ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Monday, 18 August 2025

I got myself a Magnifying Light….

Greetings…

I thought I would see if a magnifying light will be of some help until I get both eye’s sorted and new reading glasses bought…

I been trying it out when cleaning up plastic bits and assembling figures…. It took a bit of getting used to but it does help a bit… I am wondering if a larger lens area make things easier.

I don’t think I will be using it for painting miniatures at the moment… As I have no real depth of field.

I can possibly see me using it in the future…


I know a few people who use magnifiers of some sort… They have said it took them a bit to get used to but now they don’t know what they would do without them…

This is all new to me 😁


All the best.   Aly

22 comments:

  1. After turning a "certain age" I wound up using an optivisor (and a better light source). I found that the optivisor was pretty much a seamless transition from the naked eye: very much like donning a pair of reading glasses, except for painting.

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    1. It gets to us all in the end Ed, doesn’t it…
      I think I will pick up an Optivisor as well and find out what suits me best…

      All the best. Aly

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  2. Not a thing I have and interested in seeing how you get on with it when you use it.

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    1. Until I had my operation its not something that I even considered getting Donnie…
      Hopefully I will get on with it okay…

      All the best. Aly

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  3. It's a whole new world, looks good , I've just adjusted to the reading glasses over a period of time, but I'm sure it's useful and new tech toys are nice!
    Best Iain

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    1. I’m hoping that different reading glasses will work best for me Iain.
      But it’s always good to have a backup… And as you say new tech toys 😁

      All the best. Aly

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  4. I can see me needing something like this to keep painting as long as I'm able. I will be very interested in your observations as you use it more.

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    1. I will certainly keep you informed David…
      All the best. Aly

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  5. Very snazzy, looks like you have seen the light.

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    1. Hopefully I will be able to see the toys as well 😆

      All the best. Aly

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  6. An interesting idea Aly I guess anything that helps is worth a try, I might think about something similar in the future !

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    1. It is indeed worth a try Matt…
      And if I don’t get on with it I am sure that at least one of my friends will find a use for it…

      All the best. Aly

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  7. I’ve been using one for years and couldn’t paint without