Thanks for the tips chaps.
Tom - I tried soaking the old 'brush in cellulose thinners, but no joy - if anything, it got worse. It's of an age where I won't bother trying to fix it any further, so I think I'll be dumping the tips on eBay to try to recover a few bob of my original outlay in about 1984!!!! It did lie in a cupboard for 20 years while I was away from the hobby, so I don't think it owes me much
As to what I model, I mainly do 1/48th scale planes, with a few 1/72nd scale items if they're the only game in town, or 1/48th would be too big. Yes, I also like Luftwaffe stuff, so I can see some mottle in my future... I've experimented with that using my 175 Crescendo, and it seems a little heavy handed (or is that me?) for the task. Sounds like the 100LG could be my option then... will look into it further, thanks