GW Brush Set

[kojibear]

Seeking your advice again everyone.

Is the citadel brush set good value or can the same be found in Japan and for much cheaper? I guess 100 yen store brushes are a no no?

[Primarch]

You can probably get the same results with brushes bought from Joshin Kids Land to be honest.
The serious painters around here will no doubt recommend high quality professional brushes (because they are high quality after all), but as a starting point, the GW set or the ones at Joshin (2nd floor I believe) will do you just fine.
Paints though, those are something else. For painting a model you should probably use GW paints, available from Yellow Submarine, or Vallejo paints available from a shop near Joshin. Go out of Kids Land and turn right. Go past the softbank shop and just ahead on your right you'll see a sign for a barber shop (looks like a guy stabbing himself in the head with scissors). Enter that building and go up the stairs on your right. Inside you'll find a shop selling Gundam toys and the like. Somewhere near the register there will be a big rack of Vallejo paints in tall thin pots.
The local paints like Tamiya are good if you use an airbrush, so I'm told, but awful to use with a regular brush.

[me_in_japan]

yup - what he said.

my opinions on this subject are long and probly not worth going into in depth, but what it boils down to is:

1) brushes: winsor and newton are the best, but also v expensive. I'm currently using W&N brushes, along with a couple from Rosemary and Co. These are far cheaper than W&N, but almost as good. (I prefer the slightly stubbier shape of the W&N, but thats a personal thing, really.) For what its worth, I really think a good brush makes a difference, and makes painting far less frustrating. I think its worth getting a Rosemary & co, and maybe even a W&N - even for a novice painter it should help a lot. Note: get a size 1 and a size 00, maybe even a size 2. I dont have a 2, and kinda feel the need for it sometimes.

2) paints - exactly what prim said: GW paints are ideal for minis, vallejo are also fantastic and do a few colours that GW dont do. A third option is P3 (from Privateer Press, the Warmachine folks). These are very good, too. Tamiya are great for airbrush and bugger all use for regular painting, with the exception of Smoke and Clear Red, which are great for doing blood effects (see my dark eldar for examples)

Theres a thread somewhere about brushes and how to use em - I'll see if I can find it later. Rosemary and Co have a website and will ship internationally. The shipping is not that cheap compared to the brushes (which are very cheap) but if you get 3 or 4 brushes then it works out ok-ish. They have a large range of types, too, so you can get some good quality sable ones and some cheaper nylon ones (these are equivalent to the GW ones, btw) from them at the same time.

The GW brush set is ok if you need some cheap brushes for mixing your paint with (and you do, believe it or not. Never use an expensive brush for mixing paint - it buggers it up in no time.) I dont know for sure, but I'm pretty sure the GW brushes aren't sable anymore. They used to be sable, years ago, but I think theyve really gotten pretty crappy in the past 5 years or so. They curl up in a way that is very, very suggestive of artificial bristle.

that was the short version, believe it or not. If you want more info about brush buying, PM me

[AndrewGPaul]

There's two Vallejo ranges; Game Color, which is roughly equivalent in selection to the GW paints (and with similar names, too) and Model Color, which is designed for painting historical model kits and the like. The range of colors is much wider (there's a terrifying range of nearly-identical drab greens, for example). What I've noticed, though, is that the Model Color range isn't as resilient - they really need varnishing to protect them. I've noticed them rubbing off as I'm painting, never mind in gaming use.

There's plenty of people who swear by cheap craft paints - two brands I've heard of are Delta Ceramcoat and Apple Barrel, although those are US brands and I've no experience of them.

I'm using the GW brushes at the moment, because they're easier to get hold of than other brands. I'm sure there are better, but they're working fine for me so far.

Not sure which ones you're referring to Dave - the current black-handled ones don't curl up, and the website claims they're at least partly sable. I have noticed them shedding hairs more than they used to, though.

[kojibear]

Thanks guys.

Well, I just checked the GW site and they say that the brushes are Kolinsky Sable Hair. Not sure if that is good or not?

I have also added an addition to the 'What Colours Should I Choose?' thread to if you fancy going over there and giving your two cents

[me_in_japan]

GW brushes are kolinsky sable? really? hmmm... maybe from a small, sick sable, perhaps...

well, who am i to disagree with wot the GW website says. Nonetheless, I still love me my W&N and Rosemary&Co brushes.

btw @ AGP - why the heck are you still painting with GW brushes? Rosemary & Co are cheaper and far better quality. The only reason I dont use em exclusively is cos it costs a fair whack to get em shipped outta britain. You, on the other hand, have nae excuses.

[AndrewGPaul]

Because I can't be bothered looking for 'em. The GW ones work well enough for me, and I don't take good enough care of them for it to be worth buying more expensive ones.

By the way, according to Wikipedia, there are sables in Hokkaido. Perhaps you could catch a few and start making your own brushes.

[jus]

I bought a sable winsor and newton fine detailer from the creepy doll hobby shop a few doors away from joshin's kids club for about 1500 yen. Very good brush, and quite a good store. They also have a wide selcetion of brushes of varying prices, including air brushes and a whole rack of vallejo paints.