Series 7: regular or mini?

[sunsanvil]

I'm just about ready to drop some serious coin on a Series 7. I noticed they have both regular and miniature (which in their context has nothing to do with miniature painting, but rather denotes shorter bristle brushes). Any thoughts as to which would be more appropriate for figure painting? My gut says the regular since that is the closest to all the other brushes I've ever used (including Windsor Newton's Pro Water Color), but at $30+ a brush, I wanted to get some options first.

 

[ekipage]

I would recommend the long (although you will probably want a short one or two as well) for the majority you pick up. The long ones have a little bigger belly so hold more paint. I would also recommend looking at some online hobby stores as you should be able to get a better price. Not sure what country you are from, but here is an example from the US http://www.competitionminis.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=37934
I think the size 2 is only a dollar or two more. If you want to go a little cheaper, Rosemary and Co series 33 (UK based) make a decent sable brush and they are a lot cheaper. I have found they don't have as full of a belly, but considering you can get a size 2 for $7, they are a good deal. Hope this helps

 

[MrJim]

The regular Series 7 is more versatile for painting minis. The Miniature is nice for freehand work because it will hold more moisture because it is thicker at the ferrel. If you do a miniature as a second brush, go up a size or two. If you are buying just one brush, do the regular size 1.

 

[MAXXxxx]

I'd say get the regular 7. The mini is nice for some applications, but worse overall.

Also how does it cost 30+USD? Does it come in a Ltd box or a box with multiple brushes?
I ask because where I buy them ( https://www.gerstaecker.de/WINSOR-NEWTON-Serie-7-rund-Kolinsky-Rotmarder-Aquarellpinsel.html ) the size 0 I most often use costs 8,26Euro (about 9USD) and can't imagine why it'd cost 3 times the price.

 

[sunsanvil]

Also how does it cost 30+USD?

Canadian $. Thats the sort of price I'm seeing on Amazon.ca and other art supply sites in Canada for a #2.

 

[MAXXxxx]

ouch, still about double price (The (by now sold out) No2 for 10,71euro is cca. 16CAD) compared to the German shop I linked.

 

[ekipage]

I would see if you have any equivalent online (miniature specific) hobby stores as they may be cheaper than Amazon. Maybe even email one here in the states and see if they can give you an estimate for how much shipping will be and if you would have to pay import fees, but might still work out cheaper

Okay, here is a store in Toronto: http://www.meeplemart.com/store/Sea...: Series 7 Kolinsky Sable: Round Art Brush #2
Not a whole lot cheaper, but better than Amazon. And here is a regular art supply online store still a little cheaper than Amazon: https://www.studio-six.com/categori...eries-7-kolinsky-sable-miniature-round-2.html

 

[Dragonsreach]

Canadian $. Thats the sort of price I'm seeing on Amazon.ca and other art supply sites in Canada for a #2.

Serious OUCH!

Series 7’s run about £7-8.00 here.

 

[Zab]

dont get w&n they have quality control issues and are full on suck sometimes. especially the batches we get here in canada. Go for Rapheal 8408s. there are better alternatives that are more consistent than the series 7 are now. sad but true. they were great for a while. they arent now.

 

[MAXXxxx]

Don't know how it is in Canada, but after the quality dip around 2010 where every 2nd WnN I bought was bad they returned around 2014 to QC and had no problems with them since.

 

[ekipage]

I haven't had any issues with the WN 7's I picked up here in the US recently, but I did start out with Raphael 8404's and still prefer those.

 

[bullfrog]

You would be better off getting the Series7 as the fuller belly can hold more paint and doesn’t dry out as easily....or they do with me anyways. I do find the miniature brushes I bought by mistake useful though when I need the extra control the shorter, and therefore, stiffer bristles give.
W&Ns are extremely expensive here in Australia so it’s often cheaper even after postage to look around online.
The Raphael 8404s are every bit as good in my opinion and a few dollars cheaper. I use them for most of my general work as I don’t care if they die faster. For much of the finer detailed work I now pull out Artis Opus series S. Don’t have the heart to break open my wooden boxed set but I got a few single brushes since. I really like the snap the bristles have.

Most of the time you do get what you pay for.

If you do get some more expensive brushes it pays to invest in a good brush soap and conditioner. Masters’ brush Soap isn’t bad and you can get it from virtually any art store. I like the Jentastic’s Unicorn Goop you can get through the Creature Caster site. Haven’t used the soap that comes with the brushes from Artis Opus yet but it looks really nice.

Edit : I don’t want to keep banging on about Artis Opus but the dry brush set they have put on Kickstarter the other day looks really nice. Haven’t received my Series M miniature brushes yet so I only know that they have been given good reviews by the painters they gave them to trial.

 

[GumbaFish]

I will echo what others have said and advise to get the regular ones. I have 2 regular sized ones (0 and 1) and two miniature sized ones (00 and 000) and I only use the miniature ones extremely rarely.