Dear friends,

I am sure I am not the only one who has developed such problems due to long hours of modeling work.

a) Strained and bloodshot eyes- lack of good ample lighting
b) Deteriorated eyesight- Can't see the parts and details, esp smaller tanks like Pz I and II (I am in my mid thirties. old boy..can feel the difference these days)
c) Stiff neck/migraine and dizziness due to over straining of the neck looking downwards for prolonged hours and poor vision.

I do have a proper table with chair from Ikea to do my work, but some how my set up does not seem to make my modeling work more relaxing and enjoyable

I think it makes sense to buy one of these tamiya gadgets, but it will cost a bomb at SGD $240.

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/tam/tam74064.htm

Has anyone pics/plans or experience DIY building similar lighted/ magnify capable raised workbenches? I am sure some one out there has "scratched build" one along the way, come on we are modelers, we build stuff.

Cheers
Musicwerks

If you have a dedicated table or bench Use one of the magnifiying lights from the Craft store. Use a daylight type bulb they also make floor stand models of some (or a simple floor base could be made from wood.

http://www.dickblick.com/categories/magnifierlamps/

Yep, I know what you mean about the advancing age vision problems, and if you're in your mid-thirties, you still haven't "seen" the worst of it--trust me.

If you have a dedicated modelling table, I don't see what additional purpose the Tamiya workstand would serve, and as you said, it's pretty expensive. A good adjustable desk lamp and Optivisor seems to me a better investment. If you do the extremely fine work that small scales sometimes require, you can put a loupe on one lens that you can swing down to use on the super-small stuff.

The Optivisor can be a bit hard to get used to, but once you do, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it. I wish I'd started using one even before age forced me to--perhaps my close-in vision wouldn't have deteriorated as quickly.

Another thing that's good (and sometimes bad ) about using an Optivisor is that anything that looks good through the Optivisor will look fantastic in normal viewing. Even, for instance,highly polished metal which looks pristinely mirror-bright in normal viewing will show thousands of miniscule scratches through the Optivisor. It shows you imperfections in your work just as harshly, which can't help but improve your final result. You can get lamps with similar magnification built in, but I prefer the mobility the Optivisor provides.

HTH

Automaton

I have the setup Auto suggests. Two adjustable lamps with daylight bulbs and an Optivisor within easy reach. My thoughts on the magnifying/light stand are that if I don't really want to magnify it gets in the way and with the optivisor I can move a little easier and adjust my head or hands to see what I want.

Cheers
Shane

Dear guys,

Thanks for the inputs....perhaps an opti visor is a more sound investment.

Cheers
Musicwerks