HobbyPaintCrate: Paint Minis Anywhere! is a lightweight, 3D printable "On-the-go" hobby system in the form of a compact crate that can be used at home or outside even without a table! It is great to have, even if you have a dedicated workstation at home or a different travel system, you will get much more freedom and opportunities to paint with the HobbyPaintCrate.
Use it as a quick-to-set-up workstation at home or use it to step away from your dedicated workstation and explore different spaces: the living room, balcony, garden, park, lake, an overnight stay in a hotel for work, a convention, a spontaneous day trip, and beyond. This product offers everything you need, all while being small, lightweight, and compact enough to fit into a small backpack, leaving room for other essentials.
You can use just the work plate or the work plate together with the crate. If you don't have a table, keep the work plate in the crate, which elevates it to a similar height as a table when on your lap, allowing you to paint comfortably anywhere!
- The water container with a screw-on lid is waterproof (print with 100% infill) and can be used to clean your brushes. The crate has a designated slot for it. Alternatively, you can use a rubber band to secure your own water container and hold it in place. Maximum size for custom containers: 59mm x 59mm / 2,32 x 2,32 inch.
- Miniature fastening: rubber bands or magnets! A magnet (10mm x 3mm or smaller) (0,39 x 0,11 inch or smaller) can be secured to the bottom of the work plate using a 3D-printed hollow screw - no tools or glue are needed. Just use the wet palette lid or a coin to twist the screw in place with the magnet inside. Alternatively, use rubber bands for miniatures without magnetized bases. Miniatures with bases up to 67mm x 67mm (2,63 x 2,63 inches) fit in the dedicated area on the work plate. Larger bases may extend beyond this area but can still be accommodated to some extent.
- Brush container: Keep your brushes and tools within reach. Brushes with paint can be placed in slightly tilted holes next to the water container, preventing paint from dripping and protecting your surroundings.
- The cleaning paper "treadmill" helps remove excess paint from brushes. It features two chambers: when one is used up, rotate it to use the second chamber. Pre-cut the paper towel to the desired width, roll it around the brush, and slide it into the chamber. Once the visible towel is used, slide it to the right side to dispose of it in a hidden space under the texture palette! Each chamber holds about ~100cm / ~40 inches of paper towel, depending on thickness. You can prepare it in advance, and an additional unit can be printed and stored in the crate.
- The paint holder prevents spills by securing paints in four slots. Paints fit snugly and won't fall out, even if the workplate is tilted up to around 75° or more. The compartment is removable for easy cleaning. Tested and adjusted to fit the most amount of the most common paints. For paints that don't fit, use them directly on the workplate with the compartment removed. The maximum paint radius that fits in one of the 4 slots is 35.8mm / 1,4 inch.
- Drybrush texture palette: Remove excess paint by brushing the tip over the 3D texture until the desired amount remains. The texture palettes can be swapped out for different designs.
- Paint trays & wet palette: Use as either paint trays or a wet palette. For a wet palette, wet some paper towel, wrap it in baking paper, and place it inside. The lid prevents spills during transport and can be stored underneath when not in use. Removable parts make cleaning easy.
- The crate protects and securely stores the work plate and your tools, water container, paints, and minis. The lid slides out and fits into a lower slot, allowing the work plate to sit on top. The lid snaps into place and only opens fully when about 80% open, preventing accidental spills and keeping your items safe.
- Fastening Minis: Two options_ Magnets or rubber bands. For magnets, just place them into the plates and slide the lid shut - no glue or tools are required. If your models aren't magnetized, you can always use rubber bands.
- More: If you paint a piece without a base, use clamps to hold it near the water container to dry without contact. Optional: add rubber or TPU stoppers to the crate and work plate to protect surfaces. An STL file for printing these stoppers is included.
Crate Designs:
In addition to the standard design, there are many themed designs. All crate and lid designs are interchangeable, allowing for custom combinations. Choose from single-colour, multi-colour, or multi-material prints, including transparent options. Use slicer multi-colour/material printing functions to create your own combinations. The crate, the work plate, and all loose parts can be printed in different colours and materials as you like and it is made easy.
A total of 37 different .3mf files are included for some crate designs where different colour combinations are already pre-selected. This allows some slicer software to open these files and already have the different selections for multi-colour printing pre-selected where then easily materials can be switched and assigned to these selections.
Easy to print:
- Ready for most FDM and resin printers, with almost 100% support-free printing! One part of the crate needs support, and it's pre-supported. Also the Drybrush textures have a part that needs to be removed after printing. Print instructions will be included.
- Filament needed: ~1250g
- Max print volume of files in mm: 215mm x 215mm x 140mm(height)
- Max print volume of files in inches: 8,46 x 8,46 x 5,51 inches (height)
Included in downloadable files:
- HobbyPaintCrate Core files
- 10 different crate lid designs
- 8 themed crate designs (some with crate lid design)
- 3 additional dry brush textures
- All files included as ".stl files"
- ".3mf files" for most crates and some crate lids, pre-selected sections for multi-color printing.
- Renders and Photos
- some quick print instructions
