Review: Notts Hobbies Drybrushing Kit

I’ve struggled to paint for a while now, so it’s great to finally be back painting, putting brush to miniature for the first time in ages. The mini I started working on to break this paint-induced slump was a Wizard’s tower I printed some time ago, when my FDM printer was still in a usable state. I can’t seem to get it tuned any more…

It’s also my chance to finally review the drybrushing kit from Notts Hobbies. Let’s remind ourselves of the contents of the bundle. Also, I should say up front that Notts Hobbies sent me a set to try out, and there are affiliate links at the end of this review.

Review: Notts Hobbies Drybrushing Kit

Now, those group shots also include a weathering kit, which we’ll come to in good time. Take note though, that the presentation of these products is really good. They looks excellent. Really clean and professional. The contents of the drybrushing kit are:

small, medium and large drybrushes
texture palette
dampening sponge
brush soap
free dice bag

Although the unboxing post was published in October, the brushes arrived in September and I was able to complete one miniature using them before my joint-pain-related painting drought began. Namely, this was my third Transcendant C’Tan Shard.

I didn’t feel this single, small model was enough to base a review on, however, and I do feel guilty that I’ve let this set sit for so long without the attention I had intended to give it.

More recently, when the pain in my hands subsided somewhat, I set to work on this tower:

The process for painting this tower involved spraying, washing, and then drybrushing most of the piece. As such, the drybrushes got a good workout during this project. And, you know, I liked them a lot. I’d been alternating previously between some cheap makeup brushes and some more expensive Army Painter drybrushes:

Let’s consider the Notts Hobbies drybrushes in comparison to these items. Before I do, here’s the finished Wizard’s tower:

Whilst I’m at it, here is the C’Tan that I painted using the brushes, and the castle I painted with them that I used for my Armies on Parade board:

I’m really happy with how everything turned out. The brushes held up well to repeated, long sessions of use. The shape is a good, with long bristles that suit quick, repeated strokes, as you would hope for a drybrush.

When I first switched to the Army Painter drybrushes, I liked the domed shape a lot. Over time, I’ve gone off them a bit, as they don’t really work with how I paint, and I find them harder to clean and maintain. with the longer bristles, and less of a habit of “clumping”, there’s no such issue with the Notts brushes. The longer bristles keep the brush more pliant and flexible, and less prone to the problems I’ve experienced with domed drybrushes.

My slight issue that I do have is the lack of variation in the sizes. There is some minor variance as you go up each size, with the larger one being notable wider, but they’re all really much of a muchness and they felt pretty interchangeable to me. They all worked well, but I’d have liked to have a smaller small brush and a larger large brush, you know? The lack of a smaller brush stopped me from using the brushes on other items on which I am currently working. I also didn’t get much shedding at all. Over the course of the three projects, I noticed only a pair of errant bristles trying to make their escape.

As I mentioned, I found the Army Painter brushes tricky to maintain, and they have that clumping issue I mentioned earlier, meaning that I regularly have to re-clean them to make them usable again if left. The bristles can go stiff and tricky to separate out. The cheap makeup brushes, on the other hand, tend to just wear out over time. I’ve got heads coming away from handles, significant shedding of bristles, and a steadfast refusal after a few heavy sessions to return to their original shape. Not so the Notts brushes, particularly when properly cleaned with brush soap.

I’ve long used The Master’s Brush Cleaner and Preserver for my brushes and I’ve always been happy with it. It’s a solid product. I’m happy to report that the Notts Hobbies brush soap seems to work just as well. I got similar results from both items, and the Notts soap even rivals my usual brand when it comes to smelling good! That counts! The soap was excellent at restoring the Notts drybrushes to damn near their original state, as well as some Army Painter and Daler-Rowney brushes I cleaned in it.

I also liked the dampening sponge in its cool, little case. It was really handy for getting the most out of my paints, ensuring that I didn’t have the problem so common of drybrushing; the drying out of that excess paint. I’ve used a wet palette before, but never something like this. It’s a great little thought and bit of attention to detail that saw Notts Hobbies include this in the set. Likewise, the includion of the texture palette, with its wooden texture, is handy. Mine is now caked in various shades of blue, grey, green, and beige; a testament to its regular and repeated usage!

Now, onto the item that I had a bit of trouble with; the weathering kit.

let’s start with the gripping tool. It’s so cool! I love it! It’s like a 4-pronged set of tweezers that grips and scrunches the weathering sponge really well. Visually, it’s also really neat. Trying it out on my finger, the grip is also very strong!

I’m sold on the tool.

I’m not as big a fan of the sponges. They’re really dense. They’re not especially porous or textured. You get some scrunching from the gripper, but these feel like makeup sponges. You could cut into them to rough them up a bit, I suppose. I’d rather just grab some rougher foam, like the stuff that used to come in Warhammer blister packs, and use that. It would work well with the gripper and give you a better surface for weathering. I didn’t do a lot of weathering on my pieces; just a little on the C’tan shard, and I did find myself swapping out the white sponges for blister foam. That said, I do notice that in the time since I received my set, Notts Hobbies have started selling sponges made out of this type of foam on their site as “Light Weathering Sponges”, so that should pretty much address my concern.

Overall, I’m impressed. The Notts brushes are hardier than my cheap brushes, and better to maintain than my Army Painter ones. They have included excellent accessories with their brushes, including a cool dampening sponge and some really excellent brush soap. I like their gripping tool for weathering sponge a lot, and whilst I did not like their initial sponges, they’ve released newer, lighter ones that are more what I was looking for.

I do wish they had more variance in brush sizes, as I’d happily pick up some larger and smaller brushes of the same style and quality as these ones.

Pricewise, the drybrushing set costs £34.99, which seems fair for what you’re getting. The weathering kit is £15.99. If that seems steep for the gripper and a bag of sponges, you’re right. The weathering kit has expanded significantly since I got my copy: