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A New Kolinsky In Town - Scharff 3000 Kolinsky Sable Brush

I ordered a Scharff 3000 Kolinsky Sable Brush from Secret Weapon Miniatures when I ordered more bases for my Marines. I have had it for almost a month and I pulled it out for the first time last week. Its a nice brush, holds a very nice point, its a bit stiff with a nice spring to it. It looks a lot like a Raphael 8404. I would certainly recommend it as a replacement if you are still looking for a source for your favorite Kolinsky brush. The company is located in GA and the brushes were initially reported to be made in the US. I actually called them to verify this and that information is incorrect. These brushes are made in France (which you can clearly see stamped on the handle) and are being imported, which further invalidates claims that Kolinsky brushes are banned (of course if you have read some of the links I have posted in the past then you know this already). As long as a company fills out the paperwork that the Fish and Wildlife Department wants filled out then their brushes can be imported to the US.

These have a much thinner and lighter handle than either my Raphael or DaVinci brushes. The DaVinci is still my personal favorite and I may start looking for an overseas source on these. However, this one should be a good stand in till I can start replacing my DaVinci brushes.

The business end. On top is a Raphael 8404 #1, in the middle is the Sharff 3000 #1 and on the bottom is the DaVinci Maestro Series 34.

Here are the handles. The Scharff, is just your stand straight handle and a bit on the thin side. My preference is still the DaVinci handle with its triangle shape and its thicker than either of the other two. I find it much more comfortable to use.

Dick Blick talks about the Kolinsky situation

I know I have several posts on this subject already but this piece that Dick Blick posted on their Facebook page is a good concise description of what is going on. Unfortunately there is still not any dates on when the issue might be resolved.

Tip of the Week – Why can’t I get my favorite Kolinsky brush?

July 26, 2013 at 3:29pm

Have you tried to buy a kolinsky sable brush lately and noticed that they were out of stock? Perhaps you have received a letter from us stating that we cannot ship natural hair brushes to you. While we would love to ship those brushes to you, recent changes in the regulation of those items is currently preventing that from happening.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun requiring specific certification of certain products and is closely regulating the distribution, importation, and exportation of natural hair brushes that may have been made from endangered species. According to the National Art Materials Trade Association (NAMTA) “Trade in kolinsky hair is managed by the provisions set out in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Kolinsky hair comes from the species called mustela siberica. It is important to know that this is NOT AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, but because of a seldom used provision in CITES, trade in kolinsky hair requires CITES documentation.”

One of these requirements is documentation of the country of origin of the hair being used in the brush. Many of the major brush brands are manufactured in Europe, which follows different regulations and necessary documentation. While these companies and the European CITES are claiming that their version is comparative and valid, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has started refusing to allow brushes which do not come with the forms they consider to be valid from entering or leaving the United States.

Art material retailers, brush manufacturers, and art material vendors, with the help of NAMTA are working to come to an agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Services and CITES to help ensure that the necessary information and documentation can be made provided to them so that natural hair brushes can again become easily available to the artists who rely on them.

Until then, the availability of certain natural hair brushes or an inability to ship them to your location remains a possibility. Hopefully an agreement will be reached soon, however if you are interested in a specific brush that is out of stock, please go ahead and place an order for it so that it will be reserved for you. We will place that item on back order for you and ship it to you as soon as we get new inventory.

If you would like to read more about CITES, you can do so here.

- Audra
Product Information

For further assistance using art supplies, feel welcome to contact our Product Information Department at 1-800-933-2542 or e-mail us at info@dickblick.com. Hours of operation: M-F, 8:00am-5:30pm CST.

And here is the link to CITES as it might not come through in my copy and paste.
http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/

Neomics Dwarf Blood Bowl Team Finished with Games n Gears brushes

My little side project is basically finished. I still need to neaten up the bases a bit and add some white lines on the "grass". The biker dwarves are from Neomics, the medic and the cheerleader are from Gaspez-Arts (part of their pirate dwarf team).

Overall I'm pretty happy with this team, its not my best work but it does have me fired up to get back to work to painting some western pieces. There are some terrific poses on the team, the sculpting is pretty good but the casting leaves something to be desired on some of the mimis. I really like the poses for Blitzer 1, Runner 1, and Runner 2, very dynamic, should look great on the field. I think Berzerker 1 is my favorite though. The owner is the one I like the least, I think I will replace him if I can find something better. He is just not a good sculpt.

