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Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are the first two thousand words in glorious high resolution. You need to click on them and zoom in to get a good look, as I uploaded them in as clearly as my 50mm f1.2 lens can photograph.





So, the most exciting brush first: the Citadel Artificer (Layer) brush. It comes in a tube that is EXACTLY the same dimensions as the ones that ship with the Winsor & Newton Series 7 small size paintbrushes. The caps are a little different; they have holes in the center. I eagerly ripped it out of its protective cocoon and stared long and hard at it. After photographing it in the picture above, alongside some other worthy detail brushes, I tested it for springiness, felt the bristles, pulled it against the back of my palm, wet it, and generally just molested it in every way possible without putting paint on it, and compared it to a Series 7.

First of all, I don't think it's a rebadged S7 00. On the photograph, the three center brushes, the S700, Artificer, and 'Eavy Metal Detail are all brand new (the Raphael and S7 000 brushes are not). Ignore the ferrule; notice how the 'Eavy Metal and the S7 look practically identical, but the Artificer does not look like them? The ferrule is identical to an S7, except the color, but the bristle length is about the same as a 2-month old S7 (with heavy use). The belly doesn't seem as full, and basically, it looks to be a smaller brush. The ferrule appears to be the same size if you look at them head on.

Then, I did a few test doodles on an old model to give it a go. It is actually a pretty nice brush. The springiness feels like an S7, and it was quite easy to paint a clean, freehand straight line using the point of the brush -- for example, highlighting an edge without using the side of the brush (where the brush size, or even quality, really doesn't matter much). Writing out "TALYS" on a shoulder pad felt pretty much like a S7 00. Painting an eye was actually *easier* than a 00, though still harder than a Raphael 6/0. It held its point very well.

My first impression is that this is a very nice brush for detailing fine lines, because the point narrows to a very fine, and slightly longer end, giving a little more wiggle room to press down (a little) than a 00. It doesn't hold much paint, really, you shouldn't be trying to put a lot of paint on the brush. It seems like a very worthy tool, but it's not a cheap brush. Will I replace my trusty S7s? Nah. But in a pinch, or if I had to start new, I wouldn't mind it. It's available, which is a big deal, and it's $20 MSRP / $15 discounted, which is not bad for a capable Kolinsky Sable detail brush.

Now, all the other brushes.

First Impression -- I don't know how to say this kindly, but the brushes actually feel kind of cheap. When you pick up a S7 or 8404, it *feels* like you're picking a master-crafted tool. When you pick up the old Citadel brushes, it felt like you had a substantial hobby tool. When you pick up a new Citadel brush, it feels like you're holding a toy. Maybe it's just cosmetic: the combination of the black ferrule, white letters, and stamped-on barcode at the end. But, whatever, I can get over that.

Round Base & Layer brushes: the round brushes don't look like they're anything special. They don't particularly form any sort of beautiful point, the brushes didn't seem particularly dense. Using the Medium Layer brush only briefly, they seem to hold less paint than the old Citadel brushes, but maintain a point better. I think these are NOT kolinsky sable brushes, but rather some other natural hair paintbrush. I certainly won't fall in love with them, but they are $6-7, and I guess they're serviceable for that price. I would put them a notch above the cheap $3 synthetics at hobby shops, and more convenient than $6 fine arts store brushes, because it's often hard to find those in the right size for miniatures.

Wash & Glaze brushes: The Medium Wash brush looks a lot like the old wash brush (indistinguishable bristles). I didn't try it, but I do use the old one: it's great for doing large washes, and terrible for doing washes on just recesses, or in select areas. It holds a TON of paint. The Large Wash Brush, unfortunately, I discovered rolled off onto the floor, so isn't in the photo. It's a filbert, same width ferrule as the large drybrush and the large Base brush. It's quite thick, and looks to also hold a lot of paint. I am not really sure when I'd use it, as I don't think it's generally helpful to wash a large flat panel on a tank -- why not just paint it the color that you want to paint it, and avoid the possibility of the panel being wrecked by paint pooling. I have no idea what makes the glaze brush special, or different from the other round brushes. I guess you can use it to wash recesses and apply fine glazes, though I don't know why this brush is better than one of they layer brushes at doing the same thing.

