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I have read and seen the results of painters using extremely fine pens to add "scribble" to purity seals etc. It looks effective but can anyone advise on the best make or sizes or their experiences using these Pens.

I get very fine art pens (0.05mm & 0.1mm) from HobbyCraft.

http://direct.hobbycraft.co.uk/products-Uni-Pin-0.1mm-Fine-Line-High-Precision-Black-Ink-Pen_290599.htm

They do run dry though after a while but are great for scrolls etc and for blacking sunken grooved in such things as Eldar skimmers.

Micron pigma...

http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-Archival

I'd suggest the 005 and and 01 - though I've had issues with them somehow clogging after being used on minis.. not sure why or how..

I'm trying also to buy a pen like this to do the backlighting on vehicles, but there is a problem, it shines to much and if I use it on white paint sometimes it's not black but very dark violet ;/

And make sure you get the ones with 'waterproof' ink - less likely to react with later varnishes etc

Awesome advice guys, off to hobby craft tomorrow to get one of those bad boys.

Skaven wrote:I'm trying also to buy a pen like this to do the backlighting on vehicles, but there is a problem, it shines to much and if I use it on white paint sometimes it's not black but very dark violet ;/

That's common with ALL 'black' pigment inks.
Not so much a black as a very dark violet.

I use a sharpie ultra-fine.

Gundam Modellers in Japan have been using them for blacklining for decades (they even have their own branded Gundam markers for the job).

I've tried various pens, with limited success.

Most fine tipped pens are ink based, so they tend to take some time to dry, and will run if you apply varnish over them too quickly.

Sakura Pigma Micron Pens are the tits. The 005 is VERY fine. The tips are rounded, so the angle at which the pen is held and the pressure exerted will change the thickness of the line, somewhat. My girlfriend sketches with them frequently and can get seemingly impossibly thin lines using the 005 and a very light stroke.

I usually use an 01 for scribbling text and marking grids for the checks on my Goffs. Filling is done with either an 03, 05, or 08 - whichever I find first. Don't bother with Superfine Sharpies - they have the reddish tint to the ink some people have mentioned, while Micron's don't.

The ink in Microns also has a bit of flow to it, which is helpful. It won't run at all under normal use, but running a fine tip over a groove in SM power armor a few times will build up enough ink to flow into the bottom of the groove, blacklining the groove completely. The ink also stays tacky for a little while over paint, as it isn't absorbed as it would be by paper, which means that with quick work and a bit of tactical smudging by finger or paper towel, instant weathering is achievable on checkered designs.

I have noticed that the ink sometimes stops flowing when attempting to draw on smooth surfaces, such as untreated plasticard or smoothly painted models. A few strokes on a rough or absorbent surface (paper, cutting mat, cardboard, etc.) will get the ink flowing again.

As an example, here's a (regrettably crappy) pic of a pair of WIP orks. The checks on the shoulder pad and gob were achieved with a Micron pen over an Astronomicon Gray basecoat, with the aforementioned smudge-weathering.