W&N Series 7 Brushes

[heid]

I\'m about to invest some money in a really good set of brushes and noticed that Winsor & Newton make two different sets of Series 7 brushes - normal \"longer\" brushes and shorter \"miniature\" brushes.

Given that I\'m going to be painting miniatures, I guess I should go with the specialist miniature brushes?

Does anyone out there have any experience with either type and could you recommend which to go with?

 

[t_haye2]

NOOOOOOOO!!!! Go with the longer bristled ones, the ones with the shorter hairs don\'t load that much paint onto them and aren\'t that precise....

 

[heid]

Thanks Tammy - love your work. I was thinking that the \"miniature\" brushes looked too short, and might cause problems, but I wanted to check anyway. Always good to get an expert opinion or two before parting with a chunk of cash.

PS - That is your Butcher as my Avatar. I was lucky enough to pick it up on eBay and I have to say it looks even better in person.

 

[t_haye2]

well, thank you very much. I was following that auction with interest, since the guy selling it bought it from me in the original auction I put up. Did he mention why he was parting with it, strapped for cash or something?

 

[heid]

He never actually mentioned why he was selling it - his loss, my gain, in my book.

 

[t_haye2]

cool, glad you like it.

 

[freakinacage]

i wish i read this before. just bought some w+n series 7 miniature brushes and i thought that the bristles would be longer. i am afraid to use them cause the paint easily gets in the ferrule when they are that short.

the butcher rocks by the way

 

[t_haye2]

having tried just about every type of brush known to man, the best ones are always the longer-tipped, pure sable brushes in my experience.

 

[nornicle]

hrmm jen

Jen Haley recommends w & n series 7 miniature!

I bit the bullet and bought a 3/0, 0 series 7, and 3/0, 2/0 and 0 series 7 miniature

everyone else i\'ve read just mentions series 7 being the pick of choice?

 

[airhead]

Used one last night.

First time use of a w&n Vii. Loved it. It picked up and put down paint like I wanted it to, not like how it felt like doing (like my other cheaper brushes that sometimes dump a glob all at once:|~)

I was working on the skin on the 54mm Sophie (reaper). and had a great time blending an laying up colors.

I also was using my new wet pallet with airbrush extender. Man, I can lay colors soo translucent now.

I think I got the regular brushes (now I have to go home & look). But I did notice that the brush was so absorbent that it would pick up paint all the way to the furell if I wasn\'t careful. Soaked it in brush cleaner/conditioner when I was done.

 

[mini-goddess]

Originally posted by nornicle
Jen Haley recommends w & n series 7 miniature!

I bit the bullet and bought a 3/0, 0 series 7, and 3/0, 2/0 and 0 series 7 miniature

everyone else i\'ve read just mentions series 7 being the pick of choice?

Yep, Jen uses the miniature, but the rest of us use the regular. It really depends on your own comfort and style of painting.

 

[Roktop]

I love the W&N Series 7 Brushes, the 00 size in particular.

The point is super fine and holds the perfect amount of paint in the length of the bristles.

I started with the full set of 0/00/000 and found the 00 to be the best for myself, in fact I just purchased 2 more 00\'s.

Since I started using them I feel the level of my work has improved by leaps and bounds.

ROK

 

[Dragonsreach]

Got to agree with the standard W&N 7\'s I\'ve got one that must be about 5 years old and still in damn fine condition. (Yes it has been used)
Recently bought 2 Pro-Arte brushes and just when I went to use one last weekend found that the tips on both of them had \"Hooked\" ..... Fiddlesticks! or words to that effect!

 

[frenchkid]

Guess I\'m going to have to buy myself some of those brushes seeing has I keep earing about them. Maybe I should try to convince my local hobby store owner to sell some.

 

[Bendy]

Well I\'ve just looked about everywhere near me (Lancashire, Burnley) and there is no sign of the W&N series 7 brushes. I first started looking for them when Tammy H was using them at Conflict: Manchester.

What i am using now is Prolene series 107 and Pro-Arte Polar 31 White Nylon brushes.(I use a mix because I cant get white nylon brushes smaller than size 1). I havent given them a full test run but they seem ok so far.

Does anyone know of any local places in Lancashire where I can get these? Or will I have to order them?

 

[Wren]

Online Sale

Those thinking of ordering brushes might want to have a look at http://www.jerrysartarama.com/Products.asp?Parent_ID=127 - where there is a sale on series 7 regular size until Dec 31. They also sell the miniature line, but currently it\'s just at its regular Jerry\'s discount. (Info on shipping costs is accessed on the Information page on the left-hand menu. It worked out cheaper in the US than any other art place I found to compare with, but I I\'m not sure if the prices are quite as good outside the US once shipping is factored in. Math hard.)

The series 7 in my local art store looked as bushy as makeup brushes, and they were out of most of the sizes. I took a chance on a 3/0 anyway. It has a few stray hairs, and I don\'t think it\'s in prime shape even after attempted rehabilitation. But despite that, I could immediately see why people rave about this brush.

So I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and order more online when I saw the sale. (I ordered three of the regular and the smallest miniature, and boy it is small, if I can\'t do detail work with that puppy, the problem is most definitely me not the brush.) They communicated well in email through the various steps of the process, and I received my order in about a week.

The brushes were packed in a larger box with some paper to keep them from moving around. Two of them had plastic protectors on, the other two were in paper packets from W&N. None look to have gum arabic or soap on the bristles, which look in fine shape and have plenty of snap and so on as far as I can tell. I haven\'t used them yet (darn Morrowind), but I hope to soon and I\'ll add a note if it turns out they have problems that might be related to Jerry\'s or their shipping.

 

[DennisMech]

I\'m doing some online ordering soon, (or rather, I\'ve got my mum to) and I\'ll pick up a few brushes. Would sizes \'0\', \'00\', and \'000\' be reasonalble (I dont know if that means big or small)?

 

[Dragonsreach]

DennisMech

I\'m doing some online ordering soon, (or rather, I\'ve got my mum to) and I\'ll pick up a few brushes. Would sizes \'0\', \'00\', and \'000\' be reasonalble (I dont know if that means big or small)?

The more 000\'s the finer the point. I have a 10/0 brush which I guard with my life. I\'ve used it once! No just joking, there.
But the three you\'ve mentioned are the best starters to get. Just treat them right and they\'ll last quite a while.

 

[t_haye2]

i don\'t use brushes smaller than 000, but for everyone that can\'t find the series 7 in the UK, try art express, they sell Vallejo\'s Model Colour paints and series 7\'s and loads of other usefull stuff. If you call them they\'ll send you a free catalogue, and shipping is free over £35. 0800 731 4185

 

[Wren]

Is it the more 0\'s the smaller the point, or the more 0\'s the fewer the bristles? I\'ve heard both. Or rather I\'ve heard of people doing serious detail work with 0 brushes as long as they hold fabulous points.

Though there doesn\'t seem to be much consistency between brands. I just grabbed my new W&N miniature 000 and compared to my other two smallest brushes, both 10/0. The W&N 000 and Loew-Cornell 10/0 spotter look about the same size (length and diameter of bristles), but the W&N has a finer point. The point of the Loew tightens up when wet, but still not quite as fine as the W&N. My Imex 10/0 looks to have about half the bristles of the other two. It\'ll form an okay point wet, but it\'s just too \'weak\' and holds too little paint to really do its job.