Hey everyone..finally got moved into my new house.. what a relief that was. Now that all the chaos has settled, I can finally set some attention to 'remodeling' my new hobby room. I was considering just buying a desk and shlving , but thats what Ive always had since I was always renting...but hey..I dont have to move anymore! so I decided on designing and building my own workbench along with display shleving that suites me. still havent made up any plans for my desk..only whats in my head for the moment..this is going to be a piece by piece project, since my funds are limited, I have to purchase materials as I go along..so for now..I'll start with the paint! yes, bassackwards from modeling..but I gotta get rid of that yucky pink color. The first pic shows the wall where my desk will go.. to its left is where my display shelving and book shelves will go...to its right of course the window and then theres the closet..doesnt look big enough for all the kits I wanna buy! anyway...off to the room to start paintin..

Congrats on the house and the dedicated hobby room, should be a fun project.....a real labor of love

No power outlet on the wall! What the heck!? Every wall should have at least two. Homebuilders never think these things through. Alas, you're at the mercy of someone elses design. Guess thats what extension cords were made for. Hate them things...Congrats on being a home owner!

lol ,yup, I noticed that too. I think I'll run a power strip along the back underneath the desk top. Ive found a few querky things in this house..it being only 3 years old, seemed odd..like the door bell button, its only two foot off the floor! guess it was a midget that installed it.

Thanks James..its certainly a new ,fun, yet chaotic experiance, but I think it will get better.

Should be easier to find those pesky parts that get lost during builds on that floor. Can we expect a 3-tone camo for the room and netting for the ceiling? Don't forget the sandbags around the desk with a TV nearby for the movie war sound effects. Congrats on the modelling paradise

Hi Tim, Congrats on the new home. I just moved in to a new place myself last October and promised myself I wouldnt set up my model area until the rest of the house was in order. A good resource for shelving is what is called a Baker's Rack. You can get them at stores like Target or Loews. They are wire shelving units but are very inexpensive and since they are open you can hang all kinds of hooks from the edges and use it for drying airbrushed parts and sprues while you are working. I bought 2 units and have them about 4-5 ft. apart and then placed a formica countertop with ends resting on each side so that I have a U shaped work area. Just an inexpensive idea, good luck getting set up.

Thanks for the tip Jim, I'll check those out on my next trip to Lowes.
heres my current progress ..so far Ive managed to get the base color applied.. everyone thats seen it so far seems to think the color is too dark for what the room is for.. but, once the desk, shleving and lighting is installed, which will all mostly be white, with lots of lighting, I think it will look better with a nice contrast in color. next up will be the main body assembly, detailing..and followed by the detail paintjob, weathering etc..

Hi Tim

Nice to see you getting your own "man cave" although I have to say I agree with the comments you've had about the colour being too dark. I'm a bit of a all white person myself and introduce colour with any worktops, furniture etc.

I wouldn't go with the open shelving idea personally. Whilst as Jim says it has the potential of hanging things off being open it's also going to gather the dust and debris on whatever is stacked on it and between the open rungs that make up the shelves. Makes the chore of cleaning and dusting longer and the potential of dust gathering more to end up deposited on your freshly applied paint job.

I've got for cupboard units myself. I got several of the basic white kitchen range from Ikea and put those up, which not only closes off inside whatever you want to store from too much dust and dirt but also being fixed to the wall keeps the floor area more clear and open. Also positioned right, say above your worktops you can use the cupboard underside to mount lighting to shine onto you work surface. The area above the cupboards can be used for open storage if you want or for display although a bit high to see much detail.


Anyway, enjoy your new "home"

Alan

Thanks alan for the input. I can understand the use of white walls, but, to me I just didnt want a workroom to look like a doctors examination room. The shelving I will have is mainly for books and such, while the display shelving will be enclosed with glass doors and even more lighting. I think with all the lighting I have in mind, the blue walls wont matter. but will see.. Im planning all this as I go along.. for example.. I was going with white malimite table tops, but today I changed it on a whim and now theyll be stained birch! but we'll see how that'll work out.

I don't know,it looks like it's going to be too neat and well arranged unless it's in a dark corner in the basement how can you feel comfortable ??

seriously,it looks great congrats and good luck

Congrats on the new man-cave Tim. In all the years Ive been on Armorama, not many have been as productive as you have been ... so the simple desk has served you well. I also have 2 small units with a large "shelf" between them. Works great, and you have a good wide area betwen them to move over and back. The "shelf" doesn´t cost much so can be replaced after a few years for a cleaner version.
Ive seen, no matter what you do now, you´ll chop and change as time moves on, so it doesn´t need to be the most expensive set-up. I´d also agree with Alan ... glass doors for the finished models. Its amazing how much dust builds up on top of things!
I see you don´t have dreaded carpet monster to feed either!!

