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Hey folks. I have a couple of Windsor and Newton S7s for details and general work, but I'm looking for something bigger as I've begun painting my dreads and vehicles. I would also like a nice flat brush for drybrushing that I'll need to do for another project.

Can anyone provide suggestions (preferably with links to US stores)?

Thanks in advance!

Anything kolynski is good enough. Even a crap kolynski brush will last longer than best synthetic brush.
I have looked in local stores, unfortunately hobbylobby and michaels do not have kolynski brushes, and local dedicated art stores are no longer around.

For drybrushing any brush will do, do not use kolynski for drybrushing, should be obvious.
Windsor Newton are good, but the brushes are not designed for super fine miniature detail work, plus acrylic destroys brushes faster than watercolor and oil.

I have few bundles of kolynski brushes from like 20 years ago, however those are awesome for oil painting, but not designed for miniature work.
So I ordered some:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7UFLP5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074K82SS1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The price is low, so I did not expect much, but with care they last reasonably ok-ish

For vehicles I think normal good-ol synthetic brush should be good.
Or perhaps squirrel watercolor brush might be good balance between price/tool

Hope this helps.

I have a cheap Nr. 1/4 flat brush for bigger areas can use it flat or on its side for finer bits.
I find that the masters brush cleaner can make even cheap sable brushes usable.

For larger drybrushes I use a makeup brush.

Because it's used to apply blush to a woman's face the bristles are super soft, you can pick up a 3 pack at Dollar Tree for $1 so who cares if they go bad after a while.

I got a 3 pack of 1/2, 3/4 and 1in sizes.

If you want a stiffer drybrush I also use "fan brushes". Self explanatory what the bristles look like.

The makeup brushes are my fav drybrushes to use.

jivardi wrote:
For larger drybrushes I use a makeup brush.

Because it's used to apply blush to a woman's face the bristles are super soft, you can pick up a 3 pack at Dollar Tree for $1 so who cares if they go bad after a while.

I got a 3 pack of 1/2, 3/4 and 1in sizes.

If you want a stiffer drybrush I also use "fan brushes". Self explanatory what the bristles look like.

The makeup brushes are my fav drybrushes to use.

Oooo, Have never tried that, thank you for sharing!

maxwin wrote:
I have a cheap Nr. 1/4 flat brush for bigger areas can use it flat or on its side for finer bits.
I find that the masters brush cleaner can make even cheap sable brushes usable.

Will have to give that a try as well! ty

Mothsniper wrote:Anything kolynski is good enough. Even a crap kolynski brush will last longer than best synthetic brush.
I have looked in local stores, unfortunately hobbylobby and michaels do not have kolynski brushes, and local dedicated art stores are no longer around.

For drybrushing any brush will do, do not use kolynski for drybrushing, should be obvious.
Windsor Newton are good, but the brushes are not designed for super fine miniature detail work, plus acrylic destroys brushes faster than watercolor and oil.

I have few bundles of kolynski brushes from like 20 years ago, however those are awesome for oil painting, but not designed for miniature work.
So I ordered some:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7UFLP5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074K82SS1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The price is low, so I did not expect much, but with care they last reasonably ok-ish

For vehicles I think normal good-ol synthetic brush should be good.
Or perhaps squirrel watercolor brush might be good balance between price/tool

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I bought the S7s years ago and they seem to be holding up fine considering how I didn't take great care of them for awhile. Maybe I got lucky?
To clarify, the two amazon links you'd recommend for general brushes (in the future)? Can you give me a more specific idea of what you'd recommend for large surface areas (besides an airbrush)?

jivardi wrote:For larger drybrushes I use a makeup brush.

Because it's used to apply blush to a woman's face the bristles are super soft, you can pick up a 3 pack at Dollar Tree for $1 so who cares if they go bad after a while.

I got a 3 pack of 1/2, 3/4 and 1in sizes.

If you want a stiffer drybrush I also use "fan brushes". Self explanatory what the bristles look like.

The makeup brushes are my fav drybrushes to use.

