Back in January of this year (2020), my girlfriend brought a Kickstarter to my attention. It dealt with a section of mini painting that is used by most people – dry brushing. The company, Ghost Brush, wanted to produce two sizes of a flexible dry brushes. Cool. Apparently, they had done one for pointed round brushes of various sizes earlier. The bonus of the KS package chosen by myself included a model, the dry brushes, and these previous brushes.

I began what everyone does – waiting. Amazingly, despite the current pandemic, the brushes showed up at my house last week. It was in a small compact box sitting in front of my doorway. Now, the individual in charge of the Kickstarter sent an update saying they would be shipped a few days after the update. To be fair, I expected it to be delayed in shipping due to COVID and expected it much later in the month.

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Upon opening the box, I found a bundle of thirty brushes and the model I had selected. It included a nice range of regular brushes 00 – 6, and two dry brushes 1D & 2D.

Initial impressions of the brushes:

All the brushes bristles are incredibly soft to the touch but hold their shapes very well. The wide handles of the dry brushes a welcome reprieve compared to other dry brushes I own. Also a nice change; the dry brush composition consisted of a more “column” like head vs flat board. The pointed round brush handles represented the industry norm (I really like the triangular shaped handles of Army Painter).

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Dry Brush Test

I spent this last week using these brushes, especially the dry brushes, which are the entire reason I backed this particular project. I used them on several models other than the one included in the rewards, and very satisfied with their performance. The dry brushes hold more paint because of their shape, allowing the user to go over a larger area of the model but still only apply as much paint as expected. You still need to practice normal procedure in removing paint from the head, typically by wiping most of it off on a paper towel. It was highly satisfying to cover more area with fewer applications.

Round Tip Brush Test

After testing out the dry brushes, I moved on to the pointed round tip brushes. I am enjoying these as well. The tips of the brushes (as stated earlier) hold their form well, even after multiple applications of the same color. Once rinsed and the excess water removed, it’s easy to return the tip to its normal shape. The bristles hold a fair amount of paint, allowing more time to work with the model.

A Few Issues

I did note a few issues. First – the white bristles easily pick up and retain the pigment in the paints, even after washing them properly. This is a fairly minor in the grand scheme of things. Second – I did note a few bristles come loose after the first usage from the dry brushes. I continued to use the dry brushes after that observation. So far no new bristles separated from the head of the brush, which would be a slightly larger issue if the bristle loss remains higher than average.

Final Thoughts

Overall I’m extremely happy with Ghost Brush brushes and their performance. If you would like to get your own, you’re in partial luck. You can purchase the pointed round tips on eBay for $34.99 for eight brushes from other sellers. Unfortunately, the dry brushes remain unavailable to purchase until all Kickstarter rewards are fulfilled. If they strike an interest, then keep checking eBay periodically.