Now one of the other things I decided to do with this side project was use my Games & Gears kolinksy brushes exclusively. I backed their kickstarter for three sets of brushes, all of which arrived pretty much on time. From a Kickstarter perspective they really did a great job. Now I know that they have lots of people that love their brushes including painters better than me. However, I went through all the brushes I received, the basic set plus some extras, and really the only brush I liked was the chip brush. I decided the double headed style (brush on each end) isn't for me, I don't do two brush blending so having a brush on either end doesn't do me any good. I was able to adjust to the length okay, although I did need to keep the caps on the end I wasn't using. None of the brushes that I have will hold a point for any length of time (well the chip brush isn't really suppose to hold a point!). Which made getting my highlights into place a bit difficult, eyes and other fine details were harder than normal as well.

Oh and I guess I should admit that I didn't use the Games & Gears brushes exclusively now that I think about it. I pulled out my Da Vinci Maestro #1 (series 35) to paint the stripes on the cheerleader's pants and the lettering on the back of the jackets. I just couldn't get it done with the G&G kolinsky brushes.

At this point if you were to ask me, I would not recommend the Games and Gears brushes. I have one set unused and I sent the other set on to Anne O'Leary to try out. I'm curious to see what Anne thinks of them.

Now the whole point of this is to show off some pictures. Since I still have to do a little work on the bases I have left them on the soda caps that I use to hold them while I paint.

Team Shot

Berzerker

Blitzer 1

Blitzer 2 (I received two copies, one was sent in error as Runner 2)

Lineman 1

Lineman 2

Lineman 3

Runner 1

Runner 2

Owner

Medic

Coach

Cheerleader
This shot is a little dark, she does not have a beard

Getting my Kolinsky Brushes Back - Save Hobbes' Fur

I think I'm pretty tired of government red tape at this point, especially with a possible government shut down looming. I went over to the US Fish and Wildlife Services website and dug up the contact form and sent them a message about the shortage of Kolinsky Brushes.

Here is what I posted. I tried to keep it as reasonable as possible.

I am currently having problems buying paint brushes made from Kolinsky hair (which comes from the species called mustela siberica). After researching the problem on the internet it has come to my attention that the US Fish and Wildlife Service has stopped these shipments by insisting that the Country of Origin Document be on a CITES form. I fail to understand why this decision was made when the old documentation provided by UK and European sources was okay before. According to NAMTA the information is the same so requiring a new form makes little sense to me. I fail to understand why this documentation issue cannot be worked out and the supply of Kolinsky brushes restored. My sources in the US are completely out of stock of the brushes I purchase on a regular basis. This is beginning to have an economic impact on Art suppliers in the US which is never a good thing and impacting my ability to pursue my hobby. Believe me there is a huge difference in brushes and you are keeping the supply of premium and highly sought after brushes off the US market.

I would recommend that any painter in the US that can't purchase Kolinsky paint brushes from their favorite local dealer send something similar (please don't copy exactly what I said it will probably get tossed out as spam). You can find contact form here:

US Fish and Wildlife Service

It was either this or poor Hobbes is going to start losing fur!

A note of warning; this post does not have anything to do with cruelty to animals. I simply want to get brushes that are already in production back into distribution in the US not to discuss the moral or ethical viewpoints of how those brushes are made. I will delete posts that try and start that discussion. Hobbes is not in any danger of being shaved anytime soon. Besides his fur would make a poor paintbrush. The top coat is nearly waterproof and the undercoat is much to fine.

Where have my Kolinsky's Gone?

Way back on May 17th, I posted about Kolinsky Brushes. I was concerned that the supply was drying up because sable was being banned, that turned out not to be the case (it was African Antelope Sable pelts that had been banned). I also included a discussion about different brands and sizes of Kolinksy Brushes (original post: Kolinsky Brushes), which was probably more important to me at the time. We now discover that Kolinksy brushes are sort of banned.

Since then the availability of Kolinsky brushes has been dropping off rapidly. My favorite brush dealer, Dick Blick, shows that well over 50% of my favorite DaVinci brushes are out of stock with no indication of when they will be re-stocked. The same situation exists for Windsor Newton and Rapheal brushes from the same source, in fact just about every US source. There is not a problem getting them if you order them in from overseas apparently. No, the real issue doesn't even lay within the scope of the ban on Sable (which is apparently a ban on the importation of antelope sable pelts from Africa), no its all about a form. Yes, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has stopped the importation of Kolinsky brushes over a form.

