"Magnifying glass for painting small figs" Topic

ACk!!!!

I'm getting old!

Looking at my primed 6mm infantry I find myself needing some sort of magnifying device.

I'd prefer something to put on my head over something on the table or attached to the table.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

Optivisor. Many styles and various magnifications to choose from.

I use an Optivisor with a LP3 lens (1.75x magnification, 14" focal length) but cheaper clones are doubtless available.

Some others swear by cheap supermarket reading glasses.

+1 for the Optivisor. Most important thing on my painting table. If you can't see it, you can't paint it.

So Crafty Magnifying light from ALDI if you are in UK.

link

I use 4x magnifying reading glasses that have lights in the frames. Very helpful.

Yep Optivisor with my glasses …

After long searching I use these..
elfa.se/en/headset-magnifier-5x-gem-optical-co-ltd-lp-123/p/18076701

So… my holding the minis two inches from my eyes and painting is not a recommended approach?

"You'll put your eye out kid."

I use a 'Rolson 60390 LED Head Loupe Magnifier Visor' link Not as good quality as 'Optivisor' but is lighter and cheaper and I find it good enough.

x42

Edit; make sure you've got as good lighting as you can that can make at least as big a difference as the magnifier.

That's the best solution for me.
Just clip the magnifying lens on your regular glasses!

A bit more expensive, but worth it.

link

wow….appreciate the feedback. I found a nice pair on Amazon. 4.5/5 stars with a fair amount of reviews.

I just got this one from amazon. Perfect for that close work, various magnifiers and a light.
link

I've just started using 2x readers from local super store. Maybe $5. USD Works well with a few issues:
1. lifting my focus from the mini to anything else renders me almost blind (everything past 2ft is very out of focus).
2. moving my head around with them on causes a little motion sickness.
I just have to stay focused and all is well.

If you go this route, bring a mini with you and test different magnifications (something I did not do).

I use, as appropriate to what I'm doing, an Optivisor, a lighted magnifying glass mounted on a boom, and a pair of 2x drug store magnifying glasses. The Optivisor gets the lion's share of the work.

What I really want, though, is one of those 30x-40x microscopes we had in biology and Earth science class. These were not the microscopes that held a slide between a light source and the lens. Rather, they were for looking at larger objects in reflected light. They would be perfect for painting 5 o'clock shadow on 25mm miniatures.

I use "readers" too, for small work now – cleaning, assembly, decal placement, painting, etc.

3.25X are available at the Dollar Store for $1.00 USD, so are the best bargain I've found.

A good light will help enormously, almost more than magnifiers. I bought a desktop magnifier with built in ring light last year and it has been a massive improvement on my fading eyes.

Have a set that you can lift up that fits around your head. Asked my dentist once about what he uses, he said You can't afford them.

I use 6.0 reading glasses since the cataracts surgery. Fairly cheap from Amazon, and I keep my backup pair with my 2mm armies.

I just use reading glasses and a bright light.

If you need a magnifying glass to see your details, no one is going to see it on the tabletop.

+1 Martin Rapier.

Could never get on with Optivisor. A good optician is your best friend in this context plus LED pure daylight lighting.

I would also recommend the "black primer/ White dry brush" technique for small scale models. It brings out the essential details and makes painting so much easier. I use dilute acrylics over the prepared figure and it gives shadows and higlights with very little effort.

Check these out:

craftoptics.com