Angled Base Brushes: I haven't tried them, but they feel like relatively cheap synthetic brushes, which is actually just fine. You're just doing basecoats on large areas, so the only thing you want is to cover thin coats of paint without leaving streaks, and if you paint all the tight corners, the edges will be wrecked anyways. The price is $7-$8, which is actually pretty good for that size of brush. The flat brushes I use that are in that size range are slightly more expensive, but feel nicer too. Angled is a nice feature for miniatures like Knights, as you can avoid trying to jab in the whole paintbrush into a corner that got missed.

Dry Brushes: These have changed dramatically fromt he old drybrushes. All three are flat, whereas in the old range, the small and medium were round, and the Large was quite a bit larger. The material has also dramatically changed. I have no idea how these will perform; I'll give them a whirl, and report back.

I don't think the smallest size drybrush is small enough to pick at things things like skulls on terrain. Also, I think the old drybrush bristle length was great; it's size too. I welcome the new M and L size drybrushes, but I wish there were an XL. When I know more, I'll share my experience with them.

Scenery Brushes: Well, hola, dem's are BIG brushes. The round one, I have no idea who would actually use. I will wait for the Duncan video to school me The thing is, at that size, I don't know when I'd ever want to use a tool that looks like a makeup brush over a flat paintbrush. You can't possibly paint any accuracy with it, as it has the opposite of a point (the tip is domed). Maybe it's to use as a giant drybrush?! The flat one is a cheap, big, brush. It also feels like a cheap, big brush, but again, I don't know how it will perform.

Well, I hope this helps a little I will be happy to try to answer any questions about them.

one thing I can say TLR

but, that might be because I don't really care about the new brushes, having my base hobby needs down, its not worth investing big $ into new brushes that I don't need

one thing to note is that the little metal part on the old brushes (whatever thats called) is now plastic, I don't know if that makes a difference or not, just wanted to point it out

happy wargaming

-Mikey

Thanks very much for the great writeup Talys, I guess the most important question to ask is do you see yourself buying more of these brushes in future over other brands?
They sound like a bit like they're a mixed bag with some better quality and value than others.

My main complaint with the Citadel brushes I've owned over the years is they aren't all that great at forming a point. Synthetics can be better in that regard until they're abused enough to go bad, which admittedly doesn't take very long.
That said I haven't taken great care of my brushes in the past and have only recently learned the importance of cleaning them properly with soap or shampoo, avoiding getting paint in the ferrule and so on, which I'm sure is partly to blame.
Still the Citadel brushes have always struck me as kind of pricey for what they are, like their paints.

I really like the new aesthetics though. They look very wargamery. Do you think the material and styling of the handle will affect their performance versus the old range?

gummyofallbears wrote:one thing to note is that the little metal part on the old brushes (whatever thats called) is now plastic, I don't know if that makes a difference or not, just wanted to point it out

You're thinking of the ferrule. I'm pretty sure they're metal, painted black. At least on some of them -- on the gigantor brush, it's actually dented in to hold the assembly together I don't like it, though. I like chrome better!

Minimachine wrote:Thanks very much for the great writeup Talys, I guess the most important question to ask is do you see yourself buying more of these brushes in future over other brands?
They sound like a bit like they're a mixed bag with some better quality and value than others.

My main complaint with the Citadel brushes I've owned over the years is they aren't all that great at forming a point. Synthetics can be better in that regard until they're abused enough to go bad, which admittedly doesn't take very long.
That said I haven't taken great care of my brushes in the past and have only recently learned the importance of cleaning them properly with soap or shampoo, avoiding getting paint in the ferrule and so on, which I'm sure is partly to blame.
Still the Citadel brushes have always struck me as kind of pricey for what they are, like their paints.

I really like the new aesthetics though. They look very wargamery. Do you think the material and styling of the handle will affect their performance versus the old range?

