So, I spent 30 years in the Army, and I was "on the move" every 2-3 years of that time. Mostly living in military housing, but I was never without a workbench. My first bench was was constructed using a circular saw to cut simple plywood, with basic folding legs reminiscent of model railroad benchwork. It was about 4x2 feet, similar to what you've already described. I could fold the legs and stash it in a closet. I also had a 2x2 ft. X 2.5ft high five drawer white cabinet cast-off from a dental office renovation that I bought second hand for $2 at a salvage sale. I put it on four small steel casters, and could stash it in the same closet as the work bench. I used one drawer for tools, one for paint, one for various supplies, and one for scenery materials. The bottom drawer was for odds & ends (I was heavy into N-scale Model RRs and figure painting back then).
That set up lasted me for about 15 years all over the US and in Germany. But, when I was transferred to Korea on an unaccompanied tour, and limited to about 700lbs of hold baggage, my figure painting supplies went into a compact 2x1ft folding tray fishing tackle box, and while in Korea, I acquired a 2x3ft sheet of linoleum to place over an Army Field table (wood table about 2x3 with folding pairs of legs).
In 1992 I discovered the ultimate "small space" table-- a specially constructed 3x2.5ft work surface designed to fit over a laundry room wash tub (sink). It had a 3" tall back and sides to keep stuff from rolling off the table, and was constructed of "Marine Grade" plywood-- a bit expensive but built to last. It went to Hawaii, Rhode Island, Colorado, Germany, and Korea. For storage, the table simply came off the wash basin and stood along the side of either the sink and the washer or the sink and the wall, whichever had more space (it only needed 4") There was a cutout for the plumbing fixtures. I kept my "dental cabinet cast-off" and the fishing tackle box for tool and supply storage space, and these could be shoved into a closet. At Fort Leavenworth, we had a huge walk-in closet, so I just put this "sink bench" atop a folding card table to use in the closet.
Now that I've got a larger custom built workbench in my 3-car garage, I still have my old "dental cabinet cast-off" roll around storage cabinet, which slides easily under the bench. My wood 4x2.5 work bench has 3" deep drawers constructed under the work surface to store most of my tools and paints in. I've also built a 3x1 angled paint rack to hang on the wall behind the bench--if you know what a "French Cleat" is, you can build and hang about any wall fixture you need and make it totally removeable. If you have a circular saw, you can do a lot (I actually have a pretty good woodworking set up now, so I can build about anything I need). But when I was "young and starting out", everything had to be kept small and portable.
I hope this gives you a few ideas you could use for your own portable work area.
VR, Russ
but these next months are the freest I'll be in a long time and I'd like to knock off a 1/72 kit or two while I can.
