Developing a new modelling room

[Andy the Sheep]

Barry,
I'm following your project with interest.
A lot of smart and ingenious solutions have been already published in the thread "Show us yours...again" so I'm not going to post pictures of my workspace again (not meaning mine is among the smart ones, neither among the ingenious ones ).
I just add that I opted for a white "kitchen style" working desk sustained by but not linked to two drawer sets of Scandinavian (and DIY) design; the reason is that in case of "severe accident" with solvents, glue, paints or sharp tools, a new surface will be cheap and easy to replace.
I final note: the evolution of my hobby room is a living project, the budget, which is a living project of his own , is the limit and the term "completed" is related only to that specific "version" (I reached the Mk IIa ... but in the old thread you will see the Mk II ).
Enjoy your endeavor and my best wishes for your move.

Andrea (who is still trying to complete the move to our new home...).

 

[BarryW]

If it is windy I pull down the venetian blinds (£8 each plastic B & Q)
Turn the blades partially up not reducing light. They will collect
for you the dust .

Ah,I know what you means about Venetians, real dust collectors, as are models…. I have a former client who runs a blind company, he will fit new blinds for me. I expect only to have the windows open a minimal amount while spraying and he will advise me what will work best given the window opening style that I have.

 

[Deleted member 5496]

...a beer cooler full of real Ale. Not too cold though! Unless you drink that awful lager stuff.....

No sophistication Ron. New Zealand, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc just lightly chilled.

Laurie

 

[Deleted member 5496]

L I'm lucky to have a spray booth and a photo booth permanently set up which is a bonus.
Very exciting for you. I shall enjoy seeing how it develops.
Jim

Not enough room Jim. Cannot get my bed in & separate photo booth.

So hit on the idea spray booth becomes alternative photo booth. Has all the lighting. Just put a background card in place.

Laurie

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Enjoy having that one room just for you. I got to do that a year or so ago and it's great.

Cannot beat it Jim. Happy as Larry, even Laurie, in my room, model making gazing at the news & cricket even sleeping during the night.

Also window open listening to chattering sparrows on our balcony. Pauline puts out all these dried worm things for them. Sometimes
10 of them out there gobbling the things & chatting away. Very pleasant, very nice. Great retirement life.

Laurie

 

[JR]

To other members of the UNTIDY BENCH CLUB, I can see both Barry and Laurie being fully paid up members of the TIDY BENCH CLUB. Whats the betting they are both on the committee.

 

[BarryW]

To other members of the UNTIDY BENCH CLUB, I can see both Barry and Laurie being fully paid up members of the TIDY BENCH CLUB. Whats the betting they are both on the committee.

My bench is tidy when I have finished a build and before starting the next. Otherwise, not so tidy, but I never let it get out of hand. I cannot work in a mess, it comes from a habit of having to be methodical in my 30 plus years of business.

 

[JR]

My bench is tidy when I have finished a build and before starting the next. Otherwise, not so tidy, but I never let it get out of hand. I cannot work in a mess, it comes from a habit of having to be methodical in my 30 plus years of business.
[/QUOTE)

I start off tidy, then chaos appears and I end up working in a very small area. When I was in business it was the same on my 8x 4 joinery bench, mind you the other parts of the workshop with machinery were clean and safe to work in. At the end I enjoy the tidy up and of course find things I'd lost. Drives Christine mad as she is so tidy.

 

[Jim R]

I am one of those people who is very tidy, not just in my modelling but in life in general. My lovely wife puts up with me although I know I do sometimes drive her mad. Perhaps after 49 years married she simply accepts my tidiness as part of me
The point I'm trying to make is some people can only model in tidy, organised surroundings whilst others work in what appears to be chaos. What is true is that beautiful, detailed, well made and painted models come equally from both camps. I remember the late Simon T produced wonderful stuff working on a tray resting on his knees!!
As the French say "Vive la difference"

Barry - no matter how much you think and plan I'll bet after a few months you'll alter/improve something

 

[Deleted member 5496]

To other members of the UNTIDY BENCH CLUB, I can see both Barry and Laurie being fully paid up members of the TIDY BENCH CLUB. Whats the betting they are both on the committee.

John I am the Un-Honouary member of the International Institute for the Bench Tidy Organisation. BTO.

Bench tidy before I start work. Tidied after each operation ie putting wings together, or making props.

Try it John, if you dare, saves time, tools are in the right place, sanders in the carousel. airbrush clean.

I pull my bed out from under the Falklands diorama each night get into bed & dream of my bench tidy & clean.

Laurie

Quoting Winston Spencer Churchill

“Evils can be created much quicker than they can be cured.”

Believe he had your work bench in mind John

 

[JR]

John I am the Un-Honouary member of the International Institute for the Bench Tidy Organisation. BTO.

Bench tidy before I start work. Tidied after each operation ie putting wings together, or making props.

Try it John, if you dare, saves time, tools are in the right place, sanders in the carousel. airbrush clean.

I pull my bed out from under the Falklands diorama each night get into bed & dream of my bench tidy & clean.

Laurie

Quoting Winston Spencer Churchill

“Evils can be created much quicker than they can be cured.”

Believe he had your work bench in mind John

I'm luckily to be able to just stop and go back into thew main house. But now I shall take that quote from Winston Churchill as made directly to me and try .
( 0h dear what have I let my self in for.)

