When I started painting minis, brushes were just plain standard brushes and the ones that were too old and worn got trimmed, and were used for drybrushing at the last stage of their lifecycles. I tried GW’s brushes made specifically for this technique, and I was pleased with them: the flat profiles worked surprisingly well and since it offered a range of sizes, I could choose the right one for every task.
When I saw the Series D Drybrush Set from Artis Opus, I found it really weird: the brushes had huge, rounded heads, and were sold in elegant wooden boxes at a shockingly high price. In the end, the tutorial videos I saw convinced me and, I bought my own set. A few months later I found that The Army Painter’s Masterclass Drybrush Set had an undeniably similar design, but for less than one-third of the price. Is it possible that their brushes can offer the same, or is it too good to be true? I had to find out, so I bought their set as well and tested both products.
Both sets of brushes look similar – round and bulb-shaped heads, short and chunky handles – and are using similar materials.
What are the differences?
The four brushes from Artis Opus come in an elegant wooden box, which can be customised with internal and external artwork, engraving, and interior lid wood choices (!), with detailed care instructions, 3ml brush soap and a dampening pad. The dampening pad is not just a nice add-on but it is an integral part of the solution: it is needed for the stippling technique, it helps to reactivate paint and to prevent the chalky finish, and it’s also needed for cleaning. In addition to these, you can buy an additional, even bigger brush as well, texture palettes of different size and design, and replacement inserts for the dampening pad. It’s a complete solution and is part of a whole product range, where the brushes can be bought individually too.
The three brushes of Army Painter come in a resealable blister pack with a transparent tray and that’s pretty much it: no instructions or tutorial videos, no accessories or additional brushes in different sizes. The brushes are not sold separately and if you need one of them, you have to buy the whole set – but still, that comes almost at the price of one single brush from the Series D range.
Apparently, the two products are not in the same league: one is a functional tool that does the job while the other one is a luxurious kit that feels like an artefact with a price tag confirming this. The other big difference is in the size of brushes: even in the boxed set, the Artis Opus brushes cover a wider range of sizes and there are more significant steps between the different sizes, while the Army Painter doesn’t have a really small brush and there is not too much difference between the “Mighty” and the “Moderate” brushes. The set would be more versatile with a big brush that is between these two, I would also add one that is the equivalent of the “X-Small” brush from the Artis Opus set. I would keep the current “Miniature” size as it is.
But do they do the same trick?
I painted three pairs of resin containers in red, green and dark green, one of each with the Artis Opus and the Army Painter brushes. Can you tell the difference? I think it’s safe to say that -at least at my skill level- they look the same and working with the two sets felt the same, I haven’t experienced any problems with either of them.
Conclusion and recommendation
Which one would I recommend to buy? I think it depends on two factors: your budget and your expectations. If you have budget constraints or all you need is a set that works, then look no further, Army Painter’s set will give you good value for your money. If budget is not an issue and you want to indulge yourself or someone else with a nice and prestigious gift, then Series D from Artis Opus is for you.
Only one question is left to be answered: how durable are these brushes, how long will they last? Only time will tell – I will post a follow-up in about a year’s time to share my experience.