and the cheapest brushes I could find 
Ugh... I remember my first brushes. Crap plastic stuff, the bristle came off when you dunked them in the solvent I used to rinse out the enamel paints. Fumes were thick in my boy room, with me hunched over plastic tanks and air planes. Didn't do any damage though... *twitch* No sir. *blink twitch*
Your mrs did a great job on these models. She's painted more minis than me this year! =(