Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures & Wargames Models – 2023

Last Updated on April 10, 2023 by FauxHammer

In this article, we’re looking at the 10 best brushes for painting miniatures & wargames models. This is the first in a multi-part series looking at the best tools for your miniatures and models hobby. After all, this blog is dedicated to tools and techniques to help you get the most from your hobby

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Best Miniature Paint Brushes – The Quick Version

Ok, so let’s do the quick version of the whole article. What I assume 99% of you are here for. Deciding what brushes are worth spending your hard-earned monies on. Well in this small section I can only give a summary of the miniature painting community’s general recommendations quickly. If you want to read “why?” There’s a whole article below. But here’s the Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures – at a glance.

  • If you want the Absolute Best Brush Brand, It’s Artis Opus – Hand’s down! They are the only brand to make Artist’s Grade Miniature Paint Brushes dedicated to Miniature Painters. All the other top brands are usually Watercolour brushes that just happen to work for Miniature Painters. Having specific use cases for each of their S, M and D ranges. (The Series S range is the starting point). You can also get a mixed range Starter Set available here. More and more god-tier artists are flocking to this Brand.
  • If you want the best quality on a budget, Then check out Rosemary & Co Series 33 brushes – really inexpensive, high-quality sable hair brushes and the size (density & length) of the hair is spot on for miniature painting.
  • If you are brand new to Miniature Painting and are still following various online guides & tutorials, then there’s nothing much wrong with the Games Workshop ranges. both the black-handled natural hair range and the white handled STC range (the latter of which they are heavily pushing toward). If you want an even cheaper alternative to these, then check out The Army Painter’s Wargamer Series (though the brush names will be different to what most tutorials put out). They are all far from the best in terms of getting the smoothest and cleanest results, and they wear down rather easily. But they do the job at a reasonable price.
  • And finally, if you want the best brushes for very very little money (not listed below) I find these Generic Triangular handled Brushes are fairly decent. It’s what I buy for my kids to use. I call them “Generic” as they are given different brand names globally, In the UK, they are often under the moniker “Golden Maple” but if they look like these, they are the same thing.

Best Miniature Paint Brushes – Introduction

Quick update: Don’t forget to check out our Top 10 Airbrushes for Miniature Painters & Wargames Models article too

To preface; the term “best” is so subjective. From best quality, last’s the longest or makes you the best painter to best value and/or presentation. Everyone has their own interpretation. Please read the summaries below to help understand if they will be the best for you. This is our pick of the Top-10 based on usage.

For those of you who just want the TLDR: the most “popular” choice of miniatures paint brushes, (by a very ‘clear’ margin) is the Winsor & Newton – Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Brush set. Not to be easily confused with the Winsor & Newton – Series 7 Kolinsky Sable ‘Miniature’ Painting Brush set – more on this later).

However – these are, by far, the most expensive brushes on the list.

Are the Winsor and Newton Brushes the best miniature paint brushes for you? Well, If you want to know, have a look at the summaries below.

Most of the preferred options are sable hair brushes, sorry synthetic brush lovers. The general view here is that they last the longest due to their ability to be thoroughly washed and conditioned with brush soaps and conditioners.

Synthetic brushes are generally more resistant to washing & conditioning. Imagine washing a doll’s hair with a normal hair conditioner? It’s not going to make much of an impact. Synthetic brushes do have their uses, however, especially when using Oil & Enamel paints as the cleaning and thinning products (most of which are alcohol-based) will destroy the hairs on a typical sable brush. And whilst the sips of these brushes often curl. they can usually be straightened out and retrained to a point using some hot water.

If you are using Sable hair brushes, make sure you’re cleaning and conditioning them thoroughly after every painting session. To do this you want to be sure to pick up a tub of The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver.

Miniature Paint Brush Sable
This is a Kolinsky Sable (thanks Reddit for the clarification) – Picture by Elena Lapshina, Edited by FauxHammer
Source – The Geek Within

If you want to see how these brushes are made, check out the 2-minute video here.

The Best Tools For Miniatures?

FauxHammer.com is dedicated to finding the best tools for your hobby. Start with our list of Essential Hobby Tools which will lead you to find the Top-10 tools for each category.

Essential Hobby Tools for Miniatures & Wargames Models

To see all of our guides to the Best Tools for Miniatures, click on the image above.

