Series 7 v Series 7 mini

[Delmont]

Quick question here, for those of you who have used both the standard Winsor and Newton series 7 pointed rounds and their miniature line which do you prefer for model painting? My brushes are finally starting to wear out and I'm looking for replacements and I've only heard good things about these brushes but I've only been able to try out the rounds. Thanks!

 

[james sequeira]

No point in paying for a brand name.

http://www.rosemaryandco.com/pure-kolinsky-sable-c-77.html?osCsid=8d4c372bf25d4fdc211b5c50aa400164

 

[obsidianpainting]

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/892

Check out this article i did a while back.

It talks about series 7, series 7 mini, aand raphael.

 

[Enzed]

I would say the regular ones, thats what I have been using for the last 12 months with no problems at all

 

[freakinacage]

don't be fooled by the name, the mini ones aren't for mini painting. i have yet to find a mini painter who likes them. they have really short bristles which means that they get knackered REALLY quickly. defo go for the normal ones.

having said that, i agree with james, try rosemary and co first.a LOT cheaper and very nice too

 

[mickc22]

don't be fooled by the name, the mini ones aren't for mini painting. i have yet to find a mini painter who likes them. they have really short bristles which means that they get knackered REALLY quickly. defo go for the normal ones.

having said that, i agree with james, try rosemary and co first.a LOT cheaper and very nice too

I like the minis! :smile-big:
I've found them quite good for all sorts of small details, eyes, gems etc. they don't wear out any quicker than any other brush if you look after them properly
I've got several that are 6+yrs old and still in a good condition

...and the Kappel brushes are on a par with Rosemary & Co and the Series 7's

 

[Einion]

Do yourself a favour and try alternatives. There are lots of prior threads on brush choice for other brand names to look for, in addition to the suggestions above.

Einion

 

[Delmont]

Thanks for the links, I have a place I can get the Series 7 for under $10 a brush for the ones I need. If you guys haven't seen it yet, check out www.dickblick.com I've used it before and always been happy. I read that article a few years ago, unless its a new one but I'll reread it and look into the ones you linked. Thanks guys!

 

[obsidianpainting]

Yah i only made the article this year... sooo.

 

[freakinacage]

I like the minis! :smile-big:

omg! shock horror!

 

[Delmont]

Yea, once I read the article it was completely different than the one I thought it was. Good article though, I found it very helpful and because of it will probably go with the Raphaels. They seem more like my painting style, but then they are cheap enough I could get both.... Painting is never good on my pocket book....

 

[alextheartist]

I just bought some rosemary and cos and they are amazing and really cheap.. well worth checking out

 

[Einion]

Yea, once I read the article it was completely different than the one I thought it was. Good article though, I found it very helpful and because of it will probably go with the Raphaels. They seem more like my painting style, but then they are cheap enough I could get both.... Painting is never good on my pocket book....

If you're ordering from Dick Blick anyway, their own-brand Kolinsky rounds are well worth trying. They're made for them in Spain by Escoda.

Einion

 

[Avelorn]

First I have to say one thing, a good brush helps but I recon you can make paintjobs of a similar quality with cheaper brushes as well as long as the bristles are similar to sable and not... badger hair or something like that! It's about feeling and things feeling easier to do with good brushes. Better quality brushes will be more economical in the long term, but it's not always that quality and feeling are the same thing as the hairs are one thing and the actual binding process and quality control the company have is another.

Secondly between short and long bristles I'd definitely go with the longer.

I've tried Da vincis, Kappel, W&N series 7 and several no name sable, and kolinsky sable brands. Out of them the W&N have a quite superior feeling to it. My W&N 0 is my favourite brush hands down. However the quality of W&N was very up and down a couple of years ago when I made my purchase and I had 2 that were bad quality, meaning that the tip of the brush split. So while I'm not sure that this quality problem remains there is no buying from Internet for me with W&N, I want to be able to test it.

I will try Rosemary Co soon. Hopefully they can replace W&N as I know that they are of good quality and thus can be purchased through Internet. I've heard many good things about Raphaels as well.

 

[cleen X]

I really like Raphael. Great point, you rearly need to lick the brush to keep it pointy. I think good brushes are worth it, it makes painting much more enjoyable and less frustrating.

 

[Zorlath]

Just how good are the Rosemary Co brushes? Are they actually good enough to be considered as a replacement for W&N?
I'm tempted to order some, but as I live stateside shipping is going to cost too much to just order one or two brushes to try out.

If W&N is blatantly better I'd rather just pay the extra money for them, but if Rosemary is comparable I'd like to switch.

 

[james sequeira]

If anything I would say they set the bar higher because they have better attention to quality control. I'm sure others could give you a more direct answer, but I'm a little bias

 

[Einion]

Just how good are the Rosemary Co brushes? Are they actually good enough to be considered as a replacement for W&N?

Opinions on this will vary but judging from the comments here and on other sites the majority view is that they're at least as good, as long as they satisfy personal taste in brushes.

Some people prefer softer, others more spring, longer hairs, fuller belly and so on, and the Rosemary & Co. brushes are softer. Excellent overview of them here on Handprint; the site also contains reviews of almost all quality brushes of this type.

I'm tempted to order some, but as I live stateside shipping is going to cost too much to just order one or two brushes to try out.

They're available from the CMON shop as well as other online suppliers in the US.

If you buy in person Series 7 brushes could still be considered a major contender for Best Brush In Class, because you can weed out duds (or more accurately, pick the best, since some aren't duds, just not stellar). But by buying in person you can't take advantage of the savings from online supplers (40-60% off ain't peanuts) and while if you get a dud you can return them it's a hassle etc.

But there are numerous brushes available online in the US that are more than competitive with Series 7s in terms of quality, and especially in price and consistency. Some were already named in this thread but there are others mentioned in older threads.

Einion

 

[Zorlath]

Thanks for the info Einion.

Back to the original topic.

I definitely prefer the regular line of the Series 7 over the miniature line. I bought several miniature brushes to compliment my regular ones a #00, #0, and #1. I find myself only using the #1 out of the three, the others are just too small to fit my paint style, it feels like they hold such a small amount of paint that it dries before I accomplish much on the mini.