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Has anyone used the Koh-I-Noor technical pens for models? Are they worth the cost? are they easy to clean and switch colors? or is it better to just stick with my detail brush?

some people swear by them, and have done for years...
they were even recommended back in the Adeptus Titanicus rulebook, 25-odd years ago...

personally, i find the ink dries too glossy, but that is solved at the end if you varnish for gaming...
i also find the tip of my brush easier to control than the nib on a pen...

as for cleaning, the pens all break down into easy to clean sections, and are not hard to maintain...
i have had a couple for over twenty years and they are still like new...
i like them for drawing, but prefer my trusted brush and the interesting paint mixes i can get with acrylics for minis...
they are a great timesaver though...

cheers
jah

cheers

Technical pens are a bit spendy, especially if you have smaller size nibs/tips. replacement tips are expensive and hard to source, and only a few companies make the technical pen ink (dont use india ink, no no no).

Unlike a micron, its not a felt/synthetic tip, its machined stainless steel, so they can clog and you must break them down and clean them after use.. When they were still popular for drafting you could get a Humidor type stand to store the pens, nib up so you could leave them filled with ink overnight.

Also because of how it its built, the ink flows best when the nib is at 90 degrees to the paper (or drawing surface). on smaller nibs, any angle when you draw could bend the little steel piece inside.

Basically its a speciality tool with its own rules of use and maintenance.

Anyone know the best context in which to use these pens? i was thinking about getting one for scrollwork, highlighting and freehand stuff? i dont really want to drop alot of money on something with really limited use

personally, i think you're better off going with one of the very fine felt tips...
i forget the brand, but they should be right next to the technical pens in the art store, with a beige body...
similair sizes, but you don't have to worry about the nib scratching your paint, or cleaning...
much cheaper investment as well...

obviously you could use them for any freehand that you would normally be doing with a brush and a solid color...
subtle freehand not so much, but scrolls, purity seals, and books for sure...

cheers
jah

Twchnical pens like Koh-I-Noor and Rapidographs are rather expensive for this work, not to mention, the metal nibs may prove damaging to a careful paint job. I use Sakura and ZIG felt pens. They are relatively inexpensive and very sharp. They come in a variety of gauges from. 005 to. 01, so they can do everything from tiny lines on scrolls to large insignia. They are usually only available in black, so colors are rather limited...

The selling feature of technical pens was the uniformity of line thickness. that's a big deal in drafting/technical drawing. for the hobbyist its hard to tell between 0.20 and 0.25mm.

If you are doing scrolls or purity seals, get a 005 (o.20mm) tip black micron pen.

As an example, on dickblicks the micron pen size i mentioned is under 3 dollars, a Koh-I-Noor rapidograph of roughly the same size is about 25 dollars US, that is without ink and replacement tips are about 18 dollars each.

The kohinoors are actually a serious headache to keep clean when you get into the smaller nib sizes- the wire that runs through the barrel to open the ink valve is an immense headache. They get very very thin, and cleaning can require the removal of said part- and trying to get it back in place without bending it....

You can get micron pens in several colors, usually at least the basic R/B/G along with black and sepia. Hit up your local art supply store, most of the good pens are found with the illustration supplies. They are usually only 2$ or so, and can be found cheaper online through sites like Blick arts(which has a huge selection of them).

The technical pens can work, but theyre really not designed for being used on 3d surfaces. I havent used mine for a very long time.

Thanks for the heads up everyone! Sounds like I'll just save my money, go with felt, and probably be better off in the long run. More money= more models

jah-joshua wrote:personally, i think you're better off going with one of the very fine felt tips...
i forget the brand, but they should be right next to the technical pens in the art store, with a beige body...
similair sizes, but you don't have to worry about the nib scratching your paint, or cleaning...
much cheaper investment as well...

obviously you could use them for any freehand that you would normally be doing with a brush and a solid color...
subtle freehand not so much, but scrolls, purity seals, and books for sure...

cheers
jah

I believe the ones you're thinking of are the Sakura micron technical pens. I have a few 005 size ones I use for certain fiddly detail work.

definitely stick with the micron pens. I bought a koh-i-noor just for fine detail work and ended up clogging it after a few days. managed to breal the fine needle during cleaning so that was about 20 bucks down the drain. I won't be making that mistake again.