Paintbrush Nirvana and Some Serious Hobby Bling

I never get any hobby in on Monday evenings as I have to get the weekly supermarket shop - this does mean, however, that I get the chance to pop into arts and crafts behemoth Hobbycraft for any odd bits I might need. I've been asking too much of my faithful Pro Arte brushes recently, so I decided to take the plunge and pick up a full set yesterday.

My hobby detritus zone (which generally follows me around the house) is now a good deal classier due to the presence of some fantastic brushes from the Pro Arte Series 107. I truly am in paintbrush nirvana.

With gold handles, no less. Hobby bling.

This is what Pro Arte say about this range: 

Prolene Spotting Brush - Formulated with the model maker and miniaturist primarily in mind. Most of the belly has been incorporated into the ferrules. Little of the brush filament is visible but the tip is very sharp giving great spring and precision in use. Seamless nickel ferrules. Gold polished handles with black tips. Sizes: 0000-000-00-0-1-2-3-4-5-6

This is what I say:

Everyone knows that you need good brushes. It's not rocket science / brain surgery / doing long division (always hated that at school). I spent an hour playing around with these today on the Chapel that I'm rehearsing techniques on and they've proved to be the perfect tools. Most striking is the sharpness of the points - I mostly worked with the Size 4 brush, which would at first appear to be massive, but it's actually incredibly precise and easy to control. Highly recommended and certainly worth a look if, like me, you're a serious 'intermediate-level' painter looking to develop technique. 

Pro Arte Acrylix Brushes - Review

Last week I picked up some new brushes, and rather than popping into GW or another hobby shop I decided to give the local art store a try. There was - and this will be no surprise - plenty of choice, although the majority of brushes on offer were too large for miniature painting. I plumped for a 1 and a 2/0 from the Pro Arte 'Acrylix' range and my goodness... they are magnificent. They have good long handles, which helps with control, and the 'spring' in them is simply amazing. Working with them last night not once did I have to 're-point' the bristles and they held the paint very well indeed. Given that these brushes were only slightly more expensive than the GW offerings (which are almost useless) I would recommend these to anyone looking for some great tools with which to improve their overall painting experience.  

Painting Tips and Reviews - New Page

I'm not an expert painter and the miniatures that I produce are only really average at best. However, like most of us I'm always looking to improve my techniques and find the best materials.

I'm now keeping a record on this blog of the tips and hints that I find, hear, or figure out through trial and (often) error. This will be on a new page, that you can see under the header, as well as in regular posts. I'm also going to keep a note of paints and brushes that I use, and importantly, how I use them; mostly for my own reference, but they might be of use to others too.

Here are my first two reviews, looking at a couple of the brushes I use most often at the moment:

Army Painter 'Wargamer: Insane Detail' Brush

This is probably the brush I use most often. It reminds me of the third gear on an old mini that I used to have - you can get started with it and push it really far before you need to think about using something else. Although it's called 'insane detail' it's actually a very useful size to use for a range of applications, as it helps me maintain a steady pace, instead of letting me being tempted to rush ahead and get a job finished. The quality of the hair seems really high for a relatively inexpensive product and I've not had any issues with forking or bending. 

Citadel 'Fine Detail' Brush

This is a real workhorse. It's also the only Citadel brush that I've used that hasn't turned out to be complete rubbish - all the others are now used for bases, adding large area washes, and even for applying PVA glue - that really tells you what I think of them! The fine detail brush, on the other hand, is never far from reach, although it does seem to be showing signs of wear after a couple of weeks of use. This brush is probably a false economy and I probably won't buy another, but it's worth it for a beginner.