Brushes are an essential part of being a wargaming hobbyist (or just painting miniatures in general).
When you buy your first brushes, go for something that is cheap and readily available. You will almost certainly ruin your first set of brushes, so make it sure it did not cost you a fortune.
When you have painted your first few models (like 20+ or something) you might be ready to upgrade to something better.
Paint Brush – Price Rise. Brush prices are about the only thing that hasn’t changed in 5 years for Warhammer. Back in 2013, Space Marines were shorter, Warhammer Community was but a twinkle in overlord Andy’s eyes, and the only way fans could get the latest news from Games Workshop was by casting entrails into a moonlit pool. Warhammer 40k FULL Paint Art Tools Brushes 45+ Paints Terrain Glue Army Painter: Condition: New. Ended: Feb 05, 2021. Winning bid: US $67.00 22 bids Shipping: $10.
Strip Paint off Miniatures Cheap and Easy – A How-To Guide Best Brushes for Painting Miniatures & Wargames Models – 2021 Warhammer Imperium Magazine Contents List – Issues 1-80. When painting miniatures, you need brushes that hold more paint in the belly and still have a fine tip. Features of best brushes for painting miniatures include: point; paint capacity; bristle snap – determines how easily and fast bristles return to their initial shape; bristle spring – should be high and stiff to prevent bending and splaying out with ease; paint flow – the paint flow. Winsor & Newton's own ranges are very very similar (they differ slightly in their dimensions) and their Series 7 (the premium range) are the gold standard of brushes. They're generally a little cheaper than the citadel versions too, and the series 7 are definitely better. I'd recommend a size 0 and 1 to start, though I do most of my work with a 1.
But remember this: expensive brushes will not make you a better painter. Quality tools are important but in the beginning, you cannot feel the difference between a good tool and a crappy/mediocre tool. Go for cheap quantity first and expensive quality later.
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Age of Miniatures is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Affiliate links might occur on this page.
This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. Read more about our affiliate links here.
Two Different Types of Brushes for Miniature Painting: Synthetic vs Natural hair
In general, you have 2 kinds of brushes. 1. Brushes where the bristle is made of natural hair. 2 Brushes where the bristle is made of some kind of synthetical material.
Advantages of natural hair:
- Retains water and paint a lot better while painting (it can hold more paint inside the bristles/belly). This means longer working time and less time spent getting the paint back in the brush.
- The natural hair is more durable and will hold the point better (it can hold a point for many years with proper care). A good natural hair brush will last way longer than a synthetic brush.
Advantages of synthetic hair:
- Less prone to damage from paint (acrylic paint is actually quite hard on natural hair)
- A lot easier to clean than natural hair
- Less expensive (since you do need to get the hair from a rare mink or some weird stuff like that).
6 Things to Look For In a Miniature Brush
- The Ability to Hold a Point and Retain the Shape Over Time: The point/tip on your brush is super important. Over time the brush can wear down, and the point of the brush will start to split. I have some brushes that I can paint with a for a few minutes and after that, the point insists on splitting in two (making it unusable for fine detail work and just a real paint).
- Size of the body: If you are painting with a very small brush with almost no body, you will have to reapply paint to the brush almost constantly. Also, it is very easy to accidentally damage a brush with a very small body. Having a decently sized body is important (at least when you basecoat or blend)
- Spring/Snap: The more bristles in the brush and the wider it is, the more snap and spring the brush has. When you bend the brushes while painting, the hair should immediately “snap” into its normal shape afterwards. If not, you lose control when painting (it will feel like painting with a wet spaghetti).
- Durability: An expensive awesome natural hair brush can last for years (at least with proper care). A cheap, inexpensive synthetic brush cannot last very long (but on the other hand, you do not have to worry about brush care that much).