Well, I buy a small number of premium brushes every year, and a large number of cheap brushes for basecoat. I don't replace my drybrushes very often. Given that, I think that I will really like the drybrushes, medium shade brush, and smaller flat basecoat brush. I may like the large basecoat brush, but it won't matter, because for large panels I use airbrush. And there isn't a hope in hell that Citadel brushes will replace my premium brushes for layering and detail work, though I might keep an artificer brush around, if it works well, because I like to have brushes with distinct handles (easy to tell them apart).

Oh yes -- I am sad that the new brushes don't have colored ends :( But I guess that's why masking tape and paint were invented

Regarding synthetic brushes: it's not just you. Everyone who uses them destroys them in no time, no matter how well you clean them. It doesn't matter how much love you give them, the tips kink and then they are skaven poo for painting.

The balance of the brush is not bad, and the style of the handles are actually pretty much the same as W&N S7's -- I think these are superior in that respect to the old handles.

 Talys wrote:

gummyofallbears wrote:one thing to note is that the little metal part on the old brushes (whatever thats called) is now plastic, I don't know if that makes a difference or not, just wanted to point it out

You're thinking of the ferrule. I'm pretty sure they're metal, painted black. At least on some of them -- on the gigantor brush, it's actually dented in to hold the assembly together I don't like it, though. I like chrome better!

Minimachine wrote:Thanks very much for the great writeup Talys, I guess the most important question to ask is do you see yourself buying more of these brushes in future over other brands?
They sound like a bit like they're a mixed bag with some better quality and value than others.

My main complaint with the Citadel brushes I've owned over the years is they aren't all that great at forming a point. Synthetics can be better in that regard until they're abused enough to go bad, which admittedly doesn't take very long.
That said I haven't taken great care of my brushes in the past and have only recently learned the importance of cleaning them properly with soap or shampoo, avoiding getting paint in the ferrule and so on, which I'm sure is partly to blame.
Still the Citadel brushes have always struck me as kind of pricey for what they are, like their paints.

I really like the new aesthetics though. They look very wargamery. Do you think the material and styling of the handle will affect their performance versus the old range?

Well, I buy a small number of premium brushes every year, and a large number of cheap brushes for basecoat. I don't replace my drybrushes very often. Given that, I think that I will really like the drybrushes, medium shade brush, and smaller flat basecoat brush. I may like the large basecoat brush, but it won't matter, because for large panels I use airbrush. And there isn't a hope in hell that Citadel brushes will replace my premium brushes for layering and detail work, though I might keep an artificer brush around, if it works well, because I like to have brushes with distinct handles (easy to tell them apart).

Oh yes -- I am sad that the new brushes don't have colored ends :( But I guess that's why masking tape and paint were invented

Regarding synthetic brushes: it's not just you. Everyone who uses them destroys them in no time, no matter how well you clean them. It doesn't matter how much love you give them, the tips kink and then they are skaven poo for painting.

The balance of the brush is not bad, and the style of the handles are actually pretty much the same as W&N S7's -- I think these are superior in that respect to the old handles.

Yeah the absence of the colored handle ends is a shame, it was a nice idea in the previous range. As you said though, DIYing replacements isn't too tough.
On the other hand those black ferrules look awesome. Not sure if they're actually a good idea (hopefully the black paint won't wear off them) but they give the brushes a really distinctive look. Actually I'm kind of surprised Citadel's marketing department doesn't release "limited edition" brushes in quintessential GW colors like Ultramarine Blue, Blood Angel Red, Snot Green and such.

Sorry to sidetrack the thread slightly but since you happened to mention some of the ways you use your brushes, do you find there's an advantage to using sable brushes for basic basecoating rather than (non-ruined) synthetics? I was always of the view that synthetics are ideal for priming, basing and varnishing entire minis and that quality brushes should be used only for painting individual areas & detail work.

Also if you don't mind me asking, what type and sized brush do you find yourself using for layering small....ish areas like marine shoulderpads?

Basecoating -- well, here's the thing. The whole idea is to get a nice, smooth coat with no brushstrokes on the surface, right? Considering that the bigger and flatter the surface, the more you have to worry about it, in my opinion, round brushes just don't make very much sense, except to cut the edges. Instead, my preference is flat brushes, which are MUCH easier to leave you brushstroke free. Plus, you physically need fewer brush strokes, so it's faster.

