New beginnings

Brush organiser is a simple box made out of wood offcuts which I then drilled with a hole saw to match normal waste plumbing pipe, a little bit of grab adhesive and leaving to dry is all it needs then a coat of paint.

the paint rack is a good example of the flexibility a 3d printer brings as all the honeycombs we’re printed at home, my advice for a beginner the Ender 3 pro

as for the table playing surface itself well that’s made out of interlocking loft boarding edged with beading for strength. I mounted it on two lengths of 3×2 so I could attach the legs and bracing pieces. The playing surface is higher than normal for two reasons the first being comfort sitting at the stools I got for nothing and the second that a camping bed can be unrolled underneath should anyone want a beer and crash.

that’s it folks hobby room complete all from salvaged and recycled stuff or bits sourced from junk shops car boots and eBay  it takes a while saving stuff but sometimes it’s worth it and it pays to be cheeky.

First and foremost don’t touch electrics unless your qualified.

im lucky enough to have a good grounding in both DC And high voltage AC electrical systems working for many years on Royal Navy Lynx helicopters and having hobbies like rewiring caravans etc. The  corner desk was my late friends and integral to my new hobby setup, the reason I was even going down the revamp journey. I had to make sure all of my gadgets were integrated into the setup.

sky tv, computer with camera and microphone for streaming, phone, Alexa, good lighting its a lot to get into an old computer desk. That said I achieved it with a little hiding of wires and planning my main bargain was the LED floodlight I got from Aldi £6.99 and a bit of saved wire and a switch ten minutes later and I’m hobby ready.

More glazed cabinets sourced from EBay sturdy yet ideal for our hobby both for £40, I plan to get glass shelves to add to these long term to increase the display and storage potential but for now they will do as they are.

Below the cabinet the chest of drawers currently filled with terrain were sourced from a local flood damaged care home. It pays to keep aware of local things going on and what your mates are doing. I was notified a local authority home, flood damaged was going to be demolished And a mate was a security guard. One cheeky ask later and I was allowed anything as it was heading for landfill. Immediately I went upstairs lol and secured two untouched wardrobes and four chest of drawers for nothing but petrol money and effort. My new neighbours in the homes for ex serviceman also got wardrobes chests of drawers and cabinets for nothing using my motor to get them home.

we live in a throw away society people don’t be afraid to ask if you can have stuff destined for the skip or landfill. Although the care home had been designated as flood damaged and due demolition nobody thought to use their head and look upstairs where everything was untouched. What the local authority thought was if there was less to scrap it was less man hours and less cost so I had free reign..

opportunities like this are all over the place if you take the time to look read your local papers and always keep an ear open as to what is happening locally. All you have to remember is to be polite and respectful when you ask even if they say no thank them for their time and leave a phone number if any future recycling options become available.

from the place I got the chest of drawers I’m still in contact weekly with the security. Guard now in his eighties and now a good friend. He in turn lets me know of chances to trade skills even now either as a favour for him or to help me.

as primitives we traded skills before money and capitalism screwed things up, but don’t be afraid to say look I can’t afford that is there some other way we could reach an agreement. I’ve cleared a tree from a garden to the tip for a greenhouse, networked a house for a friend and recently the chap who fitted the led strip lights to my hobby room got a couple of armchairs and help with his 3d printer. Money doesn’t have to be the only option and you can always be owed a little help just in case of a rainy day.

remember we live in a shitty world where we are all trying to get by as long as your polite friendly and respectful of the situation there’s normally a mutually acceptable deal to be made.

Oh and if in doubt wink and be cheeky lol

Now in the spirit of being a tight arse and saving the pennies for figures getting an airbrush was always going to be an expense but there are also savings to be made with a little recycling.

my compressor isn’t an iwata or something expensive branded it’s an eBay special £80 complete with reservoir and airbrush, it was a Christmas present from parents and sister. As for the spray booth it’s a recycled cooker hood for a mere £20 delivered to my door another eBay bargain. What I have done though is to provide a fan to stop the compressor overheating and destroying itself in use. My old man’s a compressor engineer and said cooling it would prolong its use, touch wood for years he’s been right.

if your only spraying non toxic water based acrylics like me there’s no need to get filters and extraction like a workplace and again it can be solved with a little DIY. I simply used an old fashioned sweet jar stuffed with graduated filter foam filters from off cuts of my aquarium. Nothing goes to waste and it’s simple to see if it’s working just place a black undercoated figure on the filter vent and if it discolours with the overspray the filter needs adjustment.. to date I’ve never needed anything other than replace one final fine filter pad, no problems, no smells, no overspray. I’ve been using this for years and have had no issues.
simply think outside the box and recycle whatever you can..

Too the bottom right of this photo you can see a glazed front cabinet, theses are a great thing to look out for and can be found cheaply or indeed for free in many places. As well as car boots and junk shops also think about the places where you work. Most places have skips where they are charged for the waste they produce. Bae systems was no different for me and I soon learnt that for a small donation to charity you could takeaway cabinets desks and cupboards saving them from landfill or an incinerator plus the charge to the company. I’d always advocate getting permission from a senior manager and a signed scrap note every time but if your company has similar systems you can get the basic skeletons for a good hobby setup.. my own lasted me 10+ years of happy gaming for next to nothing. To give you an example a friend of mine a commission painter recently paid £600+ to update his hobby space using ikea stuff whilst my own in total was less than £100 over many years. The only real cost is the man hours searching for stuff and the cheek or nerve to ask if you can recycle it.

Bookcases are the staple of any hobby space wether for miniature storage, books, dvd or anything else for that matter and I’ve found the best place to get them are at car boots and junk shops. Do not be afraid to barter and offer a silly price under whatever the ticket price is, they are bulky take up space and if it’s towards the end of the day a lot of people can’t be arsed to take them home have their space occupied so will most likely give you a discount. Remember whatever you save on your hobby environment means a bigger pile of shame lol

always go for wood where possible, it’s more robust than chipboard and gives you a better option for painting or varnish.

Looks good but don’t be put off there are a lot of shortcuts and options to explore to keep the expense down

Everything has to start from somewhere and I like most was happy with my usual routine the familiarity of everything where I knew it was and although nothing was perfect it was mine and put together on a very strict budget. I could paint game and socialise in my own hobby room and although it. Wasn’t perfect and a little heath robinson it was my own. I’d make do with this room and setup for in excess of ten years and would have left it so for many more without the loss of a dear friend and mentor in January 2022.

Coming fresh faced from the military to work in Bae systems I was like a fish out of water totally unused to office politics and  the bollocks that came with it. You wanted a fight or do things the military way I was your man but as a shiny arse pen pusher nope. Yet this little old grumpy Scotsman called Don took me under his wing. He didn’t need to or was required to by his role but non the less he did. I came to trust him and soon realised his aircraft knowledge was second to none he could tell you the difference between aircraft marks down to the ribs and frames. He also nursed his wife with Parkinson’s for 40 years and no finer example of a man have I ever met. His passion was building aircraft models and we would talk hobby several times a week through lockdown, do coffee and visit shows together. it was a bitter shock to hear he’d been lost to covid very quickly. His daughter and family were in New Zealand so it. Came down to me to help ensure his last wishes were met and help his daughter clear the house.
Along the way I found out that charity shops don’t except donations without the correct stickers and fire labels and this left me with a dilemma. Dons desk and chair were looking like they were going to the tip and I simply couldn’t see that as right, I’d have to incorporate them into my own hobby with lots of work required or simply let it go..

what follows is a stubborn old farts update of his hobby space and advice on where to look and source items to get to where I am now. Given the recent money worries in the world I hope it helps anyones hobby.