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Any of you have a good local source for quality (non-synthetic) brushes? I'm going to check out prices at a few art shops, but a British brush maker called Rosemary and Co. sells hand-made brushes online for dirt cheap. They seem to be highly recommended—here's a forum thread on their brushes:

http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=89516

I can vouch for Rosemary and Co. I have some of their Kolinsky sable brushes, as well as one of their artificial-bristle ones. Very good quality, particularly the artificial one. Its no Kolinsky, sure, but it's been a very reliable mixing and general purpose odd-job base coaty kind of brush. If you do order brushes, I'd say get a size 00, 1, and 2 Kolinsky, and a size 1 of one of their non-natural haired brushes. Gomen - I cant remmeber what series it is, and the labeling has long since been rubbed off from use. My only gripe with R&Co is that their brushes tend to be slightly long in the bristle. I prefer a shorter haired brush (e.g. Winsor and Newton series 7) but to each his own.

ps - watch the shipping. Its a bit of a stinker, given the cheapness of the brush itself. But meh, it is kinda worth it.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Whats your opinion on the GW brushes? They seem to not last as long as the previous range that had blue handles. I think I'm taking less care of them these days or I'm just painting a lot. Still have some brushes by GW from 7 years ago that work nicely.

GW brushes are, sadly, shite. That's the only word I can apply to them, if I'm honest. Theyre synthetic, they lose their tip very easily, and they are huuuuugely overpriced. Wouldnt touch em wi' yours. Old GW brushes, otoh, are sable, and I have several from 10 years ago which are still fine.

GW paint is good, tho. Paint pots are crap, but the paint contained therein is good. Very comparable to Vallejo, P3, and (so Im told) Reaper. More expensive for a smaller pot, mind you, but the paint itself is fine.

me_in_japan wrote:I can vouch for Rosemary and Co. I have some of their Kolinsky sable brushes, as well as one of their artificial-bristle ones. Very good quality, particularly the artificial one. Its no Kolinsky, sure, but it's been a very reliable mixing and general purpose odd-job base coaty kind of brush. If you do order brushes, I'd say get a size 00, 1, and 2 Kolinsky, and a size 1 of one of their non-natural haired brushes. Gomen - I cant remmeber what series it is, and the labeling has long since been rubbed off from use. My only gripe with R&Co is that their brushes tend to be slightly long in the bristle. I prefer a shorter haired brush (e.g. Winsor and Newton series 7) but to each his own.

ps - watch the shipping. Its a bit of a stinker, given the cheapness of the brush itself. But meh, it is kinda worth it.

Where do you get the windsor and newton brushes from MiJ?

I just found a place http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/brushes-w& ... -brush.htm

which has miniature brushes - I wonder if these would be better for painting minis?

W&N series 7 (non-miniature) have been good to me, but I've only ever had a size 1 and a size 00. I got them from Amazon, believe it or not, but they no longer stock them. From what I've read (and Ive read a lot on this) the miniature series 7 are no better or worse, just different. I mean, the regular ones have bristles about 8mm long, so theyre hardly big-size

buying W&N has always been a bit of a worry for me, as one thing Ive read a lot of is that they can be hit and miss. If you get a good one, it's the best you'll ever have, but if you get a bum one then you just spent 1300 yen (plus shipping) on a paint stirring stick. The 2 I have are ace, but my size 1 is starting to get old (its a coupla years old now) so I kinda think I should replace it. It may well be that all I need to do is clean it properly, but I'm not sure how. I'd rather get a replacement, then experiment with cleaning the old one. If it works, great, I have a spare. If I kill it, great, I have a spare!

Incidentally - good find on the website Koji! Free UK shipping and W&N for 6quid is verrra good indeed. 5quid international is bloody good, too, actually. (altho its the same as Rosemary and co. btw)

Anyway, I would be in the market for another W&N or two, and tbh since they cost 1300yen here anyway, 6quid brush plus 5quid shipping is about what youd pay here anyway.

A group order might be doable, but tbh 5 quid is not too bad if youre buying a couple, or even 3 or 4 brushes. Two size 1s and two size 00s should see you right for the next decade or so

*edit* OOoooooh. Fancy that. I was tinkering about on that site Kojibear recommended, and guess what - they deduct VAT when shipping overseas! All retailers should do this, but many dont. Anyway, since UK VAT is 17.5% or so, that aint to be sniffed at. Good show. I shall be getting some of those *edit* got some

Really? You can buy them here? Whereabouts?

Well, maybe that is a better way to go MiJ?

gomen - when I said "got some" I meant from that website you linked to. I'm pretty familiar with brush/paint/miniature prices around the internet and here in Japan, and sad to say, it is almost always cheaper to shop online, pay shipping from the other side of the planet and wait a week, than it is to buy them here in Japan. And by cheaper, I mean, worth waiting a week for. (anywhere between 30~100% less cost). Either Japan needs to sort out its arty stuff prices, or brush/paint/mini manufacturers need to stop shafting Japanese retailers with crappy trade deals. I suspect the problem is the latter rather than the former, but until it gets sorted, you can call me Me_"I buy all my stuff online"_in_Japan