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Hey dudes.

Having decided in the past that the regular Citadel Burshes from GW were not all that good, I purchased the Eavy Metal limited edition 2 brush set. This set me back to the sum of £31 but I wasn't too disappointed as the Standard size brush included in the kit was, to date, the best brush I've used. Unfortunately they're not available anymore.

The brush I use from that kit has lost a hair or two in the last few months and has subsequently lost some of the strength in the tip, losing shape and making painting with it a little less efficient. So, can anybody recommend a good quality brush that I can get hold of without breaking the bank? I'm no pro, but I'd like something that is as good to paint with as the Eavy Metal brush I've killed!

Thanks dudes.

From what I understand, the best brushes as far as overall quality and durability, would be Squirrel Hair, or Kolinsky Sable. Sable is going to be a bit more on the expensive side, but if you want something that is going to hold up, it is definitely the way to go.

properly cleaning your brush after every paint session will also be a key to making your brushes last, making sure you get all of the paint out of the bristles is key. Some pigments (often times reds) will stain the bristles, however just making sure that you actually get all the "globs" of paint out is definitely a big part of it.

I have heard using soap and water works, I generally just use water and give them a good cleaning, even "painting" brush strokes against your hand while cleaning helps.

The eavy metal brush was kolinsky, which explains the better quality! Its lasted a fair while and although i never used soap, i always made maximum effort to keep the brush clean!

asking for brush advice is a lot like asking for religious advice around here, so brace yourself :p

I use the raphael brushes from secret weapon miniatures: http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=29. they maintain an excellent point, have a fat belly for paint and last a good while (several months) with even marginal brush care. compared to the standard GW brushes and several others I've picked up at various art stores, the raphaels are much higher quality. not cheap, though. I've yet to try out the windsor & newton brushes, which a lot of folks hold up as the gold standard around here, so I can't say how the raphaels compare. I'm happy with them, though

I'll do some hunting and see if they're readily available here in the uk.

Kolinsky Sable are brilliant, they have thick pen-like grips which allow more control and freedom, and they have incredibly thin variants.

You can find some W&N ones on eBay for really good prices, They are excellent brushes.

Get yourself some masters brush cleaner and they should last you a long time if you keep them clean.

I use the raphael brushes from secret weapon miniatures

I second this. Bought one about a month or two ago and love it. I will never use another cheap brush again.

The brushes sold on Miniwargaming.com are pretty good, far superior to the Citadel brand brashes at the least and they don't break the bank.

That said, I haven't used the Kolinsky brushes but after reading the above comments, I'm tempted to try them out.

Just last month I was shopping for some high quality brushes. General consensus seemed to be Winsor and Newton series 7, Raphael brushes or Rosemary and Co.

I found this little package at my regular artist supply website.

http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-winsor-&-newton-series-7-brush-set-(4).htm

Sizes 0 through to 3 Windsor and Newton Series 7, In a nice little box, with a saving of approximately £20 on getting them individually.

It seems I'm spoiled for choice!

raphael sable brushes are usually the defacto brush for most of the guys/gals on youtube/golden demon circuit. I've got a set of 0 & 1 set of Raphael Sables and they are fantastic, but i don't use them for everything--only the stuff I am going to spend 20-30+ hours on. If you don't have access to these though, or don't want to spend as much--I'd recommend just looking for these characteristics:

1) A brush that has a good belly
2) quality fibre--you can get fantastic synthetics, but here I would definitely recommend horse for its durability
3) test the tip...Lick your finger, run the brush a long it. if it instantly begins to fray...you've got a dud. Yeah, maybe not the most hygenic thing, but man have I bought a ton of brushes, only to get them home, dip them into some water, and the ends turn out like an endward-scissor-hands haircut.

I've followed these guidelines (A'la Les @ Awesomepaintjob.com) and its never run me astray. I've gotten 8$ brushes that followed the above that have lasted me through months of intensive painting.
Hope this helped!

Defo, thanks dude