Slowfuse gaming Bomb Wick brushes - a non-pro painter's review

  So, a few months back I ordered a set of these brushes from Slowfuse gaming.  I did it mostly because CK Studios recommends them for brush work.  After using them a while, I can see why.  They are really nice brushes, at a decent price and they have a lot of the things I like in a brush.

  Please, keep in mind, I am not a pro-painter, I'm just a tabletop ready kind of guy.  But I do like my tools to be good, and I do hope to improve my paint game as I go.  With the likes of Warhammer Community, Vince Venturella and others, I think my paint game is improving.  But you'll be the judge of that!  I say this so that you know not too place more stock in my review as opposed to a real pro painter.  But if Caleb recommends them, I'm certain I can't be too far off the mark.

The Shipping and Presentation

  The brushes shipped in a very nice, big tube, all had nice brush sleeves to protect the bristles.  No complaints on how they shipped.

  As you can see, I got 7 in total.  A #3, #2, #1, #0, #00, #000 and an x10.  I also picked up a tin of their brush soap.  Glad I did too, it's very good.  More on that later

  The brushes feel very solid, no loose crimps or manufacturing defects I could see.  They are light and have a good thickness to the handle that fits my hand well.

First clean

  Interestingly, there is a warning on the side of the tube that tells you to wash the brushes in a good brush soap before the first use.  This is because they ship them with a brush saver coating on them.  Brush saver is just a thick liquid that dries on the bristles and holds them in their pointed shape nicely and also helps keep the bristles free of moisture and contamination.  It's like putting conditioner in your hair.

  A lot of brushes ship this way, at least high end ones (Raphael, Winsor Newton etc.) but this is the first time I have seen the warning on the packaging.  Normally it's on a website or something.  Experienced painters know about this, but those new to the hobby might not, so I thought this was a very good touch.  Kudos to them for thinking of us 'little people'

Using the brushes

  As you can see in the picture, each of the brushes is long, and 'fat' and they come to a nice point.  The long and fat part means they can hold a fair amount of paint giving you more time 'on the mini' and less scooping up more paint.  The nice point means you can be accurate and, if you have a steady hand, get decent results with you brush strokes.

Snappiness

  One thing I look for in a brush is how 'snappy' it is.  I have no idea what the professionals call this, or if they even care about it.  To me, the snappiness is how the brush reacts as you finish your stroke and come off the mini.  Some brushes will snap really hard, sometimes even flinging paint at places you don't want.  Others will hang there limply in the same shape it was at the end of your stroke.  Then you find yourself having to 're-shape' the fine point before another stroke.   I'm not sure if that was a great description, but it makes sense to me.

  One of my issues with the GW brushes over time has been that they snap really hard when you end your stroke.  While this is ok sometimes, when I am blending or doing detail work, it's not great.  The Winsor-Newtons have a lot of snap also, less on the Raphael's. 

  These brushes seem to be a very nice middle ground between snapping back and retaining their shape.  The do return back to a nice straight shape quickly, but they also hold their point really well also.  It just seems to me to make them more enjoyable to use than other brushes in my stable.  Again, I'm not sure if this is really a thing, but with brushes, it's usually just a little thing that separates one brand from another.

  Using them also seems to be a very nice experience as well.  The paint flows well off of them (if it is thinned properly, of course).  The have a good feel in the hand and the hairs/bristles are fine enough that they do a great job without a lot of brush stroke marks (again, if you're properly thinned.)  I guess the best thing to say about them is that I keep going back to them to use rather than some of my others.

Brush Soap

  As you can see in the pictures, I also grabbed a tin of Jentastic's Drunken Brush Goop.  This is just a tin of brush soap, and if you know about caring for your brushes, you know brush soap is a must.  I have always used Masters Brush soap, it comes in a beige/brown plastic tub and is the almost universal go to for artists of all types.   Well, I tried the brush goop, and I have to say, it is different from masters (not just repackaged) and I kind of like it.

  It has a different look, and when you swirl a wet brush in it, it does not immediately lather up like the Master's does.  Instead it gets very soapy and slick.  Then when you whirl it around your palm, it lathers up nicely and seems to me, anyhow, to clean the paint out quicker.  Sometimes I have to soap, swirl, rinse and repeat with the Masters multiple times.  With the Jentastic goop, I was usually cleaned up in one pass.  It also 'seems' to me that the hairs are a little softer when they dry?  This is not a scientific comparison, it's all just observation and gut feeling, so you mileage may vary.  I would say if you don't already have Master's soap, then look into this.  If you have some already, you will never need more, so...

Reflections

  So, overall impressions.  I really like these brushes a lot.  They do everything you expect a brush to do.  They have great feel to them and they feel really good to use.  As a non Pro painter, I definitely give them a serious thumbs up.  And since Caleb Wisenback also does, and he is a pro, I can safely recommend them to anyone looking to step up their game.

  One thing I should add, I bought these and did not receive them to review.