- Feeling: The feeling of a brush is very hard to quantify, but the brush should feel right for you. I have painted a lot with the Winsor and Newton, so this means they feel “right” for me. Trying to paint with brushes that are not made in the same way feels very off to me. A lot of the feeling with a brush depends on your habits and needs, but some of it also depends on hand size and various other factors.
- Price: we cannot get around that the price of the brush is also something that you need to consider.
Quality natural hair, mostly from a Kolinsky Weasel (also called a Kolinsky Sabel brush) will win on a lot of these parameters. They hold a point longer, they have a big body that can retain paint well, they snap back in place quickly, the durability can be amazing and the feeling is great. The downside? They cost a lot…
What Sizes of Miniature Brushes Do You Need?
The size on the brushes will usually range from “000” (very small) up to a big “12”.
For painting miniatures the size “0” and “1” will most likely be what you are looking for.
A size “2” can be good for bigger basecoat and a “00” can be good if you do very fine detail work. I have a single size “3” brush and have almost never found a use for it. Some brands have a unique naming scheme (like the Citadel brushes where they try to call the brushes something understandable for beginners).
There is no uniformity as to how big a size 1 is when you look across the different manufacturers. This means that the size 0 from one company can be as big as a size 1 of another company. You just have to try them out to figure it out.
Warhammer Paint Brushes Online
When it comes to how big the body is, it can also vary wildly from different brush sets. You have to learn by experience what suits you. A rule thumb is that too small a body is not that great. Only on my very, very fine detail brushes, I want a small body (I do not need a lot of paint to paint eyes or similar details). Basecoating, edge highlights and blending requires a bigger body to move the paint around in the required way. A lot of the brushes made specifically for miniature painting have, in my opinion, too small a body on the brush.
Buying a 0, 1 and 2 from the company’s brush set will give most of what you need. If this is your first time buying quality brushes, maybe just go with a 0 and 1. Those two types are by far the ones that I use the most, and the 00 and 000 is only used very sparingly (if at all) on a model.
Where to Buy Your Brushes?
I have tried out different webstores (since the selection of quality brushes in my local brick and mortar stores is subpar) and have run into a few different problems with quality control, poor customer service and so on.
Lately, I have been getting my supplies from the webstore Jackson’s Art. I have been very happy with both price, shipping times, quality control and customer service. They have the quality brushes I want as well as cheap brushes and the brush cleaner I use.
They ship internationally and I can highly recommend them. It is also there some of my affiliate links in this post will go to.
As a bonus for using my links, you get 10% if it is your first order with Jackson Art. Does not sound like much, but 10% on expensive brushes can also be something!
3 Different Good Quality Natural Hair Brushes
Warhammer Paint Brushes Photoshop
You can get cheap and efficient synthetic brushes from hobby stores everywhere (Citadel, Army Painter and random non-miniature hobby stuff). I find the difference in quality to be minimal so try different cheap stuff out until you are ready to upgrade. Be warned that Citadel brushes are neither cheap nor of very high quality, but they can do ok in a pinch.
3 different series of quality brushes that are commonly recommended:
- Winsor & Newton Series 7
- Raphael Series 8404
- Davinci Maestro Series 35
I have tried all of the above and all of them could become your favourite brush in the end. The difference between is quite small and you cannot go wrong with any of them.
Winsor and Newton Series 7 (get the normal brushes made for watercolour, not the miniature stuff that has too small a body) is what most people will recommend. It is by far the most used “pro” brush, but that does not necessarily make it the best.
Raphael Series 8404might be just as good as the Winsor and Newton AND it is cheaper. I only have a single one of these right now (bought after a few too many Winsor and Newton brushes had issues on arrival because of poor quality control).
Davinci Maestro Series 35is a solid brush, but not for me. The body was too thin and I found that it could not compare with the other two when it came to retaining a sharp point with extended use.