Rather than repeat the whole sordid mess I'll summarize. Basically this part of our beloved Federal government has decided that the old form that has been in use by Europe for years is no longer acceptable and instead a different form must be used. Europe has pointed out that their form contains all the information and is, basically, identical to the form being requested by the US. In fact its so identical that apparently the form that the US is requesting doesn't even exist. To read more about this classic tale of government bureaucracy in action head over to this letter posted on the WarPath Games site: Kolinsky Brush Crisis
For some over the pond information (which, in theory, limits the effects to size 7 brushes and larger) head over to this link on the Ken Bromley Art Supplies site: Size 7

I may explore the possibility of using Hobbes' fur for my brushes, he certainly has plenty to spare.

Kolinsky Sable Brushes - Not Banned in the US and other comments

I had an email from Anne this morning and she mentioned that CMoN was no longer carrying brushes and that she had heard that Kolinsky sable had been banned in the US. That certainly concerned me since I had seen Reaper Miniatures mention that they were unable to get Kolinsky brushes from their supplier and were looking for a new source. So I did some research this morning thinking that I might have to start stockpiling brushes and being thankful that I had just received a bunch of brushes from the Games and Gears Kickstarter.

The gist of my research indicates that sable pelts can no longer be imported to the US and there are some other comments there which would allude to the fact that items made from these pelts would also be banned from being imported. I was concerned for a moment. But Kolinsky Sable brushes are not made from sable, they are made from weasels and are part of the mink family and do not fall under the ban. I'm not sure why supplies seem to be drying up though. If you are thinking about getting new brushes I would do it!

Dick Blick is one of the best online sources for Kolinsky sable brushes for those in the US. They carry the three brands, Da Vinci, Raphael and Winsor & Newton, favored by many of the miniature painters that I know. I know some painters also swear by the Rosemary & Co Kolinsky brushes but I haven't tried them. I do know that there is a US distributor for these brushes now: Legacy Art Products.

I stick to three primary sizes for painting my miniatures: 0, 1 & 2. I also have a selection of nylon and older, past their prime, Kolinsky brushes that I use for base coating. My mantra is learn to paint the smallest detail with the largest brush you can. That's the advantage to using a good kolinsky brush they hold a good point while you are painting. As long as you have a good point on the brush you should be able to paint just about any detail you can see (although I do see a lot less these days). I like a nice round, fully bellied, brush. This will hold the point I need and plenty of paint which keeps you from having to refill your brush with paint as often. My personal favorite brushes are the Da Vinci brushes as they have these characteristics and I like the shape of the handles.

Let's take a look at some pictures and prices (current as of 5/17/2013 from Dick Blick online and Legacy Art Products for the Rosemary & Co).

Da Vinci

Da Vinci Full Belly Rounds

Maestro
Series 35
0 $13.95
1 $14.21
2 $15.29
Series 1505 (similar to the 35 series but with shorter bristles)
0 $10.35
1 $10.92
2 $11.99
Restauro (shorter handle and shorter bristles)
0 $10.92
1 $11.48
2 $13.08

Raphaël

Raphaël 8404 Fine Pointed

Raphaël 8408 Extra Fine Pointed

Series 8404 Fine Pointed
0 $12.35
1 $14.92
2 $16.87
Series 8408 Extra Fine Pointed
0 $12.35
1 $14.92
2 $16.88

Winsor & Newton

Winsor & Newton Pointed Rounds

Series 7
0 $14.84
1 $17.11
2 $20.41
Series 7 Miniature
0 $11.46
1 $12.58
2 $13.25

Rosemary & Co

Rosemary & Co Short Handled Red Sables

Short Handled Red Sables
0 $7.50
1 $8.00
2 $8.75

I should mention the Games & Gears line of brushes as well. This is a UK company that is making "reasonably priced" Kolinsky sable brushes. Definitely aimed at the painting gaming community. I don't think their brushes are up for general sale yet as they are still shipping the rewards from their kickstarter. I can find them on facebook but I'm unable to locate a regular website for them. If anybody has it send me the URL and I'll add it.

I haven't had much chance to work with these brushes but I have been a bit frustrated with the PS1 brush that I have been using.