Best Brushes for Miniatures & 3D Prints – Summary

If you are just interested in the Top-10 list without all the fluff see below, But we recommend reading the summaries of all the brushes or at least the ones you are interested in to see if they would be the best miniature brushes for you.

PopularityBrush Set
1Artis Opus – Series S
2Winsor & Newton – Series 7
3Raphael – Series 8404
4Rosemary & Co – Series 22/33
5Winsor & Newton – Series 7 (Miniature)
6Games Workshop – Citadel Brushes
7The Army Painter – Wargamer Series
8Momument Hobbies – Bomb Wick Det. Cord
9BrokenToad Miniatures – Mk 3
10Da Vinci Maestro – Series 10

The 10 Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures & Wargames Models

Several people have asked what “Must Have” brush sizes are. Like the brushes themselves, this really depends on you but you also need to be aware that brush sizes are not at all consistent across brands.

I’ve kind of turned to Artis Opus’s base set to answer this question. In their set, you get #000, #00, #0 & #1 and that seems like a fair starter range. However, I use their #3 brush primarily. Like with the Raphael 8404, the point is so fine you can use these brushes for pretty much any job.

To be honest, you could just get a #000 & #1 rather than either of the #00 & #0 depending on what you paint. Another good option would be a #10/0 for things like eyes, but a good pointed brush of any size can do this.

If you’re painting larger curved surfaces start with a #2, #3 or #4. If you’re painting vehicles with very large flat surfaces, you will want a flat head brush (Which is a style I haven’t gone into below, other than them existing in the likes of Games Workshop & The Army Painter ranges.).

10. Da Vinci Maestro – Series 10

Like many of the options on this list, Da Vinci’s Maestro Series 10 are watercolour brushes made from Kolinsky red sable hair. Preferred as the best brush by many miniature painters. They are some of the more affordable high-end brushes they come in just under the average price of brushes on this list. A huge range of sizes is available, from a crazy small 10/0 (aka 0000000000) to an insanely large size 50! The latter of which you have no need for, and don’t want to see the price of.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Da Vinci Maestro - Series 10

Users of the Da Vinci Maestro Series 10 (made in Germany) advise that they are great brushes with solid lastability. For people who have used these and other brushes, the only complaint is that the bristles are quite thin and short so they don’t hold as much paint as some painters would like – but even this is not enough to put most people off. This choice would be a great entry point for some high-end brushes. Whilst they are number 10 in our list they are still considered among the best-in-class.

Check out our Reviews of the Series 10 along with the Micro Maestro Series (Series 100 and Series 170).

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9. BrokenToad Miniature Mk2 Mk3 Paint Brushes

These brushes are designed specifically for painting miniatures. Made by UK company Broken Toad. Available from one of the many global stockists. Advertised to have a large belly and fine tips they are exactly what a miniature painter wants. Another Kolinsky Sable brush; they have the Miniature series for your general painting needs, Flat Head Series for large flat areas such as those on vehicles. Finally, the Spearhead which is a combination of the two for blending and glazing. A good set of brushes, at a fair price. (They come in 15% cheaper than the average price of brushes on this list)

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Broken Toad Mk 2

I’ve seen suggestions that Broken Toad no longer makes these brushes and my first draft of this article advised they were unavailable. This is because the store listed every brush as ‘out-of-stock’. When I checked again for some more info on the brushes I realised they were back in stock… Perhaps it was just a product refresh or they are in fact coming to the end of their life? I’m unsure, but I can’t see any suggestion from Broken Toad themselves that this is the end of the line for these brushes.

Update 04/01/19: Here is the announcement from BrokenToad are discontinuing their brushes. If you pick these ones up, you are unlikely to get replacements when you need them.

Thanks to Ian from The Geekary Painting Service for sharing this post from BrokenToad with me.

Buy the last of them from BrokenToad webstore UK

Update 24/09/19: As of today, BrokenToad is back with their Mk3 Brushes. (for which the initial pre-order sold out in less than a day! – but I managed to bag a set) I fully expect these to be higher on this list once I spend some more time with them.

Update 24/05/2022 – I’m not sure what is happening now, but a few months back, there were rumours of some internal fall-out happening with the leaders of Broken Toad, and rumours of closure. AS I check the site today. brokentodat.co.uk is completely down. so we may have seen the last of these great brushes.

