A good brush won't paint the model for you, but a bad one will absolutely ruin your highlights. We stock model paint brushes for every stage of a paint job, from cheap and cheerful drybrushes you can abuse to kolinsky sable detail brushes you'll guard with your life.
Brush types explained
- Base brushes: larger, flatter brushes that lay down even basecoats quickly.
- Layer and detail brushes: fine points for layering, edge highlights, eyes and freehand. Sizes 0 to 2 cover most work on 28–32mm miniatures.
- Drybrushes: stiff, flat-ended and built to be scrubbed across raised detail. Fast texture on fur, armour and terrain.
- Shade brushes: soft and absorbent, for flowing washes into recesses.
- Synthetic or natural hair? Synthetics are tough, cheap and ideal for metallics, drybrushing and one-coat paints like Contrast and Speedpaint. Natural kolinsky sable holds more paint and keeps a sharp point for longer, which is why so many display painters swear by it.
What to buy first
Starting out? A base brush, a layer brush and a drybrush will see you through most of a first army. Add a fine detail brush once you start chasing eyes and edge highlights.
Our picks
- Loaded Dice Essentials 16-Piece Brush Set: a brush for every job, and one of our bestsellers.
- Citadel Small Base Brush: neat, quick basecoats.
- Citadel Small Layer Brush: the everyday workhorse for layers and highlights.
- Army Painter Hobby Brush: Super Detail: for eyes, lenses and the bits you'll zoom in on.
Look after them: rinse often, never leave a brush standing in the water pot, and keep paint out of the metal ferrule. Our guide to painting your first miniature shows which brush to use when, and painting tips for beginners covers the rest. Just want the Games Workshop range? See Citadel paintbrushes, and keep them in shape with our brush cleaners.