What I Think Is the Best Miniature Brush for Warhammer and Miniature Painting
When I started out looking for a good brush, the Winsor and Newton series 7 was the one that most experienced painters recommended. After 5 years of using it, I have never regretted that choice. In fact, I have my very first size 1 Winsor and Newton and still use it for some detail work. In my opinion, you cannot go wrong with a good Winsor and Newton Series 7 brush.
My suggestion? Get 2 Winsor and Newton Series 7 – a size “0” and a size “1”. For about £20 pounds they will significantly improve your painting experience.
That said, I have lately run into different quality control issues. I bought a fresh batch with a 00, a 0 and 1 and they were ALL broken on arrival (the plastic tip made to protect the bristles had been jammed into the bristles, making them unable to hold a point). I have seen others commenting on different bad brushes from them, so if this continues I might shift to the Raphael instead.
Below is a video about why these weasel hair brushes are so expensive (but also so damn good).
Maintaining and Getting the Most Out of Your New Brush Quality Natural Hair Brush
If you buy a quality and expensive brush, you NEED to take care of it. The natural hair will get damaged if you neglect to clean it and then you would be much better of just using a cheap synthetic brush instead.
I suggest buying some Master Brush Cleaner. It has been around for ages and comes highly recommended. I have used it on my brushes since I started using quality stuff and it has done very well. It can even extend the life on your cheaper brushes, helping to avoid that annoying splitting issue (check the price on the Master Brush Cleaner here)
Having a good brush is great, but without a wet palette you might get the most out of your purchase. Check out my take on the best wet palette on the market.
Looking for more great hobby tools?
You must be chewing your head off in search of the best paints for Warhammer. If yes, then this is the right place for you, where you will get a proper guideline to choose the perfect paint.
While picking up the Warhammer paints, you must consider the quality of painting sets because the gaming sets always demand a long-lasting coating. Otherwise, the color of the Warhammers will fade away over time.
There are thousands of products in the market, but we’ve selected the top five out of them. In a nutshell, we’ve tried to let you know the best features and proper know-how about the paintings.
Now it’s time to excite your mind by showing the details of the miniature paints. I hope this may help you to beat the battle!| Image | Product Name | Editor's Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Army Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | 50 Bottles | Paint Brush | Check Price | ||
| VALLEJO Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | Set of 16 | 17ml Bottles | Check Price | ||
| The Army Paints for Warhammer | 100 Mixing Balls | 60 Bottles | Check Price | ||
| Army Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | 10 Model Paints | 18ml Bottle | Check Price | ||
| Citadel Base Paints for Warhammer | 12ml Bottles | Abaddon Black | Check Price |
Best Paints for Warhammer Reviews
As you all know, this is our review section, and we are going to show you some features of Warhammer paints so that you can easily get some knowledge of the Paints for miniature, plastic, and metal toys. So, let’s see what’s the tea.
1. The Army Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | 50 Bottles | Paint Brush
Are you fond of miniature painting? Then we have an interesting paint for you. If you have already wasted your money on so many paintings, but still not satisfied? Then hold on a sec. The Acrylic War Paints set gives you a better experience of painting on miniatures.
Painting means creating something which can give life to the mini-creatures. So, paint your war creatures with the Army Paints and make them more attractive, presentable, and lively. That’s why we are suggesting these paints for Warhammer, which will provide you mind-blowing performance!
For those who are interested in a start-up business of miniature painting, you can rely on in this painting set. Why though? Because a business mind is always looking for materials that will produce more in a minimum cost. Buying this 50-color set, you will get all the hues that you need within an effective price.
A pro-tip we can give you is, buy colors that offer heavy coverage. Army Paints have a thick consistency, which gives heavy build-up coverage even if you take one short of it. Whether airbrush or paintbrush, no matter what the applicator is, you are about to get the desired outcome.
A scale model maker searches for a paint that will cover the miniatures smoothly, without creating any bubbles. In this instance, the painting sets assure you most since it has formulated for better finishing, by which you can paint your awesome show-piece models as well.
