A friend of mine helped me build my shed almost 20 years ago now - it's a large space, full of shed-type stuff like gym gear (which I do use, I promise!), power tools, boxes of bolts and old books. A substantial amount of space is dedicated to hobby-related pursuits: I've boxes of bits-and-pieces that might come in useful one day, raw materials like cardboard and acrylic that I've magpied over the years, and a motley collection of hobby mini and terrain projects - some pristine, pile-of-shame stuff and the various outputs of my successful and aborted efforts. Like everyone, I'm continually juggling things for space, recycling or tossing old stuff, regretting it and creating new stuff that is occasionally deemed 'finished'. But for an old pussy cat that shares the space, it's my space to do with as I please.
Indoors we're fortunate enough to have a relatively large, communal study - given the current Covid-19 lock-down restrictions in Melbourne (where we basically have to stay at home 24/7 and for good reason) it gets a good workout with various family members working in the room as circumstances dictate. With the exception of an old piano, the room's entirely kitted out with Ikea-sourced furniture, including a display case (for my minis), some shelving, a couch and desks.
It is at one such desk where I'm able to paint my miniatures. My setup has been taking shape over the years and consists of a shelf where my works in progress and wet palette reside, a draw for stuff like glues, racks for my paints and a brush holder. But the one thing that has always been frustrating has been my light.
Over the years I've tried a number of different lamps in an effort to get things 'right' - as anyone who has painted a number of miniatures would attest to, the wrong lighting makes for a frustrating experience at best. I suspect my all too regular eye strain and headaches over the years certainly haven't been helped by poor lighting. So for a while now, I've been looking for something better.
I did the usual google hunt for ideas and everything from LED light arcs to drafting table lamps turned up, all with their own pros and cons. Where I was left undecided was striking a balance between price (I didn't want to spend $200+ on the wrong lamp!) and features, primarily the light's type (warm/cool) and intensity (bright/dim).
In the end, I decided to take a punt with Ikea. Here in Australia Ikea offers a generous returns policy - basically, if you're careful, you can get a refund up to a year later. I purchased an ARÖD work lamp and a TRÅDFRI LED globe. Here's a video of the setup in action (warning, not suitable for non-hobby nerds):
The ARÖD lamp isn't small: it's base is 9-inches (23cm) wide, very heavy (meaning it's also very stable), it's neck is about 36-inches (90cm) long and the fitting has about a 6-inch throat. Because it can be rotated on the base and neck independently, coupled with two points of articulation, it can be extended about 25-inches (60cm) from the base, avoiding the need to reposition the lamp. So that's a thumbs up. Another reason I opted for the AROD work lamp as opposed to other options is that we had the floor standing version already in the room. So it was an attempt to keep things matching within the room.
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| It's tall! That's the remote attached to the base. |
The TRÅDFRI LED globe was a punt: it comes with a simple, circular remote control disk (magnetised, which is a useful feature) that allows for turning the light on/off, dimming/brightening and switching between warm and cold light. You know what? I like it. The cool, white light dialled up to something less than full brightness feels 100 times better than my most recent experiments.
That's about that. I feel like I'm on a winner and I'm looking forward to painting in relative comfort in the future. Yep, fewer excuses than usual... clearly I didn't think that through.
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