I am finally going to get to redo/ refresh my workspace. I have the tools, paint, TV, music etc. but for your organization, working etc. What are your top 10 items you want/need in and around your workspace.
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A moat too wide for wives and nosy neighbors to cross.
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Daylight. I always have daylight, preferably a workplace in front of a window.
Next a suitable seat for my supervisor, a.k.a. Jinjer, the big red cat. He MUST be on on near my worktable and if he does not have his own spot, he’ll demand one.
Other than that I’ll manage.
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Plenty of room. I have a table for building, shelves for storage of kits paints and supplies, and a separate bench for the airbrush. If you need to pack up to switch activities it gets old pretty fast, and progress grinds to a halt.
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Seriously though:
Cutting mat – biggest you can fit IMO. I have like 5 or 6.
Table – as mentioned, but it can take many shapes from a dedicated desk to a folding hobby table. In my garage area I built shelves and counter space along two walls, but inside the house in my den I have a built-in computer desk large enough to hold a large cutting mat and a folding plastic picnic table that I can use for holding larger kits or cover with a drop cloth for when I flock display bases.
Lighting – As much as you can get. I have a number of 4-foot LED shop lights in both areas 4000K bright white light, plus I also have a fingernail tech’s arching lamp that I use for painting and assembling figures/small items that need lots of light to see, especially when I’m wearing magnifiers.
Organizers – Consider one of the laser-cut MDF paint stations for sale from various merchants to keep at least your most commonly used brushes, paints, and other bits organized together until you can obtain more. I bought a few things from Proscale on Amazon that fit my Tamiya/AK jars and Vallejo dropper bottles, but there are numerous vendors. Jars, boxes, small bins are fine for a while but at some point you’ll want more organization.
A paper towel holder within reach but not where a spill could hit it before you can grab it off the table. Nothing says fun like dumping decal water all over your table AND roll of towels laying right there.
This is my garage area:
And my workspace inside:
That’s the arch light over the mat. The folding table is out of shot to the right but has my school work laptop on it currently and that is boring to look at.
Which reminds me of something else I find I use a lot – magnetic bars to hold tools. You see one right under the cabinet in the pic above and along the length of the shelf in the garage room.
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What a great setup! I am in TX so the work to make the garage habitable is more than I care to consider. Plus we are not staying in this house -so I am going for some of the basics. Especially the lighting- doing some more research on that. Got a good mat, set on a piece of poster board for strength.
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Candys, most important thing, ever
Rabbits
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I agree with @brekinapez above: mat, light, organizers & paper. And I would add:
- A power socket on your table so you can easily plug in the drill or any other tool.
- A handheld vacuum cleaner to remove all dust from sanding or filing.
If you have room enough, set up different areas for building, painting and (if needed) photographing.
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a clear working space with great lighting. Then within arms reach, paints, solvents, tools, adhesives, a place to put a book or pictures and without getting up turning to a painting booth with compressor, airbrush, exhaust vent and a turntable.
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Regarding paper towels: I use both of these holders located within easy reach of my paws. A ton of similar holders can be found on Amazon and elsewhere.
Under my main workbench (comes with strong double-sided tape).
And on the floor next to my airbrush workstation (nice heavy base).
Note: Oh hell no, I am not affiliated.
—mike 
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Wives???
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Holly sh*t, what an inspirational setup.
The metallic bar for tools is an awesome idea!
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Sounds like you got everything you need there
Actually, A pile of rags(not next to any heat source) would be better
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Any room next to an open window(or Two) would be ideal
My workspace is still a work in progress, and I’m planning on buying pegboards, which is something I should have bought right from the get go. Those offer modularity, which is something critical when one needs to adapt their space to so many various tools.
An actual room, my wife works from home and took the office, I build on the kitchen counter and have a kitchen cabinet and some space in the pantry to store things. It’s not the worst, but I really need a man cave again.
Models are on shelves in the garage. They were packed up for over a year but I recently discovered plastic transparent covers for metal garage shelving, it’s a game changer, really helps with dust
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Moved a year ago and have just started to use my new workspace, nowhere as large as some pics here but works for me. Cheers.
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No matter how big it starts out, every model workspace eventually shrinks to about a square foot of usable cutting–mat space once all the tools, parts, stray boxes etc build up!
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Nailed it!
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