Jan 142016
 

Airbrushes are becoming a very popular “must have” among the miniature painter crowd and for anyone new to the practice of airbrushing models there are usually a lot of questions to go along with that. For lots of folks, they get all tooled up and ready to airbrush and it occurs to them that they’re going to need to clean their airbrush during paint sessions in between color changes and then thoroughly clean it after their painting session is over. This brings us to the topic of airbrush cleaner.

airbrush cleaner

What kind of airbrush cleaner can you use? You may be surprised by the answer.

Keeping your airbrush clean is fundamental to having a hassle free and fun airbrushing experience so it’s a good idea to develop a good cleaning regimen. It’s also important to have the right tools and cleaning agents to keep that airbrush working well. Today we’re going to talk about saving money on airbrush cleaner.

What Kind of Cleaner Can You Use To Clean Your Airbrush?

There are a lot of different products that are suitable for cleaning an airbrush. These range from name brand products made by the same companies that make airbrushes and airbrush paint, to run of the mill household items that you probably already have under the sink or in the garage.

The name brand products like Medea Airbrush Cleaner and Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner tend to be the default cleaners that everyone assumes are necessary. These products are actually very expensive considering that you’ll be using some cleaner between color changes and quite a bit during post paint session cleanup. The truth is that you can use some very inexpensive cleaners to do the same thing. Some folks don’t run cleaner through the airbrush between colors. When I ask why they do it this way the answer is almost always “to save money”. This is why I use less expensive cleaners.

iwata medea airbrush cleaner

This Iwata Medea Airbrush Cleaner works well but like many name brand products, it’s absurdly expensive.

First lets talk about cost. A bottle of Medea Airbrush Cleaner from an art supply store like Dick Blick or similar will run you between five and six dollars for a 16 ounce package. I looked at Blick today and their price for the 16 ounce squeeze bottle is $5.29. That works out to 33 cents per ounce (approx). This means that a gallon of this product will eventually cost you a whopping forty two dollars. By comparison Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner comes in a 200ml bottle – about 6 ¾ ounces – and costs around $8 a bottle. The Vallejo product is more than one dollar per ounce. Multiply that by the number of ounces in a gallon, 128, and you get the idea. (I would usually use Amazon pricing for this comparison but to be quite honest the prices for these products on Amazon are insane. Here’s a link to the Medea Airbrush Cleaner so you can see what I’m talking about).

Secondly, what you’re actually buying is, for the most part, a mix of water, concentrated detergent and alcohol. A lot of other cheaper cleaners are made up of the same or very similar stuff. There’s really no reason to use such spendy cleaners in your airbrush when a readily available and much cheaper substitute can be used.

Fortunately, there is a great alternative. Quite simply, you can use a generic brand of automobile windshield washer fluid as an airbrush cleaning fluid and it will cost you pennies compared to the name brand cleaners. Take a look at this image taken at my local Walmart the other day.

cheap airbrush cleaner

This automotive windshield washer fluid makes an outstanding airbrush cleaner and as you can see it’s dirt cheap

I’ve been using this product or a similar one for about 5 years. Besides water, the active ingredient is methanol. There’s also a little bit of detergent. As you can see from the image above the price for a gallon of Supertech Windshield washer fluid is under $2 a gallon, even after adding in sales tax. I squirt a bit of this into the airbrush paint cup between color chang4es and run it through, then a bit of distilled water (you don’t have to use distilled water, but where I live the water is very hard and stains/scales up everything so I use distilled).

airbrush cleaner wash bottle

This wash bottle is perfect for dispensing your airbrush cleaner. Pick up two if you also need a rinse bottle for water

Since manhandling a gallon size bottle is tricky, I manage this by transferring the cleaner and water to a couple of these LDPE wash bottles with the hook nozzles. The bottles cost a few bucks each but you could use just about any container that will give you good control when dispensing the cleaner – an old counter top detergent bottle or a used water bottle with a sport top/pop top.

iwata medea airbrush cleaning station

The Iwata Medea airbrush cleaning station is a great for  controlling and containing your waste from airbrush cleaner

When doing clean outs and color changes I spray leftover paint, cleaner and water into one of these Iwata Medea airbrush cleaning stations. I find that the jar is large enough to hold all of my waste from a typical painting session so I just empty and rinse it in the sink afterwards. I also like that the jar has a built in airbrush holder on the handle. Using the jar keeps the vapor and odor in my work area to a minimum and completely prevents any spills.