Buy now using the links below

8. Monument Hobbies – Bomb Wick Det. Cord Set

An odd set that I struggled to get much background info for. From what I understand (please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong) these were invented by SlowFuse Gaming (SFG) and are the only brush on our list which is actually made of a ‘synthetic’ Kolinsky Sable. Looking on SFG’s website, they cannot be found anymore.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Bomb Wick Det. Cord

Instead, head over to Creature Caster where you can pick up all of the Bomb Wick brushes for a reasonable price (23% cheaper than the average prices of brushes in this list). What the relationship from SFG to Creature Caster is, I’m unsure. They are available in sizes 10/0 (aka 1×10) to Size 1.

Update 05/01/19: Jason from SFG got in touch via Facebook to explain the situation to me. Slow Fuse Gaming grew and rebranded to Monument Gaming (who now also sell their own range of paints). After this, they Merged with Creature Caster to develop and sell the products created by both teams. Good news, you can still get your Bomb Wick brushes and there’s no sign of them disappearing any time soon.

Update 16/01/19: Jason from SlowFuseGaming / Monument Gaming / Creature Caster got back to me offering to provide a set of Det. Cords along with some other brushes which will showcase the whole range. We look forward to receiving these and will have a full review and range impressions up for you soon.

Update 24/05/22: Creature Caster & Monument Hobbies have long separated and Monument is now very much its own Brand. Make sure to check out Monument’s Incredible Paint Range – Pro-Acryl, which is still my go-to paint for any base coats.

Buy Bomb Wicks from MonumentHobbiesBrushes USA,

7. Army Painter – Wargamer Series

Army Painter’s Wargamer Series are the most directly comparable range to GeeDubya’s (Games Workshop’s) offering and in many peoples opinion, of superior quality. However, this is purely subjective. Unlike most of the alternate brands on this list where brush sizes follow the naming conventions used for all fine art brushes 000, 00, 0 1, 2, etc. Army Painter (like Games Workshop) have their own unique names for the brushes they offer. In some products, they do advise the equivalent Fine Art brush size. Their ‘Masterclass brush’ being something equivalent to an average 00 for example.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Army Painter Wargamer

One you should not pass over is ‘The Psycho’ an incredibly small detail brush which I would suspect is equivalent to many other brands 10/0 brush. I personally love this brush. The only issue I have is that it is so small, the paint dries on it too quickly, sometimes before you can even get it from a palette to a model. Thinners and drying retarders are needed, but this is more to do with the paint itself than the brush.

Another unique point of this range is the handle shape, a rounded triangular design which according to Army Painter’s description, gives the painter 100% control. I’ve never been aware of any rotational slippage with a round brush so how true this is down to your personal experience.

They also make the claim on their website that “these brushes are arguably the the best value brushes in the industry” (complete with double ‘the’ typo).

You will be replacing these more often than the more professional brushes. However, they are good quality, arguably better than GW, and are 40% cheaper than the average prices of brushes on this list. The only cheaper set of brushes on the list are the ones from Games Workshop.

Being the best value in the industry is a bold claim, but with good merit.

Buy now using the links below

6. Games Workshop Brushes

The starting point for many miniature painters, if for nothing more than the only ones people are aware of due to Games Workshop’s popularity. The range strips away the typical naming convention used in every other art brush set. The skeptic in me believes this is to reduce people’s ability to directly compare them to other brand’s brushes, keeping users invested in Games Workshop.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Games Workshop

In all honesty, the optimist in me does realise that the brush names are much simpler for beginners to understand. Have a guess what a base brush is for? They are fair work-horse brushes for the price. You may be surprised to find that these are actually the cheapest brushes on the list. Approximately 50% cheaper than the average cost of brushes listed here (not including the artificer brushes) and they do the job. But many long-term painters will tell you that they just don’t last very long. and I can concur with that statement.

I’ve had some fine detail brushes fray on me after only one use. For those invested in the Citadel brand, these brushes are entwined into all of their painting guide media, from the White Dwarf and painting books to their online videos. If you are just starting out there’s nothing wrong with these especially considering the value-add Games Workshop gives you with all the painting guides they provide for free. You can easily follow along using their recommended tools and get up to a very-good painting standard using this kit.

Their Artificer Brushes are a different story, apparently made by Winsor & Newton (so I’ve read from a few online claims but I haven’t found any evidence to support this). The Artificers are 60% more expensive than the average price of brushes on this list! So if they are made by W&N GW are adding approximately %5 to the RRP. of the equivalent brush. But again, consider the value-add you get by being invested in GW. They need to support paying for people like the Warhammer Community team somehow.

