The two questions Alex from Alex Paints gets asked most are “what brush should I get?” and “how do I improve my brush control?”. Brushes & Brush Control Explained for Beginners - Miniature Painting answers both in one go – and the whole thing is painted with Hawk Miniatures brushes.
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How Alex found Hawk
Early in the video Alex explains why our brushes are on his desk. In September 2024 he entered his first painting competition outside Golden Demon, Scale Scotland in Edinburgh. While he was there he found Jon on the Hawk stand selling historical miniatures and a range of Kolinsky sable brushes – with a size 1 priced at £3.60. For comparison he lists a Winsor & Newton Series 7 size 1 at £25–£30, a Chimera at £16 or more and an Artis Opus S at £15 or more. He bought two, expecting little, and six months later reports no split or stray hairs and a brush that still keeps its point.
The Alex Paints Essentials sets
After Scale Model Challenge that year Alex and Jon put together two beginner sets: a size 0, 1, 2 and 3 in a single pack. The standard Essentials set has the regular handles and the Deluxe set has chunkier walnut handles – Alex shows both on camera so you can see the difference. His point is blunt: if you think you cannot get an affordable natural Kolinsky sable brush, you are missing out.
What to look for in a brush
The rest of the video is a proper beginner’s guide: natural versus synthetic hair (and when synthetic still makes sense, such as texture paints and weathering), round versus other head shapes, what size to start with (Alex suggests a size 1, or better still the Essentials set so you can find your own preference), head length, holding the brush and the miniature, brush strokes, rinsing, and cleaning and storing brushes so they last.
Get the brushes
The brushes used throughout this video:
- Alex Paints Essentials – set of 4 Kolinsky sable rounds (sizes 0, 1, 2 and 3)
- Alex Paints Essentials Deluxe – the same four brushes with thicker walnut handles
- Round Kolinsky sable brushes – buy individual sizes
Alex’s channel, Alex Paints, is worth a subscribe if you paint Warhammer or any other small things – it’s one of the more honest voices in the hobby, and he only recommends what he actually uses.
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