The thing is, good luck finding Kolinsky Sable flat brushes. Even the expensive flats don't seem to be Kolinsky Sable -- so I can't really answer your question, except that I prefer a quality synthetic flat to a very good, large kolinsky round. If I use something like a S7 size 3, there are times when that sharp point is just a pain when you're trying to put on an even basecoat.

My experience is that a quality flat brush of the correct size with thinned paint yields very good results without having to use weird mediums or voodoo magic.

For layering a SM shoulder pad, I would probably use anything from a size 1 down to a 00 (working my way down to smaller sizes). In this example:



Most of the layering was done with a size 0, including the first, darker edge highlight, and the feather tips. The fine orange swish, the dot, and the second (Fenrisian Grey) edge highlight was done with a size 00.

Going back to to the brushes --

The black metal ferules seem pretty rugged. I gave one a little go with a sanding block to test it out, and it came out scuffed, but still black (yay). They are undamaged by the Winsor Newton Brush Cleaner, even when you leave it sitting in it for a bit, and that stuff is (very) rough on painted surfaces

On the minus side, the shiny gloss lacquer handles get eaten if you leave the W&N brush cleaner on it for any length of time. Keep in mind that W&N's own S7 brushes, Tamiya's, and 8404's are susceptible to the same thing, so this isn't exactly news. However, the old Citadel handles were immune.

Many thanks for those answers Talys.

Funny that you mention flat brushes for basecoating when they've always been my preference for mini painting in general except for detail work, the whole flat brush/flat surface thing seems to make a lot of sense to my brain.
I'm using a flat synthetic for the job right now wondered if pros regarded using them as a no no, but it doesn't sound like it.

Speaking of flats I'm currently using one of these for detail work while I flesh out the rest of my kit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Delta-Premium-Brush-Kolinsky-Red-Sable-Flat-Size-0-/400580044978?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item5d446e68b2

It'll soon be replaced for that job by the W&N S7 size 1 I've ordered, but I may continue using it for layering because the flat tip works so well. Then again I may be completely blown away by the W&N having never used one before, so who knows.
Those Delta brushes also come in larger sizes so maybe I'll grab a size 2 or 4 at some point for basecoating, but my concern is that basecoating will wear out brushes much faster than other tasks simply because it requires going through so much paint and lots of mixing. Doing all the mixing with an old synthetic might not be a bad idea though, in fact I've started doing that already.

One other thing I'm curious about when it comes to brushes - do you find that some sable brands last longer than others, even when cared for properly? If so it'll be interesting to see how long these new Citadel brushes stay 'fresh' versus the competition as that could change the value equation quite a bit.

That space marine mini you painted is awesome. Highlighting black convincingly must be a real skill because I always found it really difficult not to end up with something that looked flat. I love the texture on that base too. How did that figure take you to finish out of interest?

Sweet!!! a flat Kolinsky Sable

A size 0 flat is actually pretty good for infantry, I think. And yeah, basecoating really wears out brushes. I don't think there's any way around it, because there are nooks and crannies that you have to get paint in, and jamming a brush into a tight spot is not a kind way to handle it.

I usually don't mix or dispense paint from the pot to the palette with my good brushes. My normal technique is to use an old brush to take paint to the pot and thin it down with another brush, and rinse that brush, then paint with a fresh brush. Not only does it get paint into the ferrule (mixing), but you end up with too much paint in the brush anyhow; and if you rinse the brush and use it right after, you might miss some water on it.

I did that guy as a part of a 2 squads of 12. They took about 2 weeks to paint, spending about 3-4 hours a night. So I guess if you do the math, in the ballpark of about 5 hours?




The bases were all done with aggrellan earth, and to make it interesting, I put more stuff in the center, and less on the edges to make the cracks smaller on the outer rings than the center. The idea wasn't original, though; I saw something like that on the product teaser of the Citadel sample for the Mars Ironearth paint.

