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| Figure 1 This shows my main desk. You can see I like lots of light when modelling.
I have 3 lights (one of which is also a magnifying lamp). I like to keep
common tools and materials close by. On the left you can just see my pliers
and cutters, on the right is my airbrush (and under the table is my silent
compressor). |
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Figure 2 This is a clearer shot of the left of my bench. I have a set of drawers
that backs upto my bench. On the back of the draws is where I mount pliers
and cutters. On the floor, you can see my supply of evergreen plastic card
and brass wire (used for scratchbuilding and adding details). These are
held in place by a makeshift rack (from a model kit box).
In the very bottom left of this photo you can just see (with a red handle) the top of my Chopper (created by Northwest Line) which is used for creating accurate cuts of plastic card. |
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| Figure 3 This is the top of the chest of drawers used for storing modelling supplies
that are not needed on a day-to-day basis (eg wire mesh, bulk plastic card,
spare tape etc). The top of the drawers is where I store the kit box and
sprues of the current model(s) until needed. I also use the far end of
this area to put parts that are drying (glue or paint). This way my main
desk is kept clear for actual active work. |
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Figure 4 A shot of my bench proper. Again working on the principle of keeping things
close by, I have lots of vertical storage containers.
The left unti shown here is one of those wooden office paper filers with
each second shelve removed. In this one I store bottled liquids (excluding
paints) for example, thinners, decal set, gloss and flat clears, maskol,
liquid putty. On the very bottom shelf I keep my wet n dry sandpaper (pre
cut to fit my sanding block) and flexi-files. Large bottles that will not
fit into the shelves are placed on top. On the far left of this unit is
my airbrush cleaning station. |
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Figure 5 Moving across the bench to the right, you can see the centre plastic container.
This one mainly contains consumables and tools that are long and thin.
Examples include files, knives, tube cement and putty, toothpicks, cotton
buds, blades, pens, dremel bits, tweezers etc
One the far right of my bench is the final storage container in which I store miscellaneous stuff.
For example, scribers, scribing templates, sanding sticks, hammer and razor saw on the top shelf (basically stuff that would not fit in the middle container)
The middle shelf contains drill bits, mitre box, punch & die sets etc
The bottom shelf contains assorted copper wire, hold & fold tool (for
photo etch), clamps and the larger scribing templates.
On top of these wooden shelves you can see yet another set of plastic drawers.
This contains lots of small fiddly things. for example, photoetch spares,
mv lens, airbrush nozzles & needles, syringes, spare super glue, invisible
thread, assorted lead and copper wire.
Finally on the very top of all of this you can just see the bottles of thinners, white spirits etc. These are decanted from the larger bottles into these smaller containers for convenience. |
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Figure 6 Here we see a lot shot under the bench. The SilAir compressor is here
as well as the foot speed pedal for the dremel tool.
Directly to right of where I sit are two more plastic drawers. The bottom
one contains larger items I use frequently (eg plastic bags, oil paints
etc)
The small plastic drawers (with the colourful handles) contains my frequently
used paints. The top two drawers contains humbrol tins, whilst the bottom
two have Model Master. On top of these drawers is a pack of paper serviettes
that I use for clean up.
The disgusting looking drink bottle next to the drawers is used to dump
excess paint from the airbrush when cleaning up.
Finally the rubbish bin can just be seen in the extreme right of the photo |
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Figure 7 This shot shows the bench from another angle. Here you can see the working
surface and cutting board. As you may have guessed by now, I do not have
a dedicated spraybooth. I do all my painting directly on the bench. I remove
the cutting board to avoid overspray.
I can get away with this as I normally spray using a low pressure (10-15psi)
and therefore minimise the volume of fumes. I normally work with a window
open anyway and in summer have a fan running. |
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Figure 8 This final shot shows the room behind my desk from an angle looking back
over the bench.
You can see my aircraft display cabinet and next to this are several black
plastic drawer sets. These contain the bulk of my paints (acrylic, alclad,
etc). On top of the display cabinet is some kits that are part started
and to the right of the display cabinet is the pile of commission kits. |
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