Review of some (very) cheap brushes - or how to enjoy painting with kids...

Hello all,

So while it is great fun to (finally) have the sons (and their friends) involved in painting miniatures, it is absolutely devastating on the brushes. So to stay mellow, I've tried out a few, cheap, alternative solutions and this post is my review of these cheap brushes from China.  

A great place to read more on the other side of the issue - the brilliant but truly expensive brushes - is here: http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.dk/2013/12/all-about-brushes.html. 

While I would love brushes like these, I myself have so far only bought medium quality brushes (ca. 8-12$ each), but these are still a bit too expensive to be ruined by the kids after a few hours of painting (and trust me, they will be ruined quickly - according to my estimates by a six year old in half an hour and a nine year old will also, with time, destroy any brush).

So I've bought the following brushes, via Aliexpress, as a way of preserving my smile while the kids have fun painting minis.

The first are these:

Aliexpress description: "3pcs Tiny Liner Drawing Painting Pen Brush Acrylic Nail Art Detailed Design Tool set" (whatever that means...)

Three brushes, of various sizes, total prize (including the (free) shipping): 2.99$ or 1$ each.

Quality: Actually surprisingly nice brushes - I love the thick grip and the brush itself keeps its point fairly well.

This is after app. three hours worth of painting by a nine year old:

They have now given up their point, but each was able to paint two minis before quitting on us.

Verdict: I actually used the small one of these quite a bit and have found them to be respectable brushes (within their price range) and will definately consider purchasing more of these, particular at 1$ each.

The next brushes are these:

Aliexpress description: "12pcs Colorful Nail Art Brush, Design Brush Pen For Fine Details Tips Drawing Wholesale 4260".

A set of twelve "nail brushes", dirt cheap: 4.47$ for the set or 37 cents each!

Quality: Not great, but not that bad either. They are useful for blocking in colours and absolutely great for kids. They will with heavy use loose their point within hours, but each will give a kid ca. three hours of painting time and can afterwards be used for drybrushing or base painting. I must admit I've found myself reaching for these (the new ones) when needing pinpoint accuracy and at 37 cents each these are wonderful to have available.

This is after app. two hours of heavy-duty painting by a nine year old:

and by a six year old:

They are more or less destroyed - although they will be used for drybrushing etc - but at a price of 37 cents each, they have done their job.

Verdict: To be honest, I'll definately be buying a set more when these twelve are all gone - the possibility to have the kids, and their friends, paint minis without fearing for my favourite brushes is well worth their price, and I've found it really useful to have some cheap, adequate, and disposable brushes near at hand.

So, if you find yourself with kids who would like to paint and share "daddy's hobby", which is some of the best quality time possible, I really recommend buying some of these or similar brushes - they'll make your smile genuine rather than grusome :-).


All the best,
Kasper

Ebay laughs: cutest Troglodyte ever

Hello all,

While trawling the scary corners of Ebay, I stumbled across a picture that made me smile and thus I thought I would share it.
This must be the cutest little Troggy you've ever seen:

It was listed as "TROGLODYTE ARCHER Metal C24 Troglodytes Rare Painted Warhammer Citadel 1980s B4" and sold for a fair penny. But I really adored the fold hairdo and the fun little smile :-).
No disrepect meant to the ebayer or whoever painted the Troglodyte - just thought it was cute!

All the best,
Kasper

By Fire and Sword - brief (very brief) review

Hello all,

So I backed the "Fire and Sword" kickstarter, but only with a few $ to get the rulebook.
I've now had time to review it (not played it, though) and it looks okay. Some rules seem a bit redundant and needlessly complicated but otherwise it looks like it would do the trick and provide a good game. I think the second edition of Fire and Sword will prove to be a strong ruleset.

The reasons I backed was 1) to gain access to armylists for the eastern european/Russian countries during the timeperiod, and 2) to see what scenarios were in the book. I'm always on the lookout for scenarios, maps, etc, so was curious to see this 'eastern' take on things. But unfortunately there was not a lot of this in the basic version. Few armylists and few scenarios, but I guess these will be available to peruse later somewhere online.

So it looks like a fun ruleset, with great illustrations and painted minis, and their miniatureline looks great but is a bit too expensive for my taste.

All the best,
Kasper

Hereditary nerdness: more miniatures painted by my son

Hello all,
Not only is it great fun to paint minis with the sons sitting next to me, but the oldest is also making great progress. Or at least I, the proud dad, thinks so.
Here are his last efforts - an old High Elf Spearman and a brutal Black Orc:

Now remember he is only nine and has painted a handful of minis - I think he is doing great! He has also painted this Zombicide toxic zombie - I like his idea of a two-colour hair-do, very Venomesque.

It also something his friends are eager to participate in and makes for a nice break from the computer gaming and violent fighting that they otherwise seem to favour :-).

Anyways, stay tuned for a post on how I've gone from dreading the son and his friends ruining my brushes to being mellow about it - somthing that has involved incredible cheap brushes from China :-).

All the best,
Kasper