Review: Redgrass Games RGG Premium Brushes

Redgrass Games offer a range of three brushes and claim it’s all you need for painting miniatures: a size 2/0 and 2 made from Kolinsky sable, plus a size 4 synthetic drybrush. Are they right? And how do their brushes stand up to the competition? Find out more in this comprehensive review.

These items were kindly provided by Redgrass Games. Opinions are our own.

Design & Features

Redgrass Games brushes come with an eye-pleasing glossy red handle and black ferrules. Both size 2/0 and size 2 brushes are made from Kolinsky sable hair, the best hair you can get for a brush. With proper care, they’ll keep their tips and will last for ages. The bristles of both brushes are long with a large belly and a fine tip. This will grant the brushes a large paint carrying capacity, while still allowing a lot of control and precision. Most competition level painters prefer larger sized brushes as long as the tip is sharp and thin, as you don’t need to pick up paint that often. Larger paint carrying capacities also lend well to more advanced techniques like glazing and blending, when you want to apply a lot of thin coats of paint.

Personally, I have to admit that for highlighting, I use the smallest brush I can find. For years I’m using a Winsor & Newton Series 7 size 3/0 from their M series, which have shorter tips than regular Series 7 brushes. W&N Series 7M size 3/0 is about the same size as a 10/0 daVinci Maestro brush, to put things into perspective. It means I need to pick up paint very often, but for precision work, I find short and small tip easier to control. It’s not what a pro painter would recommend you, but it works for me. So while Redgrass Games’ size 2/0 and 2 make for a versatile combination, I miss a third brush with a smaller size of 5/0 or 10/0.

The drybrush is size 4 (3 mm width), has a flat top, and is made from very soft synthetic bristles. The tips of synthetic bristles will curl after a while of abuse, but I still prefer soft synthetic bristles for drybrushing over natural hair, the softer, the better. Harder bristles will often lend to streakier results. So, I really like the Redgrass Games drybrush, again, I’d wish for more sizes, especially a smaller size drybrush for working on smaller details, and maybe a larger round top drybrush similar to make-up brushes or Artis Opus’ drybrushes. Hopefully, Redgrass Games will expand their brush range if it proves to be popular.

Value

The size 2 brush has an RRP of 14,95 Euro, the size 2/0 of 12,95 Euro, and the drybrush of 5,50 Euro. They are available from redgrassgames.com or at our partner stores Wayland Games and Element Games at a 10% discount. So the price and quality level is on par with Winsor & Newton Series 7, and a bit cheaper than Games Workshop’s Artificer Layer brushes. However, they can’t beat the raw value of Rosemary & Co Kolinsky brushes, which are about half the price (I have to admit I haven’t tried the Rosemary & Co brushes yet, so maybe the lower price is reflected by the quality of the sable).