 Talys wrote:
Sweet!!! a flat Kolinsky Sable

A size 0 flat is actually pretty good for infantry, I think. And yeah, basecoating really wears out brushes. I don't think there's any way around it, because there are nooks and crannies that you have to get paint in, and jamming a brush into a tight spot is not a kind way to handle it.

I usually don't mix or dispense paint from the pot to the palette with my good brushes. My normal technique is to use an old brush to take paint to the pot and thin it down with another brush, and rinse that brush, then paint with a fresh brush. Not only does it get paint into the ferrule (mixing), but you end up with too much paint in the brush anyhow; and if you rinse the brush and use it right after, you might miss some water on it.

I did that guy as a part of a 2 squads of 12. They took about 2 weeks to paint, spending about 3-4 hours a night. So I guess if you do the math, in the ballpark of about 5 hours?

That's a seriously badass looking squad Talys. I really like the eyes with the jewel effect and the blending on the blue sword & loincloths. Its nice seeing Blood Angels that aren't in the typical red livery.

Sweet write-up Talys, thank you.

At $34, or more than I am buying s7's for, I will happily skip them

that Medium Scenery brush looks to be about the same size as the original Tank brush...
the only thing i ever use the Tank brush for is dusting off my models before each night's painting...
it does that job perfectly though...
i couldn't imagine actually painting with it!!!
i don't paint scenery, anyway...

the only thing i use a flat brush for is drybrushing bases (the only time i drybrush anything)...
again, i couldn't imagine actually painting flat surfaces with a flat brush...
i am too accustomed to the feel of a round brush on a flat surface...
changing brush styles really changes how the brush "feels" going across a surface...

i am sure i will pick up the Articifer brush, since the GW employee discount makes it a decent price, and the two layer brushes (for doing metals)...

i will definitely have to slap a little painter's tape on the end of the two layer brushes, since i like to keep my brushes for metals easy to pick out...

all in all, it looks like an interesting array of brushes...
i look forward to seeing then in hand at the shop, and seeing if i really like them or not...

cheers
jah

@jah - LOL this is what I use my old tank brush for too. I really can't imagine painting with it, but maybe a gw video will convince me to try it.

@minimachine - Thank you!!

@kb_lock - I think the value is in the dry brushes. I did some stuff last night to to try out the brushes, will post them up later tonight.

Thank you for posting the thorough review. I think I will buy a couple of the brushes!

These Quake Cannon Craters have been sitting on my shelf since I got them -- there were 4 craters (well, 8 pieces), I did a pair, and then left the rest with just primer on them because they weren't new and shiny anymore

Anyhow, I took the new Citadel brushes for spin last night, and voila, here you go. Other than the primer, all of the models were painted using the new Citadel brushes (I also only used Citadel paints, but not really on purpose... it just turned out that way). I used the drybrushes extensively. It really didn't take long to whip them up, and the drybrushes worked really well ( *** though they work significantly differently from the old ones! More later tonight).

The two Chaos Cultists were painted a long time ago. They are just there to give a sense of scale. Gotta run now, will provide some thoughts on what I thought of the brushes I used later.

 Talys wrote:
These Quake Cannon Craters have been sitting on my shelf since I got them -- there were 4 craters (well, 8 pieces), I did a pair, and then left the rest with just primer on them because they weren't new and shiny anymore

Anyhow, I took the new Citadel brushes for spin last night, and voila, here you go. Other than the primer, all of the models were painted using the new Citadel brushes (I also only used Citadel paints, but not really on purpose... it just turned out that way). I used the drybrushes extensively. It really didn't take long to whip them up, and the drybrushes worked really well ( *** though they work significantly differently from the old ones! More later tonight).

The two Chaos Cultists were painted a long time ago. They are just there to give a sense of scale. Gotta run now, will provide some thoughts on what I thought of the brushes I used later.

Those bases look brilliant Talys. The lighting on the boulders looks very convincing, I love the deep black recesses. Did you use drybrushing to build up the layers on those rocks or just for the highlights?

I'm glad to hear you're impressed with the new drybrush range, actually I'm a little surprised there are specialist brushes designed for it at all as it always seemed best to use whatever crappy worn-out brushes were on hand for drybrushing, though they often tended to leave brush marks behind which probably stands to reason.

