Tuesday 26 January 2010

Arsenal of War

Here is a shot of the BigRedBatCave's arsenal of war, through which every painted miniature passes.  The red boxes on the floor contain a mix of Vallejo and Miniature Paints; the hobby box Games Workshop paints.  The 4 containers, from right to left,  hold brushes, tools, water afor brushes and coffee respectively.  Missing tonight, is the tin tray that I usually store minis on, using their magnetic bases, whilst painting.  The lamp is absolutely brilliant (literally), I'd be lost without it.  Consul asked what I light source I use, and unfortunately I can't recall the manufacturer.  It was bl**dy expensive, though.

At the end of each evening all the figures, paints and impedimentia are stored away until the next night... this only takes a couple of minutes.  The table is opposite our TV which does, unfortunately, slow my productivity somewhat...  but prevents me from getting bored.  It is, all in all,  an odd way of painting compared to a fixed painting table, but a sociable one as I'm around most of the family.

14 comments:

jmilesr said...

I find painting with the family to be more fun but a bit less productive - I have a similar set up but use a metal tool box to cart all my stuff around and 2'x2' homemade work station.

I really like your blog - well done!

AJ (Allan) Wright said...

When I had my first apartment, I'd set up on the kitchen table after dinner. The living room was in the same common room. It made for a very enjoyable place to paint. Now I have to decide if I'm going to paint or spend time with the Mrs. - always a hard decision.

BigRedBat said...

Hi jmilesr, thanks re blog; yes it is less productive, but OTOH I get to see the family and watch my favourite detectives, Monk and Wallander.

Hi AJ, I don't think I'd be allowed to hide away fromthe family!

BigRedBat said...

PS for Consul; the lamp comes from "Serious Readers"; currently on offer for only £299 (!!!). It is very good but the price is shocking. I didn't pay that much, I'm sure.

Christopher(aka Axebreaker) said...

I think you would be surprised to find many modelers have a similar set up to yourself.
I have a hobby room in my basement where my models are on shelves and my terrain is stored along with supplies for large projects and tables to game with when not at the club for that.
However,in my living room I have a painting closet complete with table,daylight lamp,and shelves for my paints,books and modeling supplies.The reason is my wife wanted this or she said she won't see me much otherwise.An added bonus of course is a TV nearby to listen to news or history channels with occasional glaces when something really attracts my attention.It helps stave off creeping boredom that can sometimes happen as you mentioned.
The closet was master stroke of my wife as it can be closed to hide the horrid mess that is my painting area and it allows me to start and stop painting without the need to pick anything up as I just need to close the doors!
I'll try to include some pics if I get some time as I need to go to work now.

Cheers
Christopher

BigRedBat said...

Hi Christopher, I have some drawers where I store minis, but they do have a tendancy to creep out onto the bookshelves ... there are a lot of minis I should be putting away, that I can see from my seat as I speak!

I wish I had a proper wargaming basement. :-(

Consul said...

I'm mentioned in one of BRB's posts! I'm honored. It's certainly taken a lot of badgering ;)

Yikes! That certainly IS expensive. The lamp I got for Xmas can't have cost very much. It's just a halogen lamp which isn't quite what I wanted but at-least it gives me more light than I currently have and lets me paint at night time.

I'll post up a picture of my workstation in a few minutes on my blog: http://modelromanarmy.blogspot.com/

BigRedBat said...

One of the handy features is the flexible neck; I can position it just where I need. But £299 is insane...

Consul said...

It's up ;)

Grégory Privat said...

I found a comon ground myself, I ve just put the living room in the middle of my painting station.

this being said, seeing your living room is bringing some nostalgia )

ZeroTwentythree said...

How often do you dip a brush in the coffee? ;)

BigRedBat said...

Hi Z23, on TMP, someone suggested using coffee as a wash. I'm going to try it...

ZeroTwentythree said...

I've never heard of it on miniatures, but I've used both coffee & tea on drawings and watercolors (on paper.)

My concern with figures would be how the coffee would stick to a non porous surface. Acrylic paints & inks have some sort of binder. Maybe if the "coffee wash" also had some clear acrylic medium (or something similar) it would be more durable.

BigRedBat said...

Hi Z23, I was thinking of mixing it with Johnsons Klear... worth a go.