I am probably barking up the wrong tree here, but did anyone else notice the "88 campaign on armorama" banner is actually a Soviet 85mm?

lol great comments ..and you guys are right. I remember way back when I started modeling (adult modeling) , everything was in a tool box and stored away, or layed on the floor as I worked on models..from there I progressed to a small computer desk, then a plywood scrap desk! Now that was a desk! My last house (rental) I had built myself a small desk , which was tucked away in the basement with all the spiders..but now Im like the Jeffersons baby..Im movin on up!
so here we go to the next step.. the desk begins to take form! framed out with 2x4s mounted to the wall with large wood screws. This thing aint goin nowhere! Tired of the shakey desk, I can actually lay on this one and it wont budge. The top is 1/2" birch ply ,which will be stained and trimmed off around the edges with a nice decorative piece at the front.Once I finish off my beer I'll get to sanding and stainin...
put bold text here

Tim== looks great! I like that long work area table....how about shelves?
DJ

theyll be along..gotta do a little at the time as I get more funds.

That Blue is a tad darker than my model room. Its gonna suck up light pretty good. I suggest daylight flouro bulbs (white). They help a great deal, especially at night. I also use seven Ott-Lite lamps over my bench. Not necessary, but I'm a light nut.

All look good. I moved into my new house six years ago, with "man cave". I had a friend , who had a friend and managed to score some cheap MDF. Worked like a dream. However much to the wifes disappointment I am now on version two.

Good luck and Take your time.(inbetween many beers)

Thanks guys. for my lighting I'll be using a flurescent lightbox ,mounted in the drop panel ceiling, along with numerous spot lights and string LEDs. Not sure though yet if I'll be using LEDs or Xenon lights. Heres the next progress so far.. Ive managed to finish staining the desk tops., using 3 coats with sanding and drying up to 6 hours in between coats, which gave me a nice smooth and shiney finish. Though not too glaring that it bounces light into my eyes. The dark top I felt was a good choice to help locate plastic, brass ,and white styrene parts hidden on my desk.. white was a first choice, but it tends to hide the small white styrene parts that I work with.

Wish I had painted my room before I rushed all my stuff in. Now it would take a month to paint it!

You're off to a great start!

Thanks Jeff! Heres some more work Ive completed. I made the book shelves and got them hung, still need to add the trim for edges. Im also adding small shelves which will go between them. I also added the desk shelves, two workstations (one for me , and one for the wife) the airbrush section is in the middle. I will add shelving for it as well as a large lazy susan to paint on. I still have lighting to buy as well, which will mount under the wall shleves. I added 3 small lamps under the desk shleves, but will add 3 more , 1 more for the right and 2 in the middle. If you notice, the right side light is mounted to the front, which I didnt like cause it shines in the eyes, so theyll be mounted to the rear ,like the ones on the right...stay tuned for the next episode of DIY Hobby Room Edition!

Really Great work
But Tim blue for the room I dont think it is the best color for such purpose.
Let me check at work what kind of color do we sell to such application and i get back to you.
To my opinion it is too dark
Cheers
seb

Hi Tim

Sorry but its looking terrible. Not the layout or the fixtures but the overall colour/light aspect. It's just too dark, especially as you've stained the worktop down. Given you've positioned the bench etc along this wall as you sit and work your body will block out the natural light coming from the windows behind you making your workspace even darker. Added to that the units above your head will add to the dark oppressive feel you've created. You'll have the lights on all the time.

Bear in mind any wall colour will reflect from the light shining on it so in turn effect the colours you see on your model.

First off if it was me would be to repaint the walls either white or a very light neutral colour. Ask the question on Google "What colour walls for my studio" and see what comes up. Most will relate to photographic or artist studios but its still relevant for what we do as we work with colour and form etc.

I'd actually have a work area close to the window to look out of ever so often. It's good for your eyes to look out and change focus from time to time. It's also good from a natural light aspect.

Sorry. Hope you don't mind me being honest. At least at this stage it's easy to do something about it without a load of stuff in the way.


Alan

I can understand your thoughts, but sitiing in the room, I dont see the color of it being an issue, not with the lighting Im adding. That was one point about the color..I just didnt want it looking like an examination room..after all, its part of my home, not an office. Blue bouncing onto my work? not at all.
I looked for some better lighting, other than the flurs...which seems to be the Xenon lights, theyre Halogen I think..theyre bright, more natural. Got a pack of 6 pucks for $35 ..not bad..even has a dimmer switch. I still think I'll need some more lighting from behind me though, to help with the shadows. and my window isnt behind me, its to my right and slightly behind, so Im not blocking it.

So why does it resemble most small offices I've seen and worked at

Only joking around. No offence intended Tim.

I guess as colour and planning space comes into part of my job skills I take a different stance to the casual viewer.

I would say though why clutter up your work surface with these raise shelf/plinth things. Why not mount shallow shelves under the existing cupboards to hold the majority of that stuff and keep your worktop as open and free for as many kit parts etc. as possible.

Alan

Tim,

I'm curious what lights are you using for the ones located under the 2 shelfs you've got on the bench ??

great color blue for the walls... shapen up to be a spiffy lil spot to build an relax...

also what figure kits are those you've got on the bench/shelf... the anime females that is.

Chris