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5. Winsor & Newton – Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Miniature Painting Brush set

The popularity of this particular range comes down to one thing – confusion. Most people, myself included, will have gone looking for the best miniature paint brushes and found the most popular set to be called ‘Winsor & Newton Series 7’. A quick trip to Winsor & Newton’s website will show 2 types of Series 7 brush; The Standard ones and The Miniature ones.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Windsor & Newton Series 7 Miniature

You would think that you want the miniature set, after-all you’re painting miniatures. The problem here is that you’re reading this from the context of someone who paints miniature models. In fine-art, which is the target market of Winsor & Newton, ‘painting miniatures’ actually refers to miniature pictures. (teeny tiny little canvas paintings, like this incredible one pictured below from Instagram user remingtonrobinson).

Mini Painting Vs Painting Miniatures

Long shadows on an untracked portion of a run at Eldora ski resort. –
Remington Robinson

The brushes are designed to hold less paint so that acrylic and watercolor painters do not deploy too much onto to the canvas. The shorter bristles provide sharp precision as they are less floppy. For painting miniatures, you would actually want the brushes to hold more paint in the belly but still have a fine tip. Which is why the normal set of Series 7 took the number 1 spot on this list. Don’t fret if you have bought these they are still high-quality brushes and they do the job. But when I swapped a couple of my miniature ones out for the normal ones; I noticed a considerable improvement in my painting, especially glazing. If you have these, great. If you haven’t invested yet, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

date 05/01/19: A few people have pointed out that I’ve been a bit harsh against these brushes. I’ll admit that this comes from my own personal burn – having bought these myself instead of the regular series. I struggled with these (particularly with glazing). I found a marked improvement in my painting with the normal set. However, these are still a great set of brushes and sharing my personal experience is not fair to you the reader or the brand. Over time with your painting, you will learn to understand if you want a longer and wider (normal set) or shorter and thinner (miniature set) bristles on your brushes. Then you can select either range based on your preference.

But like with the Artis Opus Series M, I believe these have a specific use case only, and that is for free-hand and very fine detail work. You’ll be going back to your palette for more paint much more frequently with these brushes.

If you are after standard brushes for the likes of basecoating, edge-highlighting and layering/glazing/shading. Don’t start here.

Buy now using the links below

4. Rosemary & Co – Series 22/33

A culmination of 2 different sets, the Series 22 & Series 33. The jury was out over which specific brush was preferred in many polls. Users did not specify a series as their favourite, just the brand ‘Rosemary & Co’.

The Series 22 is longer and slimmer than the 33 and arguments can be made for either side. Personally, I’m much more of a fan of the slightly shorter (and much cheaper) Series 33. Having the same hair density when compared to their Series 22 equivalents, the Series 33 give you a lot more control.

Both are designed for watercolour paints. Using them with acrylics, many say that a wider brush will be better as it holds more paint. On the other side of the fence, we have the argument that a wider brush has more risk of striking parts of your model you didn’t intend to.

The series 22 is the more expensive and is also limited in range, the smallest size is 0. Whereas the Series 33 goes all the way down to 10/0 (or 10 x 0, or 0000000000; whatever you want to call it). Whichever series you go for you’re getting a best-in-class for quality brush (along with W&N, Raphael, Rosemary & Co and Artis Opus). The price for the series 22 is 30% cheaper than the average cost of brushes on this list, whereas the Series 33 are over 45% cheaper.

No wonder this is a popular brand.

Buy now using the links below

3. Raphaël – Series 8404

Whilst not the most popular, these are the often amongst the most critically acclaimed brushes in the list. Almost every commenter talking about these had tried and compared them to the normal Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes and said that these were hands down the better quality of the two brands.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Raphael 8404

Holding more paint, having a more reliable tip and lasting much longer than W&N makes these stand out. Made of Kolinsky Sable specifically for watercolour by Raphaël of France these are the true up-and-comer of the miniature painting range. They are also cheaper than the more Popular Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes (only 10% more expensive than the average price of brushes on this list).

These may be the best quality brushes you can get at a more affordable price than the comparable options. To have a more definitive answer we are going to need a lot more people using these brushes and getting the word out.