An Important Distinction About Generic Airbrush Cleaner

I’ve seen people use lots of different stuff including Windex and Simple Green, for cleaning airbrushes.. My one caution is that if you use a generic or household cleaning product, make sure you’re using one that does not have ammonia as a component. Ammonia is a little bit reactive with some metals and alloys and can cause corrosion or tarnishing.

While you can certainly use other cleaning agents in your airbrush, I like good ‘ol windshield washer fluid the best because it’s cheap and you can find it almost anywhere. Walmart, the auto parts store, convenience stores, even the automotive section at the supermarket has it sometimes. Using windshield washer fluid as an airbrush cleaner will save you a TON of money over the long haul.

 



Get Your Zombie On With These Great Zombie Board Games Until The Walking Dead Comes Back

 Board Games, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming  Comments Off on Get Your Zombie On With These Great Zombie Board Games Until The Walking Dead Comes Back
Dec 042015
 

It is the long winter of our discontent – or at least our impatience – while we wait for the TV show The Walking Dead to return from its winter break. What’s a fan of the not quite dead to do? Allow me to suggest Zombie board games! We’re at a point in tabletop gaming that might be described as a golden age and for fans of the zombie genre that means you have lots of choices from very light and quick to play dice games to board games that feel like they’re right out of the pages of your favorite zombie comics, books or TV shows. I’ve put together a short list of some of my favorite zombified board games for you to check out and I hope you’ll find something here that you’ll be able to use to make the time in between episodes of The Walking Dead go a little faster and have fun while you’re waiting.

Zombie Dice

Zombie Dice - You're a zombie, eat brains, press your luck, don't get blasted! board games

Zombie Dice – You’re a zombie, eat brains, press your luck, don’t get blasted!

The simplest of Zombie games, Zombie Dice is most definitely a beer and pretzels game that even comes in a tube about the size of a beer can. There isn’t a lot of strategy here, you’re just rolling dice, looking to chow down on as many brains as you can before getting blasted. It’s a press your luck dice roller that is great as a warm up game or time filler between other larger games. Sometimes I break this out for people to keep busy while I’m setting up another game. Due to the fact that it’s so small you can throw it in your bag or back pack and break it out almost anywhere to help pass some time. It’s also really inexpensive at around $8 on Amazon. 2-5 players, about 15-20 minutes for your average play time.

Get your copy of Zombie Dice here!

Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter - survive the zombies, the weather and treachery from other bands of survivors

Dead of Winter – survive the zombies, the weather and treachery from other bands of survivors

Dead of Winter is a semi-cooperative game where players who are survivors of a zombie apocalypse will fight off zombies while dealing with other problems like trying to avoid getting bitten, the weather, and other players putting in the double cross. Each player gets their own group of survivors and there are loads of different and fun to play characters. It’s semi-cooperative due to the fact that while everyone is working on a common goal, each player also has their own secret objective which can have several different consequences for the other players. This means you have games where everyone, someone, or no one can win which keeps the game interesting and very dynamic. Dead of Winter is for 2-5 players and typically takes about 90 minutes to play. $44 on Amazon

Get your copy of Dead of Winter here!

City of Horror

In City of Horror you'll need your persuasion and negotiation skills to outlast the other survivors board game zombies

In City of Horror you’ll need your persuasion and negotiation skills to outlast the other survivors

City of Horror is unique for a Zombie game because it isn’t really about fighting the zombies. It’s a game that’s about negotiation, diplomacy and ultimately, betrayal. In a city overrun by the walking dead players try to survive in a variety of buildings until they can be rescued. Each player controls a small band of survivors and must strive to keep everyone alive through the zombie filled night. The catch is that there’s only so much space in the building which means some survivors will have to be thrown to the ravenous horde of zombies outside. The mechanism for this is voting by the remaining survivors which means there will be lots of pleading, haggling and double crosses as players try desperately to get their survivors rescued. Definitely a different sort of Zombie game. 3-6 players. 90 minute play time. $25 on Amazon.

Get your copy of City of Horror here!

