Opinions On The GW Brushes?

Hey everyone, as I have these old brushes for almost 6 years now, it's time I start looking for new ones to up my ante with painting over the summer. But the only paint brushes availeable here are the GW brushes and the Trumpeter sets.
I like the look of both, however the Trumpeter looks better for detail IMO and the GW one's better for drybrushing and washing.
Howver my knowledge is limited on brushes so does anyone have any ideas as to who have the better brushes?

I have never heard of the Trumpeter ones so I can't comment on them. What I will say is that I think that GW paint brushes are crap. Plain and simple.

I have found that no matter the brush, they tend to vary in size, length and fullness of bristles. I would happily buy their wash and dry brushes, but for painting I would steer clear. That, however is just me, I have a friend who uses them all the time.

For me I have a vast collection of brushes from different companies. The ones I use the most are Army Painter and eM-4. They are cheapish, pretty consistent and work well for me.

I would also add...6 years is a long time to have any brushes about 6 months is the outside limit for most of mine. If you have been using the same brushes for 6 years then it may be the case that any brushes on the planet will seem better than the ones you are using!

G_H

I had a GW brush I liked pretty well, and when it wore out I got another one I didn't care for at all. GW was the only brand the LGS had, so I went down to the craft store and picked up several brands, found one I liked and went back for more when it was worn out. It wasn't the most expensive one I tried but it felt the best to me.

The GW Wash Brush and the different dry brushing brushes (say that out lout a couple of times, sounds funny... ) are great. Only thing to keep in mind, especially with the dry brushes, is to clean them properly, even during the painting! The dry paints range from GW is nice, but the paint tends to dry very quickly on the dry brushes. And then the bristles start pointing everywhere. That's especially the case with the Large Drybrush...

However, the smaller brushes tend to be a bit hit and miss. I've got a couple that are simply great, but then there's the load that's useless after a couple of hours of painting. I do take good care of the brushes, but some of them are just rubbish

I've still got some good GW brushes, but when they hit the limit I'll be going back to the art shops, where most of my brushes are from nowadays. In this I'll give you one advice: try different brands and see what you like before buying brushes "in bulk". And asking for help from the art shop staff is usually a good idea, especially if they know their stuff. Otherwise you might just be told to get the most expensive one

- Loran

PS. I've also got one of the old Tank Brushes, which I've only used for the largest of flat areas. Still good, and the brush works even better than the Large Drybrush at painting large areas

I only use the GW drybrush. The painting brushes are too varied in (mostly bad) quality for me to feel good about buying them.

I bought the set of sable brushes from GW and like them, they are pricey compared to other brands though.  I bought GW to help my local store manager out.  I would steer clear of the regular line of brushes.  They lose their tips way too quickly and quality is hit or miss as others pointed out.

I would recommend you order some brushes from an online retailer. Then you can get exactly what you need.

Agree with the others that GW are good for dry brushing, and to be honest I have not had major problem with their normal ones. That being said if you get some of the top brands you will notice a big difference.

Best brushes out there are by far Raphael 8404 brushes. Their brushes comes to a very fine tip but are slightly rounded, this means they keep their shape longer. With proper care they can last a long time, sadly I do treat mine harshly. I would recommend size 1 for base work, and 0 or 2/0 (Perhaps even 3/0) for details.

a very fine tip but are slightly rounded, this means they keep their shape

I've found this the most important thing with brushes. Size, bristle content, manufacturer, price, all that takes second place to if it keeps it's shape. I'd rather use a size 2 with a nice tight point for detail work than a 2/0 that won't keep it's shape.

I have never heard of the Trumpeter ones so I can't comment on them. What I will say is that I think that GW paint brushes are crap. Plain and simple.

Agree with this.

Check out some Winsor & Newton brushes.  They've done me proud.

On the point of ordering brushes online, do you guys have recommendations? The brushes I've got now will last for a while still (hopefully ), but I've been thinking of looking into online stores

I've heard good stuff about the Raphael 8404s before as well, so I guess I'll need to look into those

- Loran