Thanks, Minimachine!

All I did to create the deep recesses was a Nuhln Oil wash over Mechanicus Standard Grey I then drybrushed all the rocky bits with Dawnstone, and drybrushed the tops progressively more. I created the sharp highlights to the edges of the rock by hitting them with a drybrush of Administratum Grey using the small drybrush, and then lightly drybrushing to tips of the rocks with Administratum Grey.

The drybrushes are actually really great. They use ox hair, and are very coarse, resulting in a nice texture, and the brushes are extremely durable.

----

As promised -- here is the entire process and the brushes I used:

1. Basecoat all the large bits (everything down to the size of the chests) using the Large Basecoat Brush
2. Basecoat the little pieces with the Medium Basecoat Brush, and tidied up a little.
3. Washes: Using the Medium Shade Brush, Nuhln Oil over all the stone and metal parts; Agrax Earthshade over all the brown parts; Camoshade and Sepia on the bits
4. Drybrush the rocks and ground using the large drybrush
5. Tidy up using the small basecoat brush, then, drybrush everything else using the small and medium drybrushes
6. Drybrush the first coat of dirt using the large drybrush
7. Drybrush the second and third (lighter) coats of dirt using the small drybrush
8. Drybrush the tips of the rocks and the edges of the rock facings with a light grey
9. Apply smudgy Tyhpus Corrosion to metal with the Medium Shade Brush


So, the brushes I used were:
- Large, Medium, Small Basecoat
- Large, Medium, Small Drybrush
- Medium Shade Brush

The Basecoat brushes were actually pretty decent. I don't know how they will wear with time. However, there really needs to be a size between Large and Medium -- it jumps from a 0 flat to a 4 angled. It's a massive jump. The No 4 Angled brush is not useful for painting small minis, and the No 0 flat could be a little too small to be efficient. The round basecoat brush is nothing special; it's just a cheap round brush, that's GW claims is durable.

I like the Large Drybrush LESS than the old Large Drybrush because the bristles are shorter. It is easier to control, but you don't have the option of hitting hitting a surface with more bristle, which is a nice effect. However, this is still a good brush and very useful.

The Medium Drybrush is fantastic. it's much larger than the old medium drybrush, and is very helpful on scenery areas.

The Small Drybrush is basically the size (width) of the old Medium drybrush. It's a good brush too. The flat brushes give you a little more control than the old rounds, because you can turn them on their edge. However, there is no equivalent to the old Small drybrush which is useful for things like the skeletons on the rocks. On the other hand, the old Small Drybrush was the easiest to replicate using snipped off old brushes. Still, it's a gap.

The Medium Shade brush is just like the old Wash brush. Also, just like the old brush range... there is no small shade brush!!! The glaze brush is tiny; there should be a brush in between, in the range of a size 1 or 0 round. I normally use an Army Painter Regiment brush for this size, and will continue to do so. The Medium brush was actually way too big for a lot of things, eating up too much wash, leaving too much on the surface and just generally getting in the way except when I was doing the large areas.

Just a question regarding comparison to S7. Did you compare to normal series 7 or the miniatures line of S7?

Thank you very much for taking the time to post this up for us.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Thank you very much for taking the time to post this up for us.

I gotta echo this. Not only did you buy them, but you compared them in great detail and painted things with them. Thank you!

You're very welcome -- it was my pleasure! I have some kind of weird paintbrush fetish. If I see a paintbrush, I MUST try it out!

For my May painting challenge "Fast & Furious" entry, I am limiting myself to the Citadel brushes to give them a fair shake, except for an airbrush for prime/basecoat -- because it's a Stormraven after all, and I'm not quite that masochistic

Had a look at them in my FLGS- they look pretty nice!

I agree with what you say about the new Dry brushes. Looks much more useful than my current ones. Round tip ones are OK if you want to do a small area but for a full model? Nope.

Just to point out ~ theres only one sable brush in the new range, and its the artificer.
The base, layer and other similar brushes are synthetic, its stated on the website.