Last Night on Earth

It's the Last Night on Earth, can your survivors outlast the zombies? board games

It’s the Last Night on Earth, can your survivors outlast the zombies?

Last Night on Earth is probably the granddaddy of zombie board games. This game has awesome production values that include photos of the characters in full costumes and make up and with props. It even comes with an audio soundtrack. It’s one I’ve had in my collection for awhile that still comes out semi-regularly. Last Night on Earth is another semi-cooperative zombie game but in this game some of the players control the survivors while others control the zombies. That makes it different from most other zombie board games where the zombies are typically mindless and follow pre-programmed behaviors. Naturally, since they’re controlled by players the zombies are a lot smarter and more of a challenge than what you’re used to seeing. Last Night on Earth has been around for awhile so there’s lots of expansions available for it as well. 2-6 players. 90 minute play time. About $40 on Amazon

Get your copy of Last Night on Earth Here!

Zombicide

Zombicide is you go to post apocalyptic zombie survival board game

Zombicide is you go to post apocalyptic zombie survival board game

Zombicide was one of the early board game successes on Kickstarter that probably lead to the explosion of crowd funded board games we’re currently enjoying. This is a very thematic, action packed fully cooperative post apocalyptic zombie survival game. There’s no diplomacy or negotiation or hidden agendas, it’s just all out carnage as players battle zombies and try to survive. Players must work together to accomplish the mission objectives or they all lose. Each player takes on the role of a survivor and survivors are all based on familiar tropes or well known pop culture icons. As the players battle the zombies, they gain new skills and become better at defeating them while Zombicide’s clever spawning mechanic means that the zombies also get tougher and appear in ever increasing hordes. There are mechanics that take in to account how much noise players make in determinng how the zombies behave, as well as lots of loot for players to find and use in their quest to defeat the zombies. If you’re looking for a zombie board game that really simulates what it’s like to battle zombies in the land of The Walking Dead, this is the one. This game is intense and to be honest it’s pretty challenging for the players to win. The game is mission based so there’s tons of replay-ability with just the main game. Additionally there is loads of flavorful add on content that includes different types of zombies, new survivors. new locations like Prison Outbreak, Toxic City Mall and Rue Morgue.

Lots of extra missions, rule books and other free stuff can also be downloaded directly from the Guillotine Games Zombicide website. This is hands down the favorite zombie game of the various play groups and Meetups I participate in. Most people I’ve introduced Zombicide to are hooked about ½ way through their first play through. 1-6 players. Playtime varies based on mission but it can be anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours. About $60 on Amazon.

Get your copy of Zombicide here!

Check out all of the Zombide expansions and add-ons here

Visit the Guillotine Games website for free Zombicide downloadable content

Braaaaaainsssss!

There you have it, some of my favorite zombie flavored board games. While it’s not an exhaustive list of zombie board games, any or all of these should fulfill your zombie yearnings while you wait for the return of The Walking Dead. I have all of these games and they’re all great fun but if you’re only going to get one big zombie board game then I’d definitely recommend you pick up a copy of Zombicide. You can thank me later when you’re gritting your teeth and trying to desperately survive your own tabletop zombie apocalypse.

Holiday Gift Guide For Your Favorite Miniatures Hobbyist

 Geek Gifts, Hobby Tradecraft, Tabletop Gaming  Comments Off on Holiday Gift Guide For Your Favorite Miniatures Hobbyist
Dec 022015
 

We’ve made it through Thanksgiving week (in the US) and this, more than anything is the signal that we’ve officially started the holiday season. Since many of us will be thinking about what to get the hobbyist in our life (or maybe you need some ideas for your own Xmas wish list), I thought it would be a good time to run down a few items that would make excellent Christmas gifts for your favorite hobbyist. This post focuses on tools and hobbying accessories instead of actual games and miniatures. The first section is a selection of smaller items that would be perfect as stocking stuffers. The second section are physically larger gifts that you’ll probably end up putting under the tree. There are items at a variety of price points from under $20 to around the $100 range. In some cases I’ve also mentioned an item or two that pairs nicely with the main item in terms of utility.