Key Features
- Paint set provides maximum coverage
- Comes with 50 variety of colors
- Long-lasting bonding formula
- Water-resistant painting set
2. VALLEJO Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | Set of 16 | 17ml Bottles
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Choosing a color is not a tough job but getting the best miniature paint set indeed is. Suppose you are a hobbyist or a miniature artist, then you need a quality painting set to go on. However, if you are bogging down to find the premium paint I bet, you will love the set of paints for Warhammer.
It will be a loss project if you use an average color for your mini-models, where you may need to re-apply the colors. Instead, you can consider the miniature paint to decorate your little-babies. Its consistency is top-notch, which creates extra glide on the surface.
The starters and amateur model-makers find it easier to paint the mini-toys with water-based colors. Though the Warhammer paint is mainly a water-based acrylic formula, it can be used without water too! In both ways, the paints leave a marvelous finishing.
There are so many miniature paints that contain a variety of colors in a set, but none of them are worthy of use. However, the painting set includes each of your necessary pigments. Also, you can mix the existing colors in certain ratios to compile a new shade.
This ultra-vibrant Warhammer paint has specially designed for gaming pieces. As a base paint or for dry brushing, you can use this paint by simply following the methods. No matter which method you follow, the color will stay long.
Key Features
- Paints can be mixed easily
- Specially made for wargaming
- Find all useful color for Warhammer
- Leave a smooth finishing after each application
3. The Army Paints for Warhammer | 124 Model Paints | 5 Brushes
What if we tell you a secret for turning your old plastic toys into a new one? Some of you seem a bit shaken by reading this and thinking about how it be possible? It is possible if you use the miniature paint on your toys or Warhammer.
In the beginning, most people face a problem during painting; it happens due to the quality of the brush. However, there are no such issues with this painting set because it includes some quality brushes to ease your painting. You won’t need to spend extra cost for brushes. Such a great offer, right?
Most of the paints fail to stay long because of their poor pigmentation.However, the army painter has a fantastic color combination and outstanding blending capability, which have made it different from any other brand.
If you value your money and don’t want to waste your time, put your investment into this set. You are surely going to win if you purchase this eco-friendly paint set for your favorite miniature set.
If we talk about longevity, kudos to this paint set because the colors remain the same on the model for a long time. So, throw your old paints away and get the paints for Warhammer to recreate a new look of your pale, grunge, and obsolete toys.
Key Features
- Long-lasting and durable coating
- A great range of colors
- A perfect option for hobbyists & artist
- Non-toxic and eco-friendly paint
4. Army Acrylic Paints for Warhammer | 10 Model Paints | 18ml Bottle
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The next product on our list has a special impact on its buyer because of its high-quality and huge color assortment. Spend a couple of dollars to hoard this set and get all the much-needed colors together.
Along with its eye-catching pigmentation, it is also easy to apply. Besides, the paints come with some winsome packaging. As a result, you can gift this Warhammer paint set to your hobbyist friends. If you are an amateur, keep practicing with these paints for Warhammer and be a pro!
If you are searching the paints for a hassle-free application, put your thought into buying this. The bottles have a dropper cap by which you can get the color by an easy-squeeze and do painting without wasting much. So, it’s time to bring your art into reality!
Best Professional Paint Brushes
While talking about this brand, we recommend this only for its quality and variations. Matte or metallic, you can get both types of color in it. The little amount covers a large area as such; this is going to last you for a long period.
The amazing eco-friendly colors of this set have a unique versatility and durability. It is something that you can purchase over and over again. Moreover, you can use the paint for any kind of miniature as it considers the best paints for Warhammer.
Key Features
- Easy to apply the paint
- Comes with a variety of color
- Less effort to work with
- The dropper cap prevents drying
- Get pro-brushes inside
5. Citadel Base Paints for Warhammer | 12ml Bottles | Abaddon Black
Last but not least, the paint we are about to describe is one of the most famous and demanding one. Just by knowing its features, you would get to know that why it has been popular for so many years as compared to its competitors.