 

[Deleted member 5496]

I'm luckily to be able to just stop and go back into thew main house. But now I shall take that quote from Winston Churchill as made directly to me and try .
( 0h dear what have I let my self in for.)

John. A deep & thorough inspection by Barry next week. I would accompany if you send the airfare.

Laurie

 

[Ian M]

I would take the lager of the two rooms for the cave and the smaller for the bedroom. a) you'll probably spend more time in the cave and need more space, b) at the worst the most you will be doing in the bedroom is sleep.
Down to the local B&Q or what ever the DIY shops you have are called. Have a look at kitchen worktops. I had them in my room a large L shaped one in the one corner and a smaller in the other. The big one for builds and the smaller one for paint. The type with a rounded front edge are kind to arms that rest on the edge.
As for a chair... I have a "cheep" gamers chair. Good support to neck and lumbar, and all the usual swivel and tilt up and down things. Got mine in Jysk, for the 1/3 of the cost of a "propper furnishers".
Natural light as much as possible, but if like me you have south facing windows, they can be a pain in the summer.
Dont know if you have the option of one but if the apartments allow it consider an extractor... you can always say its for extra ventilation due to "dust allergies". And it can always be returned to just a vent, if you move again...

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Just thought I would mention windows & colour temperature.
Having during my working life worked in both architecture &
video work I found the huge difference during the day, &
affected by weather, the colour temperature.

Using pure daylight can enormously affect the colours
you choose & the mixing of colours.

The chart below gives how colours change. Plus which part of day
the colours are.

The beauty of artificial light at 6000 kelvin over your work top will
give a constant colour representation all the time. A window will
give the colours warm to cool as below during the day..

Also has a very dramatic influence on the lighting that you display
your models in.

Cameras & Video machines over come this. You set the colour temperature
& the cameras will compensate for all eventualities. Human eyes do not.

Laurie

A diagram of color temperature. As color temperature decreases, white becomes yellow, then red. As color temperature increases, white gradually turns to blue. Note that this diagram is merely a rough representation of how to think about color temperatures, not a precise indication of color temperatures under specific conditions.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Very good point made by Laurie there. “Daylight” lighting is certainly best for painting and is less tiring on the eyes when working. My room has both background lighting in daylight quality and the task light in daylight quality. I also have a floor standing daylight reading task light set up behind my usual chair in the lounge. 6500 Kelvin is what you are looking for, 500 K doesn’t cut it. I’d recommend that sort of lighting for kitchens and offices as well.

 

[BarryW]

I would take the lager of the two rooms for the cave and the smaller for the bedroom. a) you'll probably spend more time in the cave and need more space, b) at the worst the most you will be doing in the bedroom is sleep.
Down to the local B&Q or what ever the DIY shops you have are called. Have a look at kitchen worktops. I had them in my room a large L shaped one in the one corner and a smaller in the other. The big one for builds and the smaller one for paint. The type with a rounded front edge are kind to arms that rest on the edge.
As for a chair... I have a "cheep" gamers chair. Good support to neck and lumbar, and all the usual swivel and tilt up and down things. Got mine in Jysk, for the 1/3 of the cost of a "propper furnishers".
Natural light as much as possible, but if like me you have south facing windows, they can be a pain in the summer.
Dont know if you have the option of one but if the apartments allow it consider an extractor... you can always say its for extra ventilation due to "dust allergies". And it can always be returned to just a vent, if you move again...

Some good points there Ian. Both rooms are ‘double’ bedrooms and both are plenty large enough. I will see next week, but I do think that the two windows and their positioning in the larger room might reduce the display space compared to the smaller.

Now, using a bedroom ONLY for sleeping…. Mmm now that’s a novel thought. Better not say any more on that subject, let’s just say that I am not totally giving up on the ladies despite my age.

I expect to spend on it typically, about 2 hours modelling a day.

 

[Ian M]

I expect to spend on it typically, about 2 hours modelling a day.

What the cave or the bedroom.

 

[wotan]

As far as lights are concerned Barry you might want to consider something like this that I use.



This is a light panel made by VILTROX. It is about 19cm X 12cm and can run on mains or battery pack. The beauty of this device is that it can be adjusted both in brightness and in Kelvin number as you can see in the attached photos of the rear control panel. It can be mounted on a camera type mount and attached to a flexible stand so that it can be positioned as required. Check them out on Amazon.

John

 

[BarryW]

Well I have the keys, the sale is completed and it has been a busy day. Tomorrow meetings with kitchen designer, electrician, decorator and a bed is being delivered. But the modelling room is not forgotten.

I have made a decision on the smaller of the two for the following reasons:
1/ There is only one window so I can maximise shelf space.
2/ The window is a ‘bottom opener’ so it will be easier to position the spray booth and dangle the extraction pipe out of it. In the other room they are centre openers so the spray booth would have to be in front of a window.
3/ The built in wardrobe seems a bit better for the storage of modelling supplies. This will help keep stuff off the floor and keep the display shelves for models.
4/ The door and wardrobe door are positioned so ‘wall space’ is maximised.
5/ The measurements are that much better for the workspace with little or no wasted space.

Some pics.






I will post as soon as I have some more news. Flooring next, someone in to measure up on Friday.

 

[Jim R]

Exciting times ahead. Coordinating workmen is a trial.
Jim