Winsor Newton Series 7 Brushes & The Masters Brush Cleaner

The Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable paint brushes are an excellent brush for miniatures painters looking to level up

The Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable paint brushes are an excellent brush for miniatures painters looking to level up

The Winsor Newton Series 7 paint brushes are kind of the holy grail of paint brushes for miniatures painters. These brushes make a great gift for the miniatures painter that’s been painting for awhile and is ready to up their game with better tools. These also are great because, due to the fact that they cost quite a bit more than your standard hobby shop paint brush, a lot of hobbyists are hesitant to get these for themselves because it’s a bit of an investment and can also feel a little intimidating. The good news is that because these brushes are so high quality, you don’t need a ton of them. I recommend the #0 and the #2 Winsor Newton Series 7 paint brushes if you’re looking at getting a couple of these. Those two sizes cover a lot of range in terms of utility and usefulness.

If you're getting nice brushes like the Winsor Newton Series 7, invest in some brush cleaner as well. The Masters Brush Cleaner is an excellent product for the care and preserving of fine brushes

If you’re getting nice brushes like the Winsor Newton Series 7, invest in some brush cleaner as well. The Masters Brush Cleaner is an excellent product for the care and preserving of fine brushes

If you’re looking to add a little something to this then I’d also recommend adding a tub of The Masters Brush Cleaner to them. Proper cleaning and care will make these paint brushes last a long time, even longer than synthetics.

Wet Palette

The P3 Wet Palette, usually under $20 and perfect if you don't want to build one yourself.

The Privateer Press P3 Wet Palette, usually under $20 and perfect if you don’t want to build one yourself.

A wet palette is another really useful addition to the miniatures painters toolbox. It helps preserve paint by keeping the paint you’re working from drying out and helps you get to the proper consistency of paint for applying it to miniatures. It’s also really handy for blending and other effects. Privateer Press makes a handy wet palette that’s just right for miniatures painters. Consider adding in an extra pad of wet palette paper for the busy painter.

Porcelain Paint Palettes & Bowls

The Darice Oblong Porcelain Paint Palette is a solid addition to your paint station

The Darice Oblong Porcelain Paint Palette is a solid addition to your paint station

Every good miniatures painter knows that you shouldn’t paint directly from the paint pot for several reasons including paints drying out, the potential for accidental paint spills, and getting too much paint on your brush or up in the metal ferrule that holds the bristles in place. For these reasons it’s nice to have a couple of palettes around your painting desk. You can get some super cheap plastic or tin palettes and these are perfectly serviceable. However if you’d like to have something a little nicer and that feels more solid, a ceramic palette or nesting ceramic bowls are a nice upgrade. I personally use this Darice 10 Well Oblong Porcelain Paint Palette and these large porcelain stacking bowls. These things are solid and have some heft to them so they don’t slide around and can’t be accidentally knocked over which keeps the messes down. They are prefect for when I need a larger amount of paint out for a bigger project and they’re also great for oil washes and custom paint mixes. Since they’re porcelain, they don’t stain and are very easy to clean even when you have let paint dry on them.

PaintWater/Not Paint Water Coffee Mugs

Get a set of these handy Paint Water/Not Paint Water coffee mugs to keep yourself from accidentally imbibing your paint water

Get a set of these handy Paint Water/Not Paint Water coffee mugs to keep yourself from accidentally imbibing your paint water

Most painters keep a mug of water on their paint station for thinning paints and cleaning their brushes when changing colors or types of paint. Some of us drink coffee or adult beverages out of another mug while we’re working. A coffe mug that’s got “Not Paint Water” printed on the side is a fun gift for a painter and it’ll keep them from getting a mouthful of dirty water when they’re “in the zone” and focused on their painting. You can find these on Amazon sometimes but why not check out Etsy, there are several sellers there who make mugs with custom messages on them and it’s always cool to support small businesses doing hand made items.

Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station

iwata airbrush cleaning station

The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station is a really useful airbrushing accessory and includes a built in airbrush stand

The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station is a handy little thing to have that allows you to empty paint and cleaning fluid from your airbrush into a sealed container. It cuts down on messes and potential spills and actually holds quite a bit of liquid safely until you’re ready to empty it. The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station also doubles as an airbrush stand due to the way the handle is engineered.