That's a neat idea. I'll definitely try that out!

I do not really recommend those, just showing the ones I have tested. And those are for details.

Large surface area, none airbrush, solution. hmmm...

On my 1:48 C 130 spray-can primer did most of large surface areas. but
For large-ish areas I layer paint. Watered it down, and brush in 2-3 coats to build up solid flat color.

And for building up color with layers any brush that reasonably holds the tip works for me.


Does that make sense?

Automatically Appended Next Post:
For drybrushing I am keen to try those makeup brushes

Windsor and Newton Seris 7s are, in my experience, the best brushes you can get for miniature painting. I've tried an awful lot of different brands, including the super-expensive Artis Opus ones, and none of them keep a point better and longer than Series 7s.

However, for painting big stuff like vehicles, you don't really need something amazing. I use large flat brushes from a craft shop for this sort of thing, as having a nice point doesn't matter when you're basically just applying paint to a large area. Size 6 round brushes from a hobby shop will be fine as well. If it has a decent point, you can paint the panels neatly, as well as covering a large area fast. You can always switch to something smaller for the details.

For drybrushing, makeup brushes are great. I also have a couple of really crappy Citadel starter brushes which I've cut the bristles off halfway and frayed out, which I use for stippling.

The makeup brushes are good because the bristles are so soft that you need to really work the brush for several minutes to start seeing the effect but that also means it's difficult to get too heavy handed and then the drybrush looks chalky or chunky.

The makeup brushes are conical as well so you are less likely to accidentally follow the grain with like fur and hair and get an uneven drybrush effect.

The downside is size. I've never seen a makeup brush smaller than 1/2" so not recommended for smaller infantry heads or something unless you do head seperate or drybrush all the small areas first before moving on to rest of the model's basecoats, etc.

 feltmonkey wrote:
Windsor and Newton Seris 7s are, in my experience, the best brushes you can get for miniature painting. I've tried an awful lot of different brands, including the super-expensive Artis Opus ones, and none of them keep a point better and longer than Series 7s.

However, for painting big stuff like vehicles, you don't really need something amazing. I use large flat brushes from a craft shop for this sort of thing, as having a nice point doesn't matter when you're basically just applying paint to a large area. Size 6 round brushes from a hobby shop will be fine as well. If it has a decent point, you can paint the panels neatly, as well as covering a large area fast. You can always switch to something smaller for the details.

For drybrushing, makeup brushes are great. I also have a couple of really crappy Citadel starter brushes which I've cut the bristles off halfway and frayed out, which I use for stippling.

Gotcha. Yeah, I'd seen other recommendations for the Series 7s. They get the job done on all my infantry. I'll hit up a craft shop for something cheaper and just clean up any details like you said.

Thanks!

If you're after something cheaper anything from an art shop designed for watercolour paints is what you're after. I've found in terms of researching good brushes, often the best things to look up are more 'arty' stuff rather than mini patining stuff; there's a lot of overpriced 'specialist' products in the mini painting space that are just duplicates of what people are already using for painting with watercolour and things like brush-inking comic books.

cheap make up brushes if its dry brushing you are after sir.

I just went on ebay/amazon and bought a big set of make up brushes.

feltmonkey wrote:Windsor and Newton Seris 7s are, in my experience, the best brushes you can get for miniature painting. I've tried an awful lot of different brands, including the super-expensive Artis Opus ones, and none of them keep a point better and longer than Series 7s.

I've seen progressively poorer quality control with W&N over the past few years, where they're just too hit and miss now for the price point you pay per brush.

I would highly recommend looking at trying out Raphael 8404's in lieu of the W&Ns. Lower price point, on par quality, and much higher (and consistent) quality control.

I also agree with the Artis Opus comment; the brushes lack the same snap and control that W&N's (when they're good quality) and Raphaels have.

https://www.jacksonsart.com/ is a great online shop to buy brushes, and they offer free S&H on brush orders. They also seem to offer brushes at a much cheaper price point (my 8404 size 3's cost about $16 CDN each, which is a phenomenal price for the brush I'm getting).