If you do want kolinsky flats, angulars, filberts and other shapes check out Rosemary and Co. They do red sable, kolinsky sable, blends of sable/synthetic, and atleast 5 types of synthetic in all shapes and sizes really.

The only thing I cant get from Rosemary and Co seems to be a good drybrush, the citadel ox hair blends are actually really nice for that.

Yeah, I am really considering in the future moving away from the citadel brushes. As it is, I am still painting with the old brushes (the old citadel set), and they've seen some hard use. They were given to us from a friend who had been using them to paint d&D miniatures and they've been through a fire as well.

I have beaten the old small drybrush near to death working on just one orc battlewagon (and a few other models, but mostly the battewagon). After painting a small army's worth of models, and taking into consideration other people's experiences, I really want to get better brushes anyway. While I admit I'm using "well used brushes" getting a good point out of them is a lot of work.

There's only a few brushes I've considered out of the new citadel line, and one of them is the giant scenery brush, but that's only because we own a city realm of battle table. I won't be buying that anytime soon though, and I haven't done any sort of shopping comparison either.

Just an update. I've now used all of the brushes pretty extensively. TLDR -- I hate the non-Kolinsky Layer Brushes, love the Artificer Layer Brush, and love the new Large Shade brush. And the new Glaze brush just feels like a small brush with nothing special.

Layer Brushes (not including Artificer Layer)

There is no kind way to say it: these suck when compared to Winsor & Newton Series 7. They're worse than the old citadel detail and fine detail brushes that they replace.

The small brush is usable, but had long hairs at the end that made it so painting details was awkward. It was not a nice brush to highlight edges with using the side of the brush. The medium brush had a blunt end that didn't hold a point very well. I had to coax it to form a tight point, and painting anything at all made it come apart. Though in fairness, this is common of most cheap brushes, and my hobby shop doesn't carry anything less annoying other than stupidly expensive Tamiya brushes (solution: go to a fine arts store).

Neither brush holds a lot of paint, and both are just kind of annoying to use. They do seem reasonably durable, and didn't kink even when I was rough with them. Perhaps they are a marginal step up from cheap synthetics, but that is about it.

The sizes are mystifying too. The small brush is about a 00, and medium about a size 0, leaving no larger sized layering brushes at all. That's ok on infantry, but what about tanks and big stompy robots? There are no longer round brushes the size of the old Standard and Basecoat brushes.

Of all the brushes, I would recommend these the least of all. Yes, you can paint nice minis with these, and I'm sure Duncan Rhodes will do a brilliant job. But frankly, if you are of intermediate or greater skill, you paint a lot and enjoy the hobby, do yourself a favor and buy some real kolinsky sable brushes for layering.

Artificer Layer Brush

This was a really nice brush. It's every good as bit as a Winsor & Newton S7, and better than anything GW has ever put out other than maybe the 'Eavy Metal Detail brush, which it's a good equivalent of. It's about a size 00 W&N -- maybe slightly finer. It holds a point perfectly, keeps it even after a lot of painting, cleans well, feels good. It does teenie tiny details really well, and you don't really need any smaller a brush to do 99.9% of detail work (an ultrafine, 6/0 still has a place in the toolbox to make certain tasks easier, IMO). I love it. They should make these in 2 more (larger) sizes.

The only reason not to buy one is if you can get another top tier kolinsky sable brush for cheaper -- including shipping and all that. At least in Canada, the price of this brush is not that egregious compared to W&N, if you apply a 20-ish percent discount from MSRP.

Shade Brushes

Surprisingly, I was super impressed with the large shade brush!! This is a real winner. It holds a ton (and do I mean a TON) of wash, and it's perfectly sized and shaped to do washes on tank and larger models. You cover really well, and you can either choose to streak the wash (to create the illusion of motion) or to put it on flat and relatively thin.

One thing: it holds a TON of paint (did I say this already? Well, I do mean a lot!) -- and that means it's really important to clean it out totally after use. I think this is a brush that will require brush cleaner or soap after every use.