Elmers X-Acto Knife Set in Zippered Case

This Elmers X-Acto Knife Set has a great variety of blades and handles and comes in a handy and portable zippered case

This Elmers X-Acto Knife Set has a great variety of blades and handles and comes in a handy and portable zippered case

One thing a miniatures hobbyist always needs is a supply of sharp knives for trimming and cleaning model kits as well as doing customization and kitbashing. This handy Elmers X-Acto Knife set has a variety of handles and blades suitable for different jobs and everything comes in a nice zippered nylon case for storage or for throwing in your bag for emergency repairs on game day.

Cordless Dremel

The Dremel 7700 moto tool is cordless, rechargeable and has plenty of power for typical miniature hobby tasks

The Dremel 7700 moto tool is cordless, rechargeable and has plenty of power for typical miniature hobby tasks

The Dremel is a really handy motorized mini tool that can be used for all sorts of jobs like cutting, drilling, polishing and sanding. A rechargeable cordless Dremel is even handier as it’s more compact and can be taken with you in a portable tool kit. Even though it’s powered by a rechargeable battery it’s got enough power for most of the typical miniatures hobbyist and scenery jobs. There are a couple of choices here, the Dremel 7300 Mini Mite which is a smaller desktop version or the more powerful Dremel 7700 moto tool that has a bigger motor and battery. Both are excellent choices for miniature and model building. Throw in a Dremel accessory kit to go along with it and you’ve got a winning combination.

Donegan OptiVISOR and Light

Donegan OptiiVISOR with replaceable lenses

The Donegan OptiiVISOR with replaceable lenses that can be quickly changed for different levels of magnification

The Donegan OptiVISORis a headset with magnifying lenses that’s completely hands free and can be worn over prescription glasses if needed. The lenses can be changed out to increase or decrease the amount of magnification as needed. These are great for working on those models with tiny accessories or for getting the detail right when painting miniatures. These especially useful for those older hobbyists who need a little help seeing the tiniest details on their projects.

The OptiVISOR LED Light Attachment

The Donegan compatible OptiVISOR LED Light Attachment

Consider adding the OptiVISOR LED light kit which uses LEDs to flood the area you’re working on with bright light.

Airbrushes

Iwata HP-C Plus Airbrush

The Iwata HP-C Plus Airbrush is a solid, high quality dependable workhorse that will take you a long way

Lots of miniatures hobbyists are making the jump to airbrushing these days. There are tons of choices and options for airbrushes, too many to list here but if you’re interested in learning the basics I have an article on the basics of airbrushes that you can check out here. Two excellent airbrush choices for the beginner are the Iwata HP-C Plus and the Badger Sotar 2020. Both of these are reasonably priced relative to the overall costs of getting into airbrushing and there’s a ton of information and video online about these models for the new airbrush user. Consider adding an airbrush compressor to go with this gift, more information about that below.

Airbrush Compressor

The Master Airbrush Single Piston Airbrush Compressor with Tank as sold on Amazon. All of this for only $89 plus shipping!

The Master Airbrush Single Piston Airbrush Compressor with Tank as sold on Amazon. All of this for only $89 shipped!

A great item to go along with a new airbrush is a small airbrush compressor. These can be very expensive but you really do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy compressor. The Master Airbrush TC20-T airbrush compressor is a great little compressor and comes in under $100 delivered from Amazon. These usually include a braided hose which means you have what you need to get started airbrushing. The hose that’s included with these is standardized for Iwata fittings so if you don’t have an Iwata airbrush pick up one of these airbrush adapter kits which covers about 99 percent of airbrushes commonly used.

Airbrush Spray Booth

airbrush spay booth

This portable airbrush spray booth will keep your airbrushing environment clean

The last major piece of the airbrushing puzzle is optional but nice to have if your hobbyist is spraying indoors. This Master Airbrush portable airbrush spray booth has a fan that draws in the overspray and air and filters it keeping any stray paint from getting out of hand and helps with odor control. The kit includes parts to exhaust the filtered air out a nearby window or vent. Strictly optional but this will probably keep everyone else in the house happy and it’s also under $100 delivered if you buy it on Amazon.

