portman's new workbench.

[Stuart]

I thought I'd start a new workbench thread as I had a rather awesome present for my birthday yesterday.

This is my current modelling 'tray' that lives on the corner of the dining room table (it's an old MDF monitor stand turned upside down). As you can see - it's rather small. That's a HobbyBoss 1/72 Hellcat for scale. With all the bottles etc I have about a third of a A4 cutting mat to work on (I do have a big toolbox with all my other gear in).





Well for my birthday I was given this rather expensive (£90) pile of lazer-cut plywood...



Which turned into three piles of plywood...



What I basically have here is a workbench, and two drawers units (x1 2 drawer and x1 4 drawer) which can be stacked together for storage, or moved around as needed.

After an hour this morning I had this...



It's not quite finished yet, I've glued it together but it needs panel pins adding (when they arrive), but just look at it - IT'S HUGE!!! I'm so excited by this, it's the closest I'm going to get to having a proper mancave/workbench in my house, but it's going to be so nice to have a more dedicated modelling space, and an even bigger area to work from - I've just ordered a new A3 cutting mat...

A3!!!! Woohoo!!!!

I'll carry on updating this as I assemble the drawer units - those are going to be pretty cool too, I should be able to ditch the tool box and keep al my stuff together. I'm pretty impressed with the quality so far, It's going together nicely. I got it from ebay from a company that manufacture custom base boards for model train layouts.

I think I might have to see if I can get a desklamp to go with it.

Cheers

Stuart

[KSaarni]

Wouuuuh!! That is really cool and practical!

And what an update from your previous !

- Kari

[speedgraflex]

Stuart—your new workbench in progress is beautiful!

[LyleW]

That is a great present! Nice job assembling that pile.

[Stikpusher]

Now that is the beginnings of a proper work area! Good for you Stuart!

[BorgR3mc0]

Not only is that a very practical and thoughtful present it is also very nice to have support for your hobby from your loved ones.

[Stuart]

Thanks Gents - I have to say it was very nice of them to get it - I'm enjoying using it already.

Well the bench is pretty much finished - I'm just waiting for my new cutting mat to arrive. I was thinking of painting the insides of the small trays at the front to tidy them up a bit, and I might see if I can't scratch-build some kind of stand to hold the instructions etc.

Anyway - here it is, and no I don't model on the floor, it's just easier to photograph!



I've also managed to assemble most of the 4 drawer/compartment unit - as you can see I have built up 2 of the 3 drawers, the other is just waiting for the glue to dry. I just need to add a few more panel pins to the base and it's done.



And I've started to fill up the drawers. I'm thinking that in this unit I'll have one drawer for tools, one for glues and filler and one for masking tapes, sanding stuff etc. The back compartment I think is going to be filed with varnishes, decalfix, weathering powers and all the other bottles of Lord knows what we seem to collect in this hobby. It might also be good for plastic tubes and strip.



I have to say this has been great fun - but I am looking forward to getting it all built up. I just need to crack on with the two drawer unit now. Here's a dry fit of one of it's drawers - as you can see I can fit my 1/72 Hellcat in it easily, and it's much bigger than the drawers from the 3 drawer unit. I'm thinking sheet plastic and building materials in these?



Thanks for looking in - I'm hopeing all of this waffle's not too boring but I do feel that for the first time in 8 years of modelling, I finally have a proper bench - and it's blooming awesome!

Cheers

Stuart

[speedgraflex]

Stuart, keep posting the decisions you are making as you continue to assemble and populate your new bench. Too often there are important steps that are skipped during a build process that I wish were documented. From first photos to the current set you posted, a great deal of thought has been going on, and I for one would like to know what you are thinking... and feeling. Proper tools and a proper work surface and now proper storage means you are leveling up... I for one cannot wait to see what comes next! Your birthday weekend is a success! Keep going, keep your momentum and all the best!!

[LyleW]

What a great, compact setup! That is coming along quite well.