The right brush makes a big difference when you're painting model kits or Warhammer miniatures, and a cheap brush you can ruin without worrying is just as useful as a good one for fine detail. Here's a simple guide to which brush to use for which job, using brushes we stock at our shop in Newport, South Wales.
Which brush for which job?
- Humbrol Coloro Paintbrush (£1.09): a synthetic bristle brush with a wooden handle for smooth, even coats. It suits acrylics especially well, and it's ideal for beginners and for jobs that wear brushes out, like drybrushing and glue.
- Humbrol Evoco Paintbrush (£0.99): a natural hair all-rounder that holds plenty of paint, good for base coats, larger areas and general detail. It works particularly well with enamels.
- Humbrol Palpo Paintbrush (£1.99): a sable hair brush that keeps its point and shape, for small parts, fine lines and miniatures. Suitable for enamel and acrylic paints.
- Citadel Small Layer Brush (£6.09): fine-point sable bristles for precise layer painting and finishing touches on Warhammer miniatures.
A simple brush kit for beginners
Start with one of each Humbrol brush: a Coloro for rough jobs, an Evoco for base coats and a Palpo for detail. That's a complete set of three for under £5, which makes it an easy stocking filler for anyone who builds Airfix or Revell kits or paints Warhammer.
How to make your brushes last
- Don't dip too deep: keep paint on the tip of the bristles, away from the metal ferrule.
- Clean as you go: rinse brushes often while painting, using water for acrylics and the right thinner for enamels.
- Keep a rough brush: use a cheap brush for drybrushing and glue, and save your sable brush for detail.
- Store them flat or bristles up: never leave a brush standing in the water pot.
Also for painters
- Warhammer White Dwarf Magazine back issues (£4.99): back issues from 2017 to 2019, for collectors filling gaps and painters looking for ideas.
- Citadel File Set Tool (£12.15): a pair of files for smooth, precise clean-up of miniatures before painting.
- Warhammer Age of Sigmar Paints + Tools Set (£29.99): paints and tools to clip, clean up and paint your first miniatures.
Find paints and more in our Citadel paints and accessories and scale model kits collections. New to the hobby? Read getting started with Warhammer, or see our Warhammer and model kit gift guide.
Tracked UK delivery from our shop in Newport, South Wales.
