In true pre-Christmas sales fashion, Games Workshop has unveiled new hobby products in the form of the revamped Paint Station and cutting mat. The old paint station by comparison is a primitive looking affair made out of MDF, which despite the dated aesthetics has served me well over the 6 years of ownership. GW's latest offering however is made out of plastic and is ergonomically designed to sit on your lap via two grooves underneath the main section. Now the grooves are great for those who paint on their laps, but what about those of us who paint on a table? Well the provision of rubber feet will mean no slipping on flat surfaces, but what about heavy items sitting on the station, will the grooves underneath cause the station to dip under weight?
This new paint station looks a lot like my old Tamiya paint station but without the horrendous price tag and poor quality Led lamp. In a way this is a good thing as it means design elements such as secure brush, paint pot and water holder grooves are present, but on the other hand the dark black plastic finish worries me a little. I stopped using my old Tamiya station because light tended to reflect badly off the plastic work top, and while the new GW station does not look glossy my previous experience leaves me sceptical. Also I do not feel comfortable with the idea of cutting or sawing on a plastic board, as cutting into the plastic of the station will undoubtedly add to the mess made from cutting your models. I suppose GW has considered this by offering a large cutting mat shaped to fit the work area, which makes conversion work a little safer and adds to those precious extra GW sales.
At the listed price of £20.00 (so around £16 at decent web stores) the new paint station actually seems like a good bit of kit, and will be suitable for people who like to sit in their favourite lazy chair and paint in front of the TV. As mentioned a fitted cutting mat will also be released and at under £30.00 combined, this makes for a very good looking painting aid for both beginners and experts. At the end of the day having all your current project equipment in one place, means less rummaging through card board boxes of paint and means an easy clean up at end of day (pop the station on a shelf out of the way). I look forward to test running my one.
To get hold of any of the advance order at a discounted rate visit, check out Wayland Game's Advance Order section here: Wayland Games - Discount Wargames
Thanks for reading,
DiStudios
The 14th legion