Friends and guests who come over are frequently surprised by my workshop setup here, and it is certainly a big part in how I manage to paint as much as I do.
So for those of you who haven't been over to throw paint at HobbBrush HQ (yet!), here's the virtual the workshop I promised 18 months ago.... better late than never, aye?
The Key bit:
This is the section which remained all but identical for more years than I care to remember and through 4 different locations. The key desk in front of the chair has, in fact, been my painting desk for nearly 20 years now!
- Lists. Here I keep lists of things I've painted in the last 12 months, things I want to paint, Models friends are looking for which I may come across in my dealings and also paint recipes for any current projects or the (now rare) Commissions I may need to replicate later on.
- Tool store. There's a carousel on top for knives, clippers, pencils and regularly used stuff, and the rack below contains sculpting tools, drill bits etc for the specialised jobs. Also the odd set of commission notes but those drawers remain pretty empty these days.
- Regular Acrylics. Hundreds of them. A mix of citadel (all vintages), coat D'arms, Foundry, Vallejo and others as well as a growing selection of Tamiya, Mig and AK Interactive products for eathering in front of them. I use the new Games and Gears Racks which are great, but currently out of stock and I need more :(
- Airbrush Paints - Vallejo and ComArt.
- Under Desk store - the secret to my success! Houses PVA, sand, basing materials, old brushes and boards for undercoating on all in locations I can grab without looking they've lived there so long!
- Say Cheese - its the highly technical photo booth! Large white card sheets and a ridiculously good Daylight lamp. Add an old camera and a decent tripod and its Job Done. There's an article HERE on photo editing if you're interested in my process.
- Ridiculously good Daylight lamp. It needed its own mention. Sadly they don't make the lamp or even the bulbs any more - I'll be lost when its gone but I have all the bulbs I could stockpile from SE England!
- Model storage. 3 Filing racks of unpainted models. One entire stack is Orcs and Goblins, the rest are a wide and varied mix but there are literally thousands of models in there...
- I didn't mean to label 9... its pretty boring down there, there's a Bin and some spare paint and basing materials... not exactly ending on a high for this picture...
Above the Hive of Activity...
- The "Hobby Porn" Collection. Inspirational tomes in the form of Golden Demon Winners Books, Cool Mini Or Not Annuals and even folders containing all the inspirational pages collated from 12 years worth of White Dwarfs!
- Those lists again, moving on...
- More Models. Left had shelf is plastics (A lot of them Reaper Bones) moving to boxed games and Metal storage on the big shelf.
- Bases. Hundreds of Spare bases for every conceivable rules system and scale! In front of them, My Nemesis - the Otherworld Giant responsible for me cutting my eyeball open a few years back.
- Airbrush cleaners, Spare paint pots and scenic materials saved for all those "One day" display projects.
Not Just Painting...
- Airbrush Booth. Not a great Purchase in itself, but it does get used occasionally and it defines my airbrushing area quite well.
- More Boxes of models, and then boxes which did once contain models and await re-filling with sold items.
- Old Git Mode Engaged and a Moment of Reliving the glory days - thats the Fanatic Ball and Chain Award for Best Specialist Games Entry into Golden Demon 2004 :)
- Main Project Board. For the Big collections I'm working on but not directly, so they wont fit on the WIP space.
- 5 A shelf for rules I'm currently playing - Flames of War and Bolt action mainly with the ever hopefull inclusion of Seeds of War too.
- 4'x4' gaming board. Mostly used for photo shoots but cleared off and ready for dice in 2014.
- Terrain Boards and Scenery. There's racking for 6 4'x2' boards under there, as well as trees hills etc. The side of the table folds down so new boards ca be slid straight in or out.
Guest area...
No big labelling on this one - You're probably more bored than I am by now!
Most of the desk areas are topped by 2'x2' "Project Baords" which allows me to move them about, or out completely when I have other painters come to join me or for lessons. aka ultimate Tidying Cheat!
Main Project Board:
This Board always gives the best impression of my current paiting intentions outside of commissions. As you can see, its laden with 15mm Soviets at the moment but there's still a few 28's hidden behind the pile of boxes.
The Actual WIP area...
The Term Work in Progress is a little loose here. 2 of the figures on this board have been there for 6 years, but its where intention lies and most will see paint sooner rather than later. These are also the personal bits which often fall by the side if commission Painting takes over.
- 28mm Soviets. Mix of Black Tree Designs and the new Winter War range from Baker Company's awesome kickstarter. Really waiting for their vehicles!
- Early war 15mm French HMGs & Mortars. Paint for sale, but held up as I have a Commission on.
- Anyaral; World of Twilight Delgon. Want to get started on these!
- Random Characters. Couple of Reaper Bones, Couple of Warhammer and some classic 90's models. This is the section which tend to really hang around a long time...
- Anyaral; World of Twilight Fubarnii - they're my primary collection from the range and I've already painted a lot, but Mike keeps making more pretty things!
- 15mm soviet armour. There's always some of this it seems. Battlefront T34/85's, Forged in Battle T34/76's, and Zvezda everything else in that little lot.
- And I Nearly forgot - there's a couple of converted Kraytonian command stands too. That army was never really ever going to be finished...
If you're still reading - well done!
Hope you enjoyed the tour and I hope its answered some of the FAQ about the way I do things. If not, ho hum, its passed an hour or so....
Thanks for looking!
Impressive setup you've got there Paul!
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