Army Painter Mega Hobby Set & Mega Paint Set 2

The Army Painter Mega Hobby Set is great for someone who's just getting started in the miniatures hobby

The Army Painter Mega Hobby Set is great for someone who’s just getting started in the miniatures hobby

This gift idea is really for those that are brand new to the hobby and just getting started. The Army Painter Mega Hobby Set is your one stop shop for the beginning miniatures hobbyist. It’s conveniently packaged all together and has a great assortment of hobby tools like knives, clippers, files and tweezers. It also includes glues, a basic selection of Army Painter brand paints and paint brushes, a can of spray primer and is rounded out with a nice assortment of basing materials to finish off your miniatures like a pro. It even includes a 24 page booklet with lots of information to help you get started and dive right in to the miniatures hobby.

The Army Painter Mega Paint Set 2 is a great addition to the Mega Hobby Set and gives you an additional 42 paints, washes and more

The Army Painter Mega Paint Set 2 is a great addition to the Mega Hobby Set and gives you an additional 42 paints, washes and more/army-painter-mega-paint-set-2

If you’re looking to expand this set, consider the Army Painter Mega Paint Set II which contains an additional 42 paints and includes washes and shades and some additional brushes.

Weathering Pigments from Vallejo & Secret Weapon Miniatures

Weathering Pigment sets from Vallejo and Secret Weapon Miniatures will allow you to add that extra bit of realism to your miniatures and models

Weathering Pigment sets from Vallejo and Secret Weapon Miniatures will allow you to add that extra bit of realism to your miniatures and models

This gift idea is for those hobbyists that are looking to add that extra level of realism to their miniatures. Weathering pigments are fine colored powders that are usually used to add color to paint medium. In this format they are literally just the pigment powder, usually in a small jar or tub and are applied with a brush or sponge to add different effects to a model in order to make it look worn and dirty or greasy or even rusty. These can be purchased individually but are also sold in sets of compatible shades around a theme like “Desert Sand and Mud” or “Rust and Oil” etc. I use weathering pigments from both Vallejo and Secret Weapon Miniatures. I like them both but recently have been leaning more towards the Secret Weapon Miniatures brand as I like their color selection and variety better. They also sell pre-selected sets of pigments and for a really nice gift Secret Weapon Miniatures have a set called “The Works” which includes all twenty three of the shades they offer in one complete package at a discount price of about 15% off the regular price if purchased separately. (It’s also a great time to buy Secret Weapon Miniatures products as many of their products are currently on sale at up to 25% off normal prices for their annual Black Friday sale which lasts until December 4th).

The  Wrap Up (See What I Did There?)

The perfect holiday gift for a miniatures hobbyist?

The perfect holiday gift for a miniatures hobbyist?

It’s a wrap! These are just a few ideas that I think many miniatures hobbyists would be pretty happy to receive in their stocking or find under the tree on Christmas morning. Whether you’re filling the role of Santa this year or need to give some not so subtle hints to someone about possible gift ideas for yourself this list should help make someone a little extra happy when it comes time to unwrap presents. If you were making a list along this theme what else would you suggest? Please add your ideas in the comment section below!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: Wall Mount Nail Polish/Hobby Paint Rack

 Hobby Tradecraft, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming  Comments Off on Review: Wall Mount Nail Polish/Hobby Paint Rack
Nov 192015
 

Something that seems to come up quite a bit in hobby forums and social media is the subject of paint storage. Pretty frequently I see people asking how other hobbyists store their hobby paints or if someone can recommend a pre-made hobby paint rack or storage unit.

Hobby Paint Storage Racks Can Be Pricey

You can spend a lot of money on a storage rack. There are some very nice desktop racks available that are made from laser cut MDF or Plexiglas. Most of these are made up of modular sections that you can set up to fit into your work area. Additionally most of these offer optional tool racks and drawer units so you can design the perfect setup for your hobby workstation. I happen to own one of these from an outfit called Back 2 Base-ix based in Australia. (Note that at the time of this writing, the Back 2 Base-ix website appears to be offline. If you want to get in contact with them you might try their Facebook Page)

hobby paint rack, wall mount nail polish rack

The Back 2 Base-ix hobby paint rack is nice and allows you to customize your set up, but it’s pricey

This is a great setup and I love it but there are some caveats to a hobby paint rack like this. First off, it’s expensive. There’s no other way to state this. My setup as shown cost $250 – and that was with free shipping. I bought their pre-selected package and added the tool rack and another large straight section.