I previously used the medium shade brush, which was about the same as the old wash brush (maybe exactly the same?). The Glaze brush just feels like a small brush that says "Glaze Brush". I have no idea what is special about it, to be honest, but it IS good to have a separate brush for doing fine washes, as the washes go into the ferrule and eventually destroy the brush. Capillary action and the very watery nature of washes makes this impossible to avoid unless you use super long bristle brushes like liners.

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@Schlyne -- the old Citadel drybrushes last a really long time if you clean them properly after every use. Because dry brushes get dry paint on them, and that cakes into the bristles, it's insufficient to use water. You need to use at least a soapy water, preferably a brush cleaner like the W&N one. The Ox Hair cleans really good. After a year of painting scenery, my Citadel drybrushes are still in near-new condition.

That's disappointing, the old brush range was pretty good. Is there a good alternative to the old standard brush? That is my most used brush. I was looking at Army Painter brushes.

Guess I'll try out the Artificer Layer Brush at some point.

Yeah that is disappointing that only one brush in the range is of high quality sable.

On the other hand perhaps its a good thing if it encourages more young players and painters to look beyond the Citadel brush range to find the best available?
When I first started wargaming back in the early 90s neither I nor my friends used anything other than GW brushes & paints (though I remember Ral Partha paints were around back then) or dreamed of visiting an arts & crafts store for equipment, but in hindsight I wish we had as it might've led to a broader understanding of the painting process.

@durecellrabbit -- what is totally bizarre is that in the Citadel series, which now has like... 15 brushes? ... there is no round brush larger than a size 0 other than the wash brush.

So, no equivalent to the old Standard or Basecoat brushes. Now, I know I keep saying flats are way better for brushstroke-free basecoating, but there ARE times when you want to have a bigger round brush... at least bigger than a size 0 >.<

@Minimachine -- I sure hope so, because the brushes available at fine arts stores for watercolors and acrylics are just hands-down better than hobby fare. It's weird that I've seen very few ox hair brushes, though, and they make such awesome drybrushes.

Funny you mention the 90s... I lived on a diet of synthetic Royal brushes, probably leaving a bigfoot sized carbon footprint of landfill of brushes with kinked ends. My FLGS at the time, oddly, didn't carry GW brushes -- but they did have their paints.. they were in pots just like today's P3 pots!.

That being said, I think that if you restricted yourself to just sets of Citadel brushes, you would pretty much always get better results using the new citadel brushes over the old citadel brushes. Mostly because the artificer brush is so much better than the old detail/fine detail, and you can just say screw it with the other two (crappy!) layer brushes. After my current painting project, where I'm forcing myself to use the layer brushes to give 'em a fair shake, I'll just give them away to someone at my FLGS who is painting with something worse.

I think the most disappointing holes in the new brush range are the lack of good round brushes (other than artificer), and a flat brush that is bigger than the tiny flat and smaller than the way-too-big-for-infantry angled.

Thanks for taking the time to put this review together Talys.

This is exactly what I logged on too look for today. As my painting is getting a lot better from when I started, I've been on the fence about what brush to buy next (having only ever used GW brushes), so this has been very helpful.

I think I’ll go for the ever popular S7’s and a few of the new GW brushes.

Funny that you should mention the old Citadel paint range Talys.

I painted with the super old range back in the 90s then the slightly less old range in the 2000s after returning to the hobby after a long absence (still own some of them in fact) and now just recently with the latest range.

The super old paints I liked the best. Not only were the pots themselves easier to use but the paints flowed much better, which was lucky since none of us had heard of additives back then. Now.. well I don't like the consistency of the new GW paints unless they are thinned with something and the new pot lids basically have a mind of their own.

I mention this because when you consider these changes to the Citadel brush range it starts to smell vaguely of cost-cutting on the part of GW.
I hear there are more companies making miniatures and wargames these days so perhaps increased competition has driven their profits down or material costs have risen, or relationships with some of their previous suppliers have soured. Its hard to know for sure and probably not much use in speculating either.

Still it is good to hear the Artificer brush is awesome. It does make sense that your best brush should be there for the most difficult jobs after all, perhaps they felt Kolinsky Sable wasn't required for most other tasks for the majority of customers.

Minimachine,

If you like the old school Citadel paints check out Coat d'arms by Black Hat Miniatures.