hello! after almost two years of agony trying to paint 1/35 figures to go with my tanks and aircraft, i have finally decided to buy an optivisor. can any of you guys point me in the right direction in terms of what dioptre would be appropriate for this task? also, do i need to add lights to the basic visor or is that optional? i tried asking around my local armorama forum and no one seemed to have an answer. thanks for any help in advance.

Hi Steelskin, I used a visor for about two days before I decided to get a magnifying lamp.
I didn’t like the visor because every time I had to reload my brush or look at a reference it was in the way. Also it forces you to do all work at the same distance from you eyes.
The one I tried out did not have a light but my work area was very well light.

2 cents worth of somthing to consider.

hello redshirt. thanks for the heads-up. but doesn't the Optivisor come with a hinge so you can flip it up if you don't need to be looking through the lenses? anyway, about the lamp, do you have any specific brand to recommend?

Some models do come with a flip up lens array some don't. Mine doesn't but its a little like wearing bifocals it just takes getting use to it. At 51 years I wear trifocals and I won't work without an optivisor. I have a lamp mounted magnifier but I don't use it much because it gets in the way for me.

As for what works get the most powerful set you can. Aim small - miss small. Your work will improve exponentually.

I received the magnifying light used from my Grand Uncle, he does not even remember where he got it. I looked it over and it does not even have a brand name on it, just a UL listing.
It looks like this except mine is black.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jewelry-Fluorescent-Magnifier-Lamp-UL-Magnifying-Light_W0QQitemZ270128411832QQihZ017QQcategoryZ34084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Optivisor! one of the best modelling investments I have ever made. At first I would ask myself "Do you really want to spend 25 $ on one of these things?" and then conclude that I didnt need them. Finally one day I said "Ok,Ill get them". I am so glad I did. Coupled with two articulating lamps with 100 watt bulbs for lighting( thanks Lynn!) ,they take the eye-strain out of working on small objects,such as figures and make it muuuch more comfortable to build. Now,they are as essential to my modelling as paint and glue. I cannot recommend them highly enough. rR

from your replies it seems this is really more of a personal preference thing. all the Optivisor models i’ve seen have flip-up lens so i guess that won’t be a problem for me. also having tried to work with an ordinary magnifying glass, i know the importance of accurate depth perception. this seems to be another advantage of the Optivisor with its bifocal lenses. i’ll probably try it first and leave my options open for buying a magnifying lamp in case things don’t work out. i can’t thank you guys enough for helping me decide!

I have a magnifying lamp, too, and it's probably the best thing that I've boughten for modeling. I have considered getting an Optivisor, too, for convienience and would get one that does flip up.

If you already wear glasses take a look at these:

http://www.independentliving.com/products.asp?dept=83&pagenumber=3&deptname=Magnifying%20Glasses

I've been trying to purchase something similar. I wanted the glasses a typical jewler wears when working on detail or precision work. Does any one know where these are available, because I don't fancy having that thing strapped to my head.

sorry i can't help you there. but if you know any jewelers, i'm sure they'd be quite willing to tell you where to get them. then again, some jewelers use optivisors too.