The thing we must emphasize is its quality and formula that make the customers stay attached in that. You can easily re-paint your old Barbie dollhouse or wargaming sets into a completely new look with the Warhammer paints.
The final finishing of the paints is the main reason why people love this. What specialty it has? Well! You can use the paint without any base coating on your miniatures. Thus, this paint makes it ideal for any kind of model painting for any artist. Besides, a single coat is perfect for the scale-models.
It is an outstanding paint that you will be highly satisfied with, and you can even use it to the last drop as it doesn’t dry inside the pot. It is a matte-finishing color that is perfect for metal, plastic, even in ceramics. Plus, it provides excellent coverage and a smooth finishing after drying.
Therefore, if you want to gift your friend some kind of self-made painted model or to make a show-piece, then get this high-quality Warhammer paints, which has specially formulated for base-coating your miniatures.
Key Features
- Paints have excellent opacity
- Super blending ability
- Works great as a base coating
- Water-based and non-toxic paints for Warhammer
Things to Consider Before Buying Paints for Warhammer
When it’s time to purchase Warhammer paints, you must have a look at some important features. Otherwise, you are likely to get some hassle after buying the paints for Warhammer.
So, to help you to get the best miniature paint set, we have gathered some crucial points together. It would help if you considered the things below. You may also be interested in some of the stain for red oak floors from our list.
Color Variation
Go for the set that contains different kinds of useful colors. For example, look into those set that includes the primary and secondary shades. Those are always suitable to make alive any types of creations. Our guide to the wood floor paint would be also useful products for you.
Opacity
Suppose you keep layering up the pigments but cannot get the expected outcome, and the color looks so pale. It happens because of poor opacity. Opaqueness is mandatory for Warhammer paints. You would appreciate having some of the countertop paint, so take a moment to check them out.
Resistance Capacity
If the color doesn’t have enough resistance capacity, all your work will go in vain soon as those pretty models will look fade and lifeless by times. So, purchase the paints for Warhammer that have high resistance.
Application Method
Some colors are water-based, some are creamy. Some need a brush for painting, and some have a dropper cap to art. Choose a type of color that you can apply easily and comfortably.
Non-toxic
Check the formula of the color and make sure whether the ingredients are non-toxic and eco-friendly simultaneously. Otherwise, the paints harm your skin, which eventually causes a burning sensation.
Weathering
Look for the color that has improved the quality of the weathering effect because most of the coatings fade away by times, which makes the miniatures to lost its glazed by times.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions & Answers
1. Is the color vibrant enough without primer?
Miniature Paint Brushes Detail Set
Yes, it is!
The color is thick in formula and covers a large surface. A little portion is enough to cover a whole miniature.
Warhammer Paint Brush Set
Moreover, these Warhammer paints mostly use as the first coating. So, there is no primer needed while painting.
2. Does it require to mix the water while blending the paints?
Not necessary.
The paint has formulated based on water. So, You don’t need to mix water into it.
3. Is one pot being enough to paint my full army set?
Yes, no doubt about that.
A little portion of color goes for a long time, so yes, it can cover your miniature set alone!
4. How can I apply these paints for Warhammer?
Either dry brush or airbrush, you can follow any of the mentioned methods to paint your tiny little models.
5. Is there any special method to follow to apply these paints for Warhammer?
No! The application process is very easy.
You won’t need to follow anything special method, just follow the simple instruction that is provided in the packaging of the paints.
Final Words
For buyers, it is tough to stick with a brand as the company sometimes failed to hold their promised quality for a long time. So, it’s better to choose the best paints for Warhammer because they are famous for a period for their amazing quality.
Good paint has a huge impact on both artists and creatures, plus it will motivate you to do better and better. As a result, you should not compromise with the paints while looking for Warhammer paints.
Happy Painting!