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Hi, I'm a newbie here.
I have a hard time painting small details in aircraft cockpits without messing things up. I don't have the best paintbrushes in the world for doing the small detail work and am not really sure what to buy. Could I get some advice on what brushes would be good for detail work please? I've found that the Hobby Lobby brushes I get are pretty bad at keeping their shape (fraying) which makes painting even harder. I primarily use Testors and Model Master enamel paint.
Thanks in advance.
Chris
One trick for really small detail is to use a toothpick. Those round type, sharp at both ends, are best.
Shake your paint bottle, take the cover off and lay it upside down on your bench. A thin coating of paint will be adhering to cap. Dip the toothpick tip into paint, then touch to model. You cannot draw a very long line without running out of paint, but the small amount of paint on the tip helps you by not letting a big gob of paint flow out onto model surface. So you paint by making a line out of a series of contiguous dots. This trick is really good for aircraft cockpits- lets you paint tiny switches and levers.
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
I am but a grasshopper compared to most of the posters here, but I am a big fan of Robert Simmons Sapphire brushes that I get at the local Michaels craft store. They are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. I have some Tamiya brushes that I like, and a set of very small (3/0, 5/0, 10/0) Atlas brushes that work well enough for my poor painting skills. As for fraying, you have to be very careful not to mash them and also try to reshape them when done.
There's a great video on this site about how to clean brushes.
Do not let brushes sit in a jar of thinner very long. The weight of the handle pressing down on the bristles will reshape it pretty quickly :-(
Duh! I never thought about using a toothpick. I use those round ones all the time for mixing paint and epoxy.
I will have to look at Michaels next time I go up to Denver. I have one of those brush cleaners I got from MicroMark which cleans them good but they don't seem to stay in shape for long. Guess you're right when you say you get what you pay for.
You also need to remember , You MUST reshape you brush after cleaning .That way the bristles will keep the original shape .
Don't skimp on brushes .I just retired a medium round -Small that has seen fifteen years of continous use .The reason it got retired . Well , lets just say a model sailing ship is sporting the main part of the handle .
Don't bother with brushes. Buy this:
www.ebay.com/.../230872545591
This works much better than my expensive Kolinsky brushes and will last a lifetime.
Iwata HP-CS | Iwata HP-CR | Iwata HP-M2 | H&S Evolution | Iwata Smart Jet + Sparmax Tank
Anyone know what the size of these is, in the normal size standard?
Wonderful - Chrisk-k getting all girlie-like..... ROFL!!
A great find though.
Super fine size.
BlackSheepTwoOneFour Wonderful - Chrisk-k getting all girlie-like..... ROFL!! A great find though.
When I saw my wife using them, I knew I wanted them!
They are also excellent for cleaning airbrush nozzles!
That was my thought as well Chrisk. So how many did you steal from the missus? LOL!
I've stolen some items from my wife for modeling purposes ;-)
Check out micro marks online site. They have a wonderful selection.best part is,if you order from them,you will get their catalog for the rest of your life
Chrisk-k Super fine size. BlackSheepTwoOneFour Wonderful - Chrisk-k getting all girlie-like..... ROFL!! A great find though. When I saw my wife using them, I knew I wanted them! They are also excellent for cleaning airbrush nozzles!
triple zero? quad zero?
Here's a pic for size comparison. I use them a lot for paint touch up. glue application and clean up. I buy the 100 packs and treat them as diposables. Usually get em from Micromark.
EJ
Completed - 1/525 Round Two Lindberg repop of T2A tanker done as USS MATTAPONI, USS ESSEX 1/700 Hasegawa Dec 1942, USS Yorktown 1/700 Trumpeter 1943. In The Yards - USS ESSEX 1/700 Hasegawa 1945, USS ESSEX 1/700 Dragon 1944, USS ESSEX 1/700 Trumpeter 1945, USS ESSEX 1/540 Revell (vintage) 1962, USS ESSEX 1/350 Trumpeter 1942, USS ESSEX LHD-2 as commissioned, converted from USS Wasp kit Gallery Models. Plus 35 other plastic and wood ship kits.
Something I read that Shep Paine said has really stuck with me. The shape of the brush is more important than the size. A really good 0 or 00 with a very well shaped tip, is better than a 0000 with a bad tip. And if a brush is too small, it won't hold enough paint to do much before it thickens and/or dries. And paint thickness needs to be right.
So, a properly shaped brush that will hold enough paint of the right consistency is the trick.
I agree with that 100% in fact I think if properly cared for, they get better with age.
I too use these microbrushes. Not as replacements for regular brushes but as just another tool in the tool box.
If you don't mind a two week wait you can get them from China for about $3-$4. Three different sizes available.
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