But if the current consensus is anything to go by, these are amongst the best you can get.

Buy now using the links below

2. Winsor & Newton – Series 7

Looking almost identical to the other Winsor & Newton – Series 7 option above (sans the word ‘Miniature’) the Winsor & Newton Series 7 is the most popular choice by a clear margin. When I say clear I mean this option took up 48.8% of all votes counted. If you include the perhaps mistakenly purchased “Winsor & Newton – Series 7 Miniature Brush set” it would have been 55.4%.

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Windsor & Newton Series 7

It’s hard to determine whether Winsor & Newton make the best brushes for painting miniatures of if they are just on a very lucky roll. We do know they are the most expensive brushes (excluding Games Workshop’s Artificer series). Both this set and the miniature set above cost 55% more than the average cost of brushes on this list!

But the attitude towards these brushes is a better example of how buyer expectation works. With greater popularity also comes more opportunity for criticism. Users have complained of issues such as the guide hair (the longest hair in the middle) sticking out too far and paint drying on the tip before you can apply it to a model. People have also said the quality level has dropped of late as they simply do not last as long as they once did.

I’ve had no issues with mine, but I’m an infrequent user and I keep them washed and clean with masters brush soap. They are an excellent choice of brush, but you are paying nearly half again on top of the Raphael 8404 Series and they are almost/over triple the cost of Rosemary & Co’s Series 22/33 respectively.

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Honourable Mentions

When I put the call out asking what the best brushes for painting miniatures were, I had 32 significantly different options (and some daft yet creative suggestions, like the scalps of fallen enemies). The list below makes up the bottom 5% in popularity of all the options mentioned. This does not mean they aren’t worth looking at. Instead, it goes to show that best brushes you can get are really just the best brushes that work for you.

As one voter commented; which I think is the best way to put it – “Wise man said: brush doesn’t paint by itself… “. – Facebook Group – Miniature Painting Tips And Tricks. Showcase And Share Your Secrets.

Below are some perfectly adequate options for your Brush selection

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1. Artis Opus – Series S Brush Set

First up, you can get 5% off your whole Artis Opus order via the official store with code “FauxHammer” applied at the checkout.

Latin for ‘Work of Art’ the Artis Opus set are arguably the sexiest brushes on our list. This set from the designers in Manchester, England is rapidly gaining popularity as more people are getting invested in them. Successfully Kickstarted in April 2018 where they met their target of £10,000 ($12,610.50 USD) in only 52 minutes since launch.

They reached £187,953 ($237,018.13 USD) by the end of the campaign. Woah

Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures 2019 - Artis Opus

Feedback on these brushes has been incredibly positive and this is especially good when considering the Artis Opus Series S is 40% more expensive than the average cost of brushes on this list.

When buying this brush set, they come in a very attractive storage case which has a variety of wood finishes and a choice of engraved artworks.

The set main Series S set comes with 4 Brushes from Size 000 to Size 1. You can get a 5-brush case to store one of their additionally offered Size 2-6 brushes. It also comes with a little pot of brush soap. Unfortunately, there is no 9 x brush case to store the whole set.

If you have the money, this is an impressive set to obtain.

Fully endorsed by several signature (god-tier) miniature artists, I personally use these brushes exclusively now and have done since 2019.

They are also the only brand on this list where the brushes are made to a specific specification for miniature painters. (Dense with medium Hair length and a fine point). They are also the only brand that actually recognises that artists need different tool types for various jobs. The Series S (shown above) is your everyday workhorse (start here) and there are 2 more ranges to consider.

After the Successful Campaign and release of Series S – Artis Opus followed up with the Series M (like the Winsor and Newton Miniature brushes above) made for fine detail work and more delicate/deliberate painters. Then the Series D – which are the absolute Best Drybrushes you can get (see our Series D review here).

Artis Opus Series D Review for Miniature Painters - Featured

See our Artis Opus Series D Review Here

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If you’re Not sure where to start with these 3 different types of brushes? Great, you’re not alone. One of the questions we get emailed a lot is, “which specific brush sizes do you recommend?”

Well, we collaborated with Artis Opus to answer this question and created a mixed series set of brushes for you to get started with.

This set features 2 Series S brushes, the #3 for 99% of your brushwork, this does everything from base colours to eyes. We include the #1 for when you need just a little more control over paint flow. the Series M #0 for absolute precision such as freehand painting or dotting your miniatures eyes.

