Useful customizing tools

[Darklord Dave]

I thought this might be a helpful thread.

This is probably old news for most customizers, but I just discovered the Optivisor and it's changed my life. As I've gotten older I can't see tiny stuff as well any more and had just about given up painting 1/6 heads. I had recently been trying to use a loupe mounted in a Medicom figure stand to magnify heads for painting, but it didn't work out very well. But I found the optivisor at a hobby store and it's perfect for small work. It was $40, but well worth it. A light for the top is another $20 and I didn't get that, but I can now get back into customizing in a big way.

 

[Darklord Dave]

I'm not offended, but I fail to see how this is funny.

I don't wear glasses and don't need them to read or drive or anything else. But I did notice in the past couple of years it has become more difficult to focus on tiny things, such as 1/6 eyes. I used to paint Famous Covers, which were even smaller scale, so I know I used to be able to do this unaided.

I think even a youngster with perfect vision will find the optivisor a great help.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

It's a bummer to lose the ability to see tiny detail up close. My old boss was always wanting me to look at stuff at work thru those but I could always see more without them than he could with them. They actually made it more difficult to see up close for some reason but that's just me.

Fortunately I still can see really well up close, far away is a whole different story though.

 

[Mesa]

I'm not offended, but I fail to see how this is funny.

I don't wear glasses and don't need them to read or drive or anything else. But I did notice in the past couple of years it has become more difficult to focus on tiny things, such as 1/6 eyes. I used to paint Famous Covers, which were even smaller scale, so I know I used to be able to do this unaided.

I think even a youngster with perfect vision will find the optivisor a great help.

I think you're much cooler if you don't use this optovisor when you do have your younger 20/20 vision and go blind trying to paint the miniature details.

 

[Batty]

I take it someone's post was deleted.

I was thinking about picking up something like this. Or maybe one of those lighted magnifying glasses. Since I've taken up sculpting I find that after awhile my eyes do get tired working on such small detail.

 

[Gruff Old Bear]

I just got one of these myself. I got the light rig, too. I don't know how I got along without it. My wife does chuckle when she sees me wearing it and all absorbed in concentration. But it's a godsend, both for painting and for my budding attempts at sculpting and fabricating small props.

 

[Mesa]

Where I work, the ladies use these all the time for soldering the small circuits. Wish I had these when I was painting D&D miniatures back in the day.

 

[Anzik]

My eye doctor said even with my Lasik I will probably need reading glasses. After 40 your eyes lose a lot of that fine focus stretch.

I think I have to get me one of these.

 

[lcummins]

I still don't need glasses... yet. I do have some reading glasses and on occassion I have to use them to read small print up close, but it seems like it comes and goes... some days I can see up close fine, other days, not so much. It is only a matter of time...

 

[BadMoon]

My vision is better than 20/20 since my surgery and I think this would be helpful in a big way. You should see my DA joker head I tried to repaint. It looks like a 4 year old did it. I think this would help big time!

 

[Les Walker]

Nothing funny at all about this thread.
I am nearly 47, and you can bet my eyes take a beating from all the hours of small scale magnified looking I have to do to work. I have all manner of mag glasses, these too, as I can't see instructions on a microwave dinner anymore without glasses. No way!
I may be too old for lasik, so these kinds of helpers are all I can do.

Great stuff! No aid for weary eyes though. Visine only gets the red out....

 

[DarkArtist81]

I've been desperately wanting to get a set of these myself. I know it would help immensely on eyes and other similar small scaled areas. I tried out the set that Les has and it's a HUGE benefit.