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Hey all!

I'm going to be getting a desk to dedicate to modeling/painting, so I wanted to see what you guys personally like? It can either be what you currently use or what you wished you were using.

My desk is 1500mm wide and that's not nearly big enough!

I think a wraparound desk would be fantastically helpful. With paint and tool racks at my immediate disposal.

I've always marvelled over Studio Cyberlab's workbench:

My new desk. I got it as a freebie from facebook.

Still using the old folding table, although it's piled much higher with hobby detritus than in this picture, taken shortly after moving into our current place (no time to trash it, yet ). I've since added two new shelving units and a wall-mounted paint (okay... re-purposed spice) rack to the room, but I still seem to collect supplies faster than I can use/reorganize them...


It's served admirably, over the years, but it's far from ideal. Sturdy as it is for a folding table, there's still an annoying wobble whenever moderate force is applied parallel to the surface. Since I do a decent bit of sawing, sanding, and heavy filing (I don't just work on tiny plastic models - if I'm using the vice, I'm cursing the table), I really wish I had something stiffer and heavier. More storage space - above it, ideally, but even something across the room - would also allow me to reclaim some of its limited surface area for when I'm working with larger sheets of material (alas, the room is already well beyond capacity). As it stands, my actual workspace is little more than 1'x1.5'; basically, my 8"x12" cutting mat and a small "side board" - a little room on the side that fits a few task-specific tools (palette and brushes, spray jar and thinner, sculpting tools, or files/knives).

If you only ever work on stock kits, something like that isn't an issue. If you scratchbuild, work on terrain, or use the same space for other projects, having a much deeper surface is invaluable, as it lets you fill the back with storage for regularly used items without cramping the workspace. I have to rough-cut my styrene with scissors and trim to shape afterward, since I can't lay a whole sheet down for a continuous score. When desk-shopping, consider what you generally work on and how you like to organize. A tiny workspace surrounded by shelving works well for some (check out this current thread to see an impressively dense hideaway hobby space), but others need the surface area to sprawl out all of their tools and materials.

Man, no idea how I missed this thread before posting mine :/

I just use my normall desk, just keep modeling stuff in boxs below and and just move laptop etc.

Only thing that does not move as easy is paint flecks lol

Any type of desk or table will work for you. Some people have more room for these than others. It comes down to whatever you are comfortable with. I use a 50" x 34" old kitchen table that I used in my old apartment. I have a house now and a new table so I just got lucky that the wife didn't need it for anything.

The thing that you will need most is a good light. Make sure you'll have enough light that you will be able to see all the details that you will want to put paint on. Daylight bulbs if possible.

I built my own for my specific preferences - and generally speaking - I find that to be the "best".

It is made specifically for my height, my arm reach, my room and my painting style. I built it to work as a stand up bench, and also have a drafting chair which allows me to sit or stand comfortably. The work surface is deep enough to allow me to work on 24x24 inch terrain items without having to knock things around the back.

I have two drawer stacks on either side of my primary work area for storage of tools, saws, glues and other materials that I do not use all the time. Across the back of the bench I have narrow shelves that allow me to see most my paints at a glance with the most commonly used paints positioned near the middle and the least commonly used paints at the edges.

20" above the work surface I have wall cabinets with storage for kits, books and additional materials in pigeon holes (great for all those odd plastic tubes, angles and other long parts). The bottom of the wall cabinet has full spectrum area lights and 3 positionable spot lights. I can reach a good deal of that storage from the sitting position.

My secondary work surface is for sculpting. It is connected to the primary at an angle and I can easily swivel and roll the chair from one spot to the other. On that I have a largely clear working area so that I can have several different armatures out at a time (handy for dealing with units and maintaining consistent styling throughout). Another drawer stack is there for storage of my putties, epoxies, sculpting tools and masters that I am working on. I've got a secondary cabinet that holds my Silhouette and Decal printer.

The back wall has two large flat screen monitors that allow my to view reference materials as well as work on digital sculpting and other designs (decals, etching tooling, plotting and laser cut files...). Behind the monitors is a large cork board that allows me to pin additional research material to while I work. More storage above for reference books and lights as with my painting station.

Behind the desk area is a large glass door display cabinet where I keep works in progress when they are not actually being worked on. This keeps them safe and dust free, so that if something goes on the back burner for a few weeks or more you don't come back to a mess...or find it has been damaged when knocked off the workbench. There are two rather larger file (lateral files each roughly 3 feet wide) drawers built under the display cabinets that house decal sheets, precut foliage and other paper items as well as plans from various kits I have assembled over the years. The 4th wall of the room holds more bookshelves with reference material.

The middle of the room has a small 4x6' game table with more storage cabinets underneath. I use that for setting up modular terrain and other things I am working on so that I can quickly make sure that cross tile features line up properly and look at how playable the table will actually be before I do finish work (nothing so disappointing as to complete a large intricate terrain feature only to realize that when it is on the table - it may as well just be a block of wood).

Cork flooring finishes off the area - comfortable to stand on for hours on end and forgiving to models if they fall from the bench. Also - very easy to clean should something like a sand find its way off the bench.

While it sounds pretty nice - it isn't what many people would need (even if they might think they want it). We built a similar setup for a friend, but he actually does most of his work using a lap desk while watching TV.