And finally 2 series D brushes. The XL for basecoats and vehicles. and the Medium for shading and edge-highlighting infantry models.

The set also comes with a pot of brush soap and the Drybrush Dampening Pad

You can also buy the set in a bundle with a FauxHammer Branded texture Palette.

And remember to use code “FauxHammer” on the Artis Opus website for 5% off all orders

The Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures, 3D Prints & Scale Models – Final Thoughts

In Summary, The Winsor 7 Newton Series 7 (Normal, not Miniature) have been the most popular brushes for some time, thanks to them being used by Games Workshop’s ‘Eavy Metal team. however, the Raphael 8404 series is commonly lauded as the better quality set. At only two-thirds the price of W&N’s offering, picking these up is a consideration that should not be ignored, it certainly can be considered as a bargain in comparison.

If you’re after the absolute premium set, Artis Opus is the “the” brand right now, providing some absolutely solid brushes for miniature painters which are triple-quality-checked before despatch! and they come in an absolutely gorgeous box that screams “I take Miniature painting very seriously”.

Rosemary & Co, Da Vinci Maestro and Artis Opus are equally good options if you are looking for the best quality and reliability. and Rosemary & Co brushes are especially popular among the more Budget Concious Painter. Best value for money here, with no doubt.

Finally, if you are buying Games Workshop or Army painter brushes, you are getting brushes which are worth the price you pay. Neither will make you the best painter you can be, but equally, neither are restrictive in getting you to that “excellent” quality level.

So which one is the ‘best’ brush?

Whilst there is no simple answer, the thing to take away here is that the best brush is the one that works for you. One that fits your style and budget appropriately, just don’t break the bank on a brush expecting it to make you a wizard. Start out with some cheap options like Games Workshop and/or Army Painter and work your way up when you have learned proper care and protection.

Find out what you do and don’t like about the performance of your current brushes and if you’re not happy, jump to a different brand when one starts to get stray hairs and needs to be replaced. With good care, all of your old brushes will remain loyal work-horses, as stipplers and smooshers at the very least. When they’ve totally had it, you can always use them as paint mixers. I still have my Games Workshop Citadel Starter brush that I got with my first paint kit over 23 years ago and yes, I still use it.

Remember: a good brush won’t magically make you a good painter, but a bad brush could make your paintings worse than they could be.

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The 10 Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures
Article Name
The 10 Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures
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Best Brushes? Does popular mean better? Have a look at the summaries below to find out more.
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FauxHammer
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FauxHammer

Self-appointed Editor in chief of FauxHammer.com - But I need to thank the team for existing and therefore enabling me to give myself role - without them, I'm just a nerd with a computer and a plastic addiction.

20 thoughts on “Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures & Wargames Models – 2023

  • April 7, 2019 at 11:15 pm
    Permalink

    Very insightful review representing a variety of views on different brushes! Thank you!

    I actually came here searching for replacement for Winser & Newton Series 7, because recently they are of very bad quality (at least size 1). The used to be really amazing when I bought my first ones 5 years ago. Each of those with proper care served me for half a year each. Now first I ordered 3 size 1 from one large supply sight, and was utterly disappointed. They split and didn’t hold making them close to be useless. I assumed that it might be a fault of say storage so I ordered another 3 size 1 from W&N. Same story :( I would not buy it ever anymore, so much money wasted.

    Reply
    • April 8, 2019 at 7:39 am
      Permalink

      Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve had similar experience which is why I asked the community and wrote this. Personally, I’m really enjoying the Rosemary and Co series 33 at a third of the price, but I have had similar issues with these brushes. I’ve just ordered the Raphael brushes and look forward to trying them out

      Reply
      • May 7, 2019 at 6:47 pm
        Permalink

        Just a follow up: thanks to your article I have now another favorite: Da Vinci series 10 (size 2, size 1 appeared to be too small compared to size 1 W&N). Even considering outrageous practice of Amazon of sending them without that little plastic brush protector, they still all returned to perfect point (I was going to send them back initially because of the state I received them in).
        Thank you!

        Reply
  • July 17, 2019 at 3:44 am
    Permalink

    Probably going to grab some Raphael’s. I was going to get windsor and newton series 7, but I had heard they were not as good as they once were. I could have gotten then for almost the same price as the Raphael’s though and with free shipping. so they might even end up cheaper.

