brush soap and Jo-Sonja/Chroma's liquid brush soap, and would personally recommend getting both of them - I use the liquid soap to clean the brush, and the cake soap to point the tip for storage once it's clean. Marseille soap also works well. I'm not sure where in the world you are, so can't comment on availability or sources.

In terms of direct equivalents, I'm not sure I can recommend any - Rosemary & Co's Series 314 seems to be the most direct equivalent to the Citadel Base series, and I can't really find one for the Dry series. I differ in approach to Grotsmasha, and use "cheap good" brushes for base coating, as I tend to take it slow and use it as an opportunity to work on brush control - either a good synthetic (e.g. Jackson's Studio Series 505, Jackson's Artica [a re-branded Escoda Perla], or Pro Arte Prolene Series 101), or cheaper natural hair brush (e.g. Rosemary & Co Series 99). For drybrushing a lot of people either use a worn-out normal brush or a makeup brush, although others will swear by the Rosemary & Co Model Drybrush or Artis Opus Series D (actually the same brushes), and Army Painter Masterclass Drybrush brushes.

Don't know if that's any help or not?

[Guest]

I use R&Co brushes.

Smooshing for drybrushing, Short Flat (Red Dot Synths) for basing and 33s for the good work.

[Helias_Tancred]

I've used several different brands and qualities of brushes, and for the money vs quality, the Army Painter Wargamer series of brushes are hard to beat. I've been using them exclusively for over two years now. 

All you really need is the regiment, character, detail, and I like the Kolinsky Masterclass brush. Those four and you're good to go. 

 

[Rik Lightstar]

@hd3

I'm not sure where you're based but here in the UK I recommend ABC Brushes on ebay to everyone who asks, they end up with batches of stock from all sorts of manufacturers. They sometimes get them due to stockists going out of business or misprints on brush handles, others will be end of range or overstock items as well.

For your "day to day" sable brushes they're fantastic and they have some very competitive pricing. 

I also tend to use CHEAP synthetic brushes a lot for large areas of washes, contrast paints or metallics and most of my bases. You can get packs of 10 or 20 for the same price as a couple of decent sable brushes. If I'm working on an army project I'll batch paint all the messy stuff and if a 50p synthetic brush doesn't survive ink washes over 20+ miniatures then that's absolutely ok.

Rik

[Magos Takatus]

On 8/27/2022 at 9:30 AM, Brother Captain Arkley said:

I use R&Co brushes.

Smooshing for drybrushing, Short Flat (Red Dot Synths) for basing and 33s for the good work.

The fact that there are brushes designed for "smooshing" amuses me far more than it has an right to.