Comfort is probably the single most important aspect when selecting a work center. You want a comfortable chair to sit in, plenty of good light and heat/AC to keep things enjoyable. Otherwise - if you have a desk in a garage or basement that is unheated with hard concrete floors and a cheap chair...you will not feel like getting in there to work.

If you have the space for a dedicated work area - making sure that you have room for everything you want to do is a big help in actually doing it. Before I had the room to store all my scratch building supplies at my desk - it was always a bit of a pain because I would have to rummage through boxes in a closet to find what I wanted. Now everything is easily accessible - and I find myself building much more than I ever had in the past.

If you don't have room for a dedicated work area - you will want to keep the peace. Again - if you get bugged to keep your paints up out of the reach of kids or have to clear off the table every night for dinner...that is that much more time that you are not able to be productive and if you get nagged to clean it up, you don't want to get it out to begin with (applies for kids with parents, husbands with wives - whatever). An easy solution to that is a computer armoire which are pretty easy to find inexpensive options through the chain stores (not heirloom quality furniture - but you should be able to find something that you can keep in a living room or dining room that helps to keep everyone happy). For something a bit different - drop front desks are pretty slick and they are common finds at antique stores. They normally have a ton of storage (drawers below, stationary storage behind the drop front and often a glass cabinet above...solves the display issue many people have).

In either case - it allows you to just close the doors (or lift the drop front) to "clean up" when guests come over. Many of them have locks - or a simple cam lock can be installed to keep them safe from children who don't need to be messing with glues and paints.

If you are reasonably handy - I would really recommend building something to fit you rather than an off the shelf product. Ergonomically - having a desk that is the right height for your body makes a big difference in reducing fatigue. Even if you lack major power tools (tables saws and the like) you can have big box stores cut down sheet goods for you. Combine those with a simple system like Blum Metabox drawers or Lee Valley's toolbox trays and for a couple hundred dollars you can have a purpose built work center that fits your needs.

Take some time to plan it out though. Figure out what you want to get from it and look into how you are most comfortable (I tend to prefer to stand - so a regular desk height work surface isn't ideal for me...others prefer to sit, so they may want something that is sized for that instead).

If you can forgo your modelling/miniatures budget for a month or two you can build yourself a pretty nifty modelling area. Having the actual space to do this will then become your biggest problem.
Most of us are handy with tools through model construction and so converting those skills into making a workspace shouldn't be a huge stretch on our abilities.

Even if you take the easy way out and purchase a cheap computer desk, you can modify it to some extent, with shelving, under-desk storage, reinforcing the workspace so you be more 'physical' in cutting things, adding a vice, daylight lighting, magnifiers and lots more. It doesn't have to be pretty but it does have to be solid.

I admit, I'm a hypocrite. I have a nice workspace in my kitchen but I quite often work off a lap tray in front of the TV at my partner's place, because it's comfortable and more social; he asks me questions, I get to show off my latest work.

Well, not a complete necro but I couldn't find a thread closer to what I'm posting.

I bought a house less than a month ago and am using one of the bedrooms as my hobby room. Still unpacking and I wanted to make sure I had storage set up BEFORE I started moving miniatures around.

In any event, I finally got four Blue Hawk 70-in H x 42-in W x 16-in D 5-Tier Plastic Freestanding Shelving Units from Lowes and put them together today. Here are some pics.

Only three of the shelves are visible in this pic.



And a shot from the window.

Not going to paint that room before you set up shop?

I'm jealous, I no longer have a man room over the garage, my man room in Tennessee was my favorite, two big windows... Always good to have a window by the painting station.

Now I move my stuff out of the closet to the kitchen table, back and forth... My ideal desk is plenty of room for multiple projects, either builds, or painting so I can take a break from one or the other. A location for paints that I can spot and reach for the colors I need, tools and brushes in a consistant location, a spot for books or reference photos, lamps with true light bulbs. Music and a drink coaster.

 Kelly502 wrote:
Not going to paint that room before you set up shop?

Not exactly sure what you're talking about. The walls are painted some sort of light beige, windows are white, and carpet is a darker beige. In natural light, the place has an almost yellow cast to it. The only thing I haven't done yet is get blinds installed. That's gonna cost me a pretty penny considering I have the whole house to do. Two large windows upstairs, one large in the living room, two in the kitchen/dining room and one in the computer room. Downstairs, there is another room that needs blinds as well.

As for paints, the window is set pretty deep so even with shades put in, I'll have enough room to put what I need up there. The stuff I'm not using can sit in a storage bin. I mean it's not like paint needs a shelf to live on.

It may not look like it, but that room is 15' deep and 10' wide.

 Breotan wrote:
Well, not a complete necro but I couldn't find a thread closer to what I'm posting.

I bought a house less than a month ago and am using one of the bedrooms as my hobby room. Still unpacking and I wanted to make sure I had storage set up BEFORE I started moving miniatures around.

In any event, I finally got four Blue Hawk 70-in H x 42-in W x 16-in D 5-Tier Plastic Freestanding Shelving Units from Lowes and put them together today. Here are some pics.

Only three of the shelves are visible in this pic.



And a shot from the window.

I am liking that room a lot. Plenty of space to store everything and good lighting from the window.