    The raph’s are supposed to be amazing though so I’m going to try them out.

    Reply
  • March 20, 2020 at 10:26 pm
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    I’ve gotten more into miniature painting and am finally ready to get some better brushes, but I have a question about the options listed here.

    You keep mentioning that these are watercolour brushes, but I use acrylic paints. I’ve read that acrylic paint will quickly wear down natural hair brushes… do you know if this is correct? I’d hate to spend 40 pounds on a set of Brokentoad MK3s only to have them useless in a month because I’m using the wrong paints.

    Thanks!

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  • March 20, 2020 at 11:39 pm
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    Great article! I have a question though – are all these natural sable brushes appropriate for acrylic paints? I only use acrylics for my minis, but I’ve read that it can quickly mess them up or cause the bristles to splay. Do you have experience with that?

    (Sorry if this post duplicates, but I tried with a different email address and it never seemed to post.)

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    • April 4, 2020 at 2:28 pm
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      Whilst they are generally made for watercolour, with good care and appropriate use they are fine for Acrylics. just don’t let paint get into the ferrule and use use a good brush soap

      (your comments won’t post straight away, I need to approve them, it lets me avoid Spam comments)

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  • March 25, 2020 at 5:20 pm
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    The best budget brushes are imho DaVinci Nova and the great Roubloff Kolinsky! they last really long and never disappoint me!

    and the best dry brush so far (and now my fourth one) is the standard drybrush from Army Painters Hobby line (not Wargamer!) .

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  • May 6, 2020 at 3:01 pm
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    Rosemary & Co are great, lovely little touch of environmentalism with packaging too.

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  • May 6, 2020 at 6:53 pm
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    I recently ordered some brushes from Rosemary & Co and so far am very happy with them. I really wish that on their website they told me about their US distributor though! I ended up paying for shipping from the UK to the US only to find a note in the box telling me I could have gotten them from Texas.

    Regardless, they seem very nice after a few weeks of use. Hopefully they will hold up.

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    • May 6, 2020 at 6:59 pm
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      Thanks Dan – I didn;t know that eaither, can you possibly share the US distributor so other people can benefit from this?

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  • May 6, 2020 at 7:38 pm
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    The US distributor they promoted in their packaging is windriverarts.com

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  • October 23, 2020 at 4:41 am
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    Have you tried the DaVinci series 11 or 35? The 35 is a fine-point tip and my #2 is a beautiful all-round brush which can do most of a miniature (impressed by the tip). I’ve just ordered some Raphael 8404 so i’ll be interested to see how they compare.

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  • June 9, 2021 at 11:26 pm
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    Raphael 8404 are trash (sorry they just are) I have a 0 – 000 and not one tip is any good. WN series 7 are amazing as are all of the Artis Opus brushes

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    • January 21, 2022 at 12:46 am
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      I tried 8404 before WN Series 7, mainly because of this article and how the Raphael’s have been lauded elsewhere online and within the gaming community at large. Like you, my luck with good tips has been lacklustre. Oddly, I originally felt that the tips were outstanding compared to my previous brushes (GW Artificers, Princetons, GW standard line) brushes… Outstanding until I experienced what a truly exceptional tip is and what it can do for even a beginner painter such as myself.

      I live in Canada, so access to these fine European brushes can be quite limited. I just confirmed shipment of a 0 and 1 WN Series 7 from Jackson’s along with a 0, 1 and 2 from Escoda’s Reserva line. I didn’t stop there! Given the recent accolades of Da Vince’s Series 10 (seems to be surpassing WN S7s in the opinion of many godly painters) I ordered a couple of those as well and threw in some of the new Series 76. I’d be interested in a review of the new series 70 and 76 brushes which have been designed for miniatures painters in particular using the feedback of miniature painters. For now, the listed sizes are on the larger size (2,3,4 and 5) but since I’m unfamiliar with Da Vince brushes, their 2s could be comparable to WN S7 1s for all I know. Regardless, it is encouraging seeing a prominent art company creating lines for our small pocket of the art world.

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  • October 24, 2021 at 8:51 am
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    These high-quality Winsor and Newton tiny paint brushes are among the best on the market. This tool is excellent for both complex strokes and precise painting. Thank you for recommending this.

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  • January 6, 2024 at 10:31 pm
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    Can you put some USA links for us non islanders?

    Reply

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