My Weapons of Choice

Where would we all be without our favoured paint brushes. For me its a set of Pure Sable brushes, I find these to be versatile in the extreme and affordable. However I dont use just any old Sable brush as you get what you pay for and cheap brushes are not good for painting Miniatures or are they?

I must state clearly this review is not paid for or endorsed by the following company and is just my honest opinion of the tools I use for painting. Now I know my limitations and I paint to a reasonable standard that I am happy with after many years of experimentation and learning how to paint miniatures. The one thing that has always held true though is the fact that a workman is only as good as his tools, and over the 30 years of painting I have used many different types of brushes and found many of them to be wanting for one reason or another.

Three years ago I was only using Windsor and Newton series 7 brushes however we all know you need a mortgage for a set of these and replacements are difficult to track down.so I did a google search and like a fellow blogger Iain from The Blog with no name I found Rosemary and Co.

For the first order I used Series 33 pure Kolinsky sable and these were exceptional brushes, and I would have been happy to replace these regularly as the cost is reasonable. However two years ago they released the Series 98 Pure sable brushes and they had a triangular handle, which works well for me as my hands grip these brushes more comfortably due to the thicker handle, an added bonus is I can put the brush down when painting without it rolling straight onto the floor. Something that is a real bonus in my tiny allocated painting space.

Pictured above are some well used brushes from this range This particular set has been in use for almost a year now. The size 2 is due for replacement now as all the undercoating for the painting challenge finished it off. I realised after uploading this image that I missed the 10/0 out of the picture (superb for doing eyes).

All the brushes in this range hold their points excellently, they have good paint holding capacity allowing you to paint with precision. I use a wide range of sizes, not because I cant paint with larger brushes, but for me the finer points on smaller brushes enable easier access to some areas of miniatures thus avoiding excess paint on an area I don't want it to or that already has been painted.  Prices -  well with costs ranging from £2.25 for a 10/0 through to £4.95 for a size 6 you wont break the bank but will gain a good quality brush that should last for along time if looked after.

To look after my brushes I use Vallejo brush cleaner, this is alcohol based and widely available. After every session painting, the brushes I have used get dipped into this and rolled for a minute in the solution. It removes all traces of paint residue still trapped in the hairs even after washing in water. Now bearing in mind I have used the same brushes for almost a year and I have produced a large amount of figures in that time it must work, the amount of residue sitting in the bottom of the pot is testament to this fact.
I would recommend this in addition to a good bar of brush soap to extend any paint brushes life. Dont just take my word for it though go and buy some of these brushes and see the quality for yourselves.