Aside from the price, the other thing to keep in mind is that this paint rack takes up a lot of real estate on the desk top. I have a fairly large desk that I got from Ikea, so for me in my current work space it’s not much of a concern. If you have a small desk or cramped work area then you’re going to want to carefully consider whether you have room for something this big. Lastly, if I wanted to expand this, the fact that they’re in Australia and ship from there means that the shipping cost for one or two pieces is absurdly prohibitively expensive.  (They don’t have any US based companies who stock this product line, I asked via their FB page and got a definitive no on that subject.)

Another Solution: The Nail Polish Rack Re-purposed As a Hobby Paint Rack

hobby paint rack, wall mount nail polish rack

The wall mounted nail polish rack – now filled with hobby paints and other supplies

Like many of you, I have lots of hobby paint. Eventually I outgrew the desktop rack and was looking for another solution that would take up less space and be a little more budget friendly. After considering a few different ideas and searching the interwebs I stumbled across a pretty great solution that is ready made, easily sourced and budget friendly. This solution was the acrylic nail polish wall rack.

The nail polish wall rack is ideal for our needs. While it’s made for nail polish, it turns out that many of those bottles are actually pretty wide due to their square shape or having a wider base than top. These racks are built to accommodate about 90 of the nail polish bottles which means you can store at least that many of the dropper bottle paint pots.

Additionally, this rack accommodates most if not all of the paints that miniature and model building hobbyists typically use. I store Vallejo, Reaper, Games Workshop, Tamiya, AK/MiG, Minitaire and more in the rack. They all fit. There’s plenty of room for these paint pots and plenty of height between each shelf. The paint rack can be leaned up against the wall but also comes pre-drilled with holes at the corners so that you can mount it on the wall above or next to your hobby desk.

Where Can I Get A Nail Polish Wall Rack To Use As A Hobby Paint Rack?

These racks are available on Amazon and are very hobby budget friendly, currently at under $35 shipped. This is a great solution for storing your paint. It allows you to have the paint with the labels out where you can see them and it doesn’t take up much desk space if you need to just lean it against the wall instead of mounting it with screws. I do want to caution you that if you decide to mount it to the wall, be gentle when tightening the screws. It is made from plastic and if you just power the screws in with a drill/driver you’re likely to crack or break the plastic around the mounting holes. Other than that potential issue, this paint rack is perfect for storing all of your hobby paints and I definitely recommend it.

Get your own nail polish/hobby paint rack at Amazon here

Etsy Review: Typhoon Paint Mixer for Hobby & Airbrush Paints

 Geek Gifts, Hobby Tradecraft, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming  Comments Off on Etsy Review: Typhoon Paint Mixer for Hobby & Airbrush Paints
Nov 182015
 

Continuing the idea of sharing stuff that I’ve found to be useful or unique for gamers and hobbyists, today we’re going to look at something really different, the Typhoon Paint Mixer. The Typhoon Paint Mixer is available on Etsy from the seller Kennedys Art Supply.

etsy, typhoon paint mixer, hobby paint mixer, airbrush paint, miniature painting,

The Typhoon Paint Mixer – perfect for mixing all of your hobby and airbrush paints

Just What Is The Typhoon Paint Mixer?

Simply put it’s an electric motorized paint stirrer that’s made for small sized paint pots used by miniature hobbyists, model builders and airbrush users. If you’re like most folks in those hobbies, what started out as a few paints has likely grown to a fairly large collection in it’s own right at this point and you know that when paint sits around for awhile it separates and settles and can be a pain to shake back into usable condition. Shaking your paints vigorously can also leave them kind of foamy or even result in accidents where the lid comes off mid shake and you have a mess to clean up.

Enter the Typhoon Paint Mixer, a desktop mixing machine that doesn’t actually shake the paint bottles but mixes them via high speed vibration, similar to how test tube vortex mixer works.

Why Is the Typhoon Paint Mixer Better?

A powered hobby paint mixer is going to be one of those gadgets that a lot of people will consider a luxury item and not a necessity. There are a lot of ways to skin the proverbial paint mixing cat. I’ve seen everything from battery operated cocktail stirrers, to using a drill to spin paints, to purpose built hobby paint shakers. The truth is that while any of these methods will work, none of them are ideal, some of them are potentially messy and some can be downright rage inducing. The Typhoon Paint Mixer does one thing, but it does that one thing very well.

