I'm having to downsize my painting station down. Have a small table set up though it's fairly crowded and only just has by painting supplies, not my basing or modelling bits. I suspect I can gain some additional space with some new shelves and moving some of the less used things into the roof space but wondering what clever storage and organisation solutions people have used over the years themselves that they can recommend?
Boxes with boxes inside them is my secret.
My painting stuff lives in a shoebox.
Within it is a plastic box that once held mushrooms.
My paints are double stacked inside.
Outside on a long edge are my brushes sorted by size and quality, bundled with rubber bands and rolled in paper like huge jazz cigarettes.
Above the top edge are some tubes of artists acrylic and the hummus pots that I use as water jars.
On top lay some plastic palettes, and some sheets of scrap paper.
I can bring the paint box and a newspaper inside when I begin painting.
Likewise I have a smaller box which contains blu tak, miliput, several sets of snippers, superglue and some files.
It's the pre-paint kit.
Many years ago I bought a "tallboy" (High narrow cupboard) and many shelves form Ikea, which is really handy for assorted small stuff.
Ikea don't stock the same range any more, but other discount furniture outlets are available.
Mine has a 40cm square section - a small footprint, but 18 shelves inside.
For figure storage I've gone with cardboard Pizza boxes.
Shallow enough for 10mm stuff, 15mm foot and most 15mm horse.
A 0.8mm mild steel sheet is fixed to the bottom for strength, and wooden cubes placed at the corners eliminate the crush risk when stacking 6 deep.
I've spent about three years sorting my figures, rules and accessories (dice, tape measures, home made QRS's, other bits) into themed packs.
The pizza boxes for figures are simply stacked together.
The rules and bits go into a folder so all the stuff is in one place.
At present there's a massive box of dice in ziplock bags.
I'm debating whether to transfer these into the a4 folders (correct types and numbers for each game).
At present that seems like overkill which wouldn't save much time or space.
If you have a stack of paints, my wife came up with the idea of storing these using nail varnish display cases.
An example here... (https://www.amazon.co.uk/KINGROW-Acrylic-Organizer-Bottles-Essential/dp/B08CC3HXGQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=MH2P507INS5S&keywords=nail%2Bvarnish%2Bdisplay&qid=1694342738&sprefix=nail%2Bvarnish%2Bdisp%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1)
Along the same lines, there are also specific mdf paint storage options that can then be attached to a wall. Bought one for my son - this became my Christmas morning job (replacing the setting up of extensive scalextric tracks that are then used once...)
Phil
Interesting ideas. I do have the MDF paint storage system that are similar to the nail varnish one but it's overflowing now and takes up a lot of desk space. A wall mounted one might be a good idea.
For figure storage I've been using the hard plastic A4 document boxes with magnetic paper which works pretty well as they hold a decent amount and stack well. I have got to the point though of probably needing to buy another batch which means the stack (even with the supports that come with it) might get a bit precarious so I'll maybe have to go with two stacks. I did organise my basing material into a Stanley nail/screw organisation thing with wee pull out drawers but 90% of the time I'm just using my own premixed ones, so tempted to make some bigger batches of those in tupperware then repurpose the organiser for other odds and ends.
I like the idea of grouping things together by game type, though I've probably not quite settled enough on core rule sets to make that practical yet, there are a few that it would be useful to have that.
(https://asda.scene7.com/is/image/Asda/5060231633465?hei=662&wid=662&qlt=85&fmt=webp&resmode=sharp&op_usm=1.1,0.5,0,0&defaultimage=default_details_George_rd) Something like this. It's A4 size (so not a big foot print) with lots of drawers for different usages.
I use something similar for spare paints, tools, bases, lead mountain etc.
Mine has wheels do I can move it as necessary.
You can get them in a less colourful scheme. :)
Try your local Wiko - they are having a closing sale.
My nearest Wilko is four hours away, two hours of which is on a ferry, I doubt there'd be enough savings to make it worthwhile ;D
I do have a cheap plastic cabinet like that, though only three deeper drawers so things tend to get lost in it. Maybe smaller drawers would help organise
QuoteTry your local Wiko - they are having a closing sale.
Mrs. R4 went to local Wilko last week. She was not impressed by the supposed savings being offered.
We use Really Useful Boxes for bigger items like scenery and buildings. All of our painted figures go into A5 'pizza' style cardboard boxes which are pretty cheap and robust for storage. They'll stack 10 boxes high on a set of bookshelves without any problems.
For your paints we've got some storage options available in MDF: https://www.pendraken.co.uk/paint-storage-975-c.asp I've got a couple of corner units ready to release as well.