Modeling Paint Brush Set

Five brushes for detail and for area

Anyone who paints models has found it out for themselves: most failed details are not down to the paint but to a brush that no longer holds its point. This set covers the basic equipment in one purchase. It holds five pieces with synthetic fibers, all of a uniform length of 160 millimeters, so they sit the same in the hand and moving between them calls for no relearning of the grip.

The division matches real work at the bench. Three brushes have a pointed shape and differ in the thickness of the bundle: the finest, with fibers about 1.15 millimeters across, handles buckles, dials and the eyes of figures, the middle one with a diameter of around 1.79 millimeters handles tools and grab handles, and the largest pointed one with a longer bundle suits cockpits and smaller assemblies. The remaining two have a flat shape and serve where a continuous area has to be covered or paint carried into a corner.

Synthetic fibers take acrylic paints and frequent washing out, and unlike natural hair they do not splay as much. Life span still decides the result, so a brush is never left standing in a jar of thinner; after work it is washed out and the point shaped with the fingers. Storing it point up then keeps the tool in condition far longer.

The set also serves well as a companion to an airbrush. Most of the work may fall to the airbrush, but small areas, touch-ups after a mask comes off, applying washes and stippling with oil paints are done by hand, and for that several sizes need to be within reach at once.

The flat shapes also suit spreading pigment and dry brushing, where a pointed bundle would be ruined quickly.