I have recently had trouble with a couple of brand new sable hair brushes from very well respected brands. They split into a fork, almost immediately that I started using them.
I'd recently watched a video about how these brushes were made and I realise that a significant part of the manufacturing process is the quality control at the end to weed out those that are just not going to stay in shape. That's the reason for buying a more expensive sable hair brush rather than a more budget version.
This is mainly a review of sable brushes for painting miniature plastic figures using acrylic paint. Most of my painting with these brushes is on resin 3D printed 28mm to 32mm figures.
Criteria
My main requirements for a brush for miniature painting is that it has a tip that stays in a sharp point while holding enough paint to work with. The feel, often referred to as spring of the bristles, is also a significant factor.
I have plenty of budget brushes which work well but they frequently need care during use to maintain the point. The spring varies but none of the synthetic bristles have quite the feel of a sable hair brush.
The Brushes
Based on other people's recommendations, I've bought a number of different brand's sable hair brushes from their series most commonly used for miniature painting. I've ended up with a few different types because my experience of them is not as consistent as the reviews would imply.
For me, they all have a better feel to the spring of the bristles than a synthetic brush. My main issue with synthetic brushes is that they invariably end up with a curl at the end. Some sooner than others.
Brushes come in different lengths and style of bristles, flat, round, long, standard, short and a host of speciality variations. For miniature painting, like most people, I find it is the standard length round bristle brush that gets used the most. There is also a shorter length that appears to have evolved specifically for miniature painting.
It is the normal dimension bristles that I use for getting most of the paint on a miniature. I find the shorter versions are better suited to small details because they do not hold enough paint for larger areas. When I do this it is typically with a size 00 Winsor and Newton Series 7 miniature. There are a lot of small details on miniatures, so I do use this brush a lot and I am very pleased with it. The series 7 miniature is not to be confused with the series 7 (not-miniature) that the rest of this testing refers to.
Brush Care
I won't go into detail on this subject, but all the brushes have been well looked after. In use, I try to avoid getting paint beyond the belly. This minimises the paint that gets in to the ferrule which over time, in my experience, is the ultimate demise of most brushes.
Testing
As an initial test, I decided to try out the same paint task with all of the respected brands brushes that I owned in a size zero. Not a long test, a few details on two figures with each brush.
I've then gone on to use them over time and revisited this article to add additional notes.
The Results
To set the record straight at the start, all of these brushes have a good feel when used. They are just not as consistent as I would like when it comes to holding their points.
All of the split hairs shown could be reshaped and the brush was then usable again until the next time. Some split again sooner than others.
Da Vinci Maestro series 10
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Stray hairs almost immediately.
- Extended use: I was pleased with this brush and found myself selecting it for getting the initial layers on to a miniature where they had lots of detail to work round. Perhaps not my first choice, but I'd buy series 10's again.
 |
| Da Vinci Maestro series 10 |
This series has a very slightly shorter bristle than the others I tested. A good compromise size between the very small miniature brushes that hold too little paint and the standard size. It might suit those wanting only one brush.
Artis Opus series S
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Good point but a stray hair after a short while. Easily sorted.
- Extended use: I found this brush competent and was my go to brush for medium details. It's point split only if I had been using it for a prolonged period and far less than the others I'm using. I like them so much that I've bought more of the series S brushes.
 |
| Artis Opus series S |
Winsor and Newton series 7
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: A stray hair and split into a fork after using for a short while.
- Extended use: This brush was probably my most disappointing. Winsor and Newton have a good reputation. I now have several series 7 brushes and they all split dramatically and far too frequently. I now only use them for painting larger areas. I'm unlikely to buy any more series 7 brushes.
 |
| Winsor and Newton series 7 |
As mentioned earlier, the "series 7" and the "series 7 miniature" are two different product ranges. I still like the series 7 miniature for my very detailed work.
Raphael series 8404
- Bristles: Sable
- Initial experience: Nice point but split into a slight fork after being used for a short while.
- Extended use: With the brush I'm testing I have found that it splits into a fork more often than the other brushes I'm using. It is also the largest size 0 brush of those that I am testing. I find I select this brush less often than the others, that's probably because of the size. With other choices that I prefer, I am unlikely to buy any more of the 8404's.
 |
| Raphael series 8404 |
After I had used this a few times, when dry, the bristles on this 8404 brush separated. It does not hold it's point while being stored. The point forms again when wet.
My biggest complaint with the Raphael brushes that I received, was the sticker.
 |
| Sticker on the Raphael brushes |
The sticker was difficult to remove and I could only get rid of the residue with WD40.
Rosemary and Co series 401
- Bristles: Sable blend.
- Initial experience: This is the only brush in the test which included some synthetic hairs in the mix. Guess what, the end curled! It also developed a fork.
- Extended use: It's a nice brush to use. I have to work round the curl but that can sometime be in my favour. I don't use it for the ultimate detail but it does everything else well. That said, I can't see myself buying any more series 401 brushes.
 |
| Rosemary and Co series 401 |
 |
| Rosemary and Co series 401 |
When dry the bristles on all the series 401's, that I have, separate and do not hold their point. The point forms again when wet.
Conclusion
My expectations are too great!
All of them needed to be cleaned and reshaped from time to time while in use. Some more than others. Despite the limitations I encountered, my observation is that sable hair brushes form and retain their point with less irritations compared to brushes with other types of bristle and release the paint with a comfortable spring.
Based on the individual brushes that I have, I will mainly be using brushes from the Artis Opus series S range in the future.
==
No comments :
Post a Comment