Unlike other paint mixers or home brew contraptions there’s no strapping the paint pot into a device or opening it up involved. The Typhoon paint mixer is touch activated. You simply press the pot down on the rubber ring on top of the unit for a few seconds and it does its thing, which is to vibrate very fast in a manner that creates a vortex inside the paint pot and mixes your paint perfectly every time. But don’t just take my word for it, watch the video below.

 

(As I understand it, there is no longer a “model 1/model 2”. Due to popular request, all of the Typhoon Paint Mixers now come with the larger ring to accommodate the fatter paint pots. You may want to confirm this when ordering though in case I’m wrong)

You can see the paint swirl and change color as it is blended with the medium. The Typhoon does this by swirling the liquid much faster than you could ever shake it by hand or with a battery operated device. The specs state that the liquid is swirled 60 times a second. The interesting thing about this is that you don’t end up with foamy paint even after that vigorous swirling.

One of the best things about this unit is that it doesn’t feel like some cheap plastic toy. I’ve had a couple of the Robart Hobby Paint Shakers and they’re pretty sub par to be honest. They feel cheap and use a proprietary rubber band setup. I’ve burned the motors out on two of these and had them vibrate right off my desk on more than one occasion. The Typhoon Paint Mixer doesn’t require any special hardware and it is HEAVY! I haven’t weighed it but the case and bottom are thick steel and it probably weighs between five to ten pounds which means it doesn’t budge when your operate it. It’s also a plug in unit so there are no batteries to replace.

The description on Etsy states that these units are handcrafted, but what I think that actually means is that they are surplus industrial equipment that has been reconditioned and/or rebuilt and made presentable with a new paint job and labeling. Robert Kennedy, the maker of these units is very committed to making sure that buyers of the Typhoon Paint Mixer are 100 percent satisfied and he offers a 90 days money back or replacement guarantee. He also offers various colors and I think will do custom colors upon request. (I also think it’s kind of cool that this Etsy seller has found a legitimate second life for these mixers. Bonus points for keeping them out of the landfill.)

etsy, typhoon paint mixer, hobby paint mixer, airbrush paint, miniature painting,

The Typhoon Paint Mixer is solidly built and has a heavy duty electrical cord

What Brands of Paint Can I Mix With The Typhoon Paint Mixer?

Robert states that you can mix just about any bottle of hobby and model paint with the Typhoon Paint Mixer. I’ve tested the unit with lots of different paints including Vallejo, Reaper, Games Workshop, Tamiya, Mig/AK, Minitaire and more. It works great with all of these paint pots as they all fit into the rubber ring on top of the paint mixer. In every case it’s worked exactly as advertised and thoroughly mixed the paint. (If you need help selling the idea of purchasing one of these to your significant other, you might want to mention to him or her that it’s also great for shaking up bottles of nail polish, everybody wins!)

The Typhoon Paint Mixer, Is it Worth It?

Now we’re going to talk about what this thing will cost you. As I mentioned above, this is definitely a “luxury gadget”. It sells on Etsy for $75 shipped and currently only ships to US addresses. If I had to guess I’d say that there’s no international shipping option because the unit is so heavy that shipping it overseas is likely to be an expensive prospect.

$75 for a paint mixer sounds like a lot on the surface of it but considering what I spend on paint, brushes, airbrush equipment, etc. it’s just another piece of equipment. That kind of purchase isn’t in everyone’s hobby budget though, so your mileage may vary. For the sake of comparison though, if you were to buy an actual vortex mixer for your paint station you’re looking at about $250 for a new unit on Amazon and other sites. There’s no way I would ever recommend spending $250 on a paint mixer. If we compare paint mixers to paint mixers, I killed two Robart mixers after about of year of use for each one. Considering that those run about $40 apiece, plus batteries, I spent more on those two mixers than I spent on the Typhoon.

Having used the Typhoon Paint Mixer though and seeing in person how well it works, I can recommend this at the current listed price on Etsy for it’s utility, it’s quality and durability. I’m definitely giving the Typhoon Paint Mixer a thumbs up if you’re a serious painter and can fit it into your hobby budget. As a holiday gift, I don’t think I know any hobbyist who wouldn’t appreciate getting one of these.

Get your own Typhoon Paint Mixer at Kennedys Art Supply on Etsy!