Hi everyone,
I thought I'd share some pictures of the portable paint station I just finished building. I hope they can inspire others that want to make one.
A little bit of history first: I don't have a fixed hobby-room / location for my miniatures. Everything for the hobby is spread all over our apartment in boxes (out of sight to not upset the spousal unit). That meant that whenever I wanted to paint, I had to gather my tools from one spot, brushes from a brush-pouch, the mini's I was working on from another location, etc. Since I, like many of you, use the living room table to paint on, I often have to clear everything off when we have visitors, play games, etc.
The whole process had led me to the point where I would just not paint at a certain moment because I only had 30 minutes or so and I felt it was useless to take everything out, just to clear it all off after half an hour. In short: my tools were inhibiting me from enjoying my hobby.
So I decided to build a portable paint station, based on a few examples I found online. It had to be able to contain all my paints as well as my brushes (upright, so that I didn't have to put the protective caps on every time) and water bottles. Plus I had to be able to put it all back together quickly to clear the table and transport it elsewhere. I gathered two old wine bottle cases and bought some supplies (small screws, hinges, locks, etc.) for about 30€. After a long evening's work, this is the result! I hope you like it.
The outside of the box, hinges-side.
The outside of the box, locks-side.
As handles I used these cords, secured tightly with bolt and nut. They are long enough to carry the case comfortably.
The case opened up. On the bottom are soft pads to protect whatever surface the case is on. The two lids slide open upwards and hold everything in place in each of the two compartments while travelling.
Completely filled inside. On the left are the tools and brushes in a rack with holes (different sizes). My hobby knife and files fit in as well. Thanks to this rack I can now finally store my brushes quickly and safely.
Next to the rack are two tea boxes, separated by a removable shelf. Drill and cutters are stored in one of the boxes. This space can also be used to store a spray can (without the small shelf) when there is a need to take a can along for base coating. On top is another removable shelf with basing materials and paper towels.
In the left case I stored my paints. The first shelf from the bottom is larger to hold dropper bottles, should I buy more in the future. A little wet palette is also foreseen on top of the smaller bottles on this shelf.
Underneath are two water pots and a few CD's that I use as palettes. The two boxes with green handles store some small things like drill bits and spare blades as well as 6 mini's on a pedestal, ready to paint (6 is my preferred size for batch painting, so I was lucky there). A few pots of glue fill up the remaining space.
All shelves are removable... I didn't build any railings to keep the pots in place, since I don't plan on removing the shelves too often.
On the other side everything can be taken out as well. Remark the 4 black pads: these hold up the smaller shelf but are not as big as the hooks. This was done so that a spray can may be stored in there as well (the hooks would stick out too much to allow this).
The brushes-and-tools rack can be removed as well. But this is a bit cumbersome to put back, since all the brushes and tools fall through the holes.
That's it. Future enhancements that I might add are wood burning to the outside, to give it a nicer look. But for now, this will help me get my mini's painted!
If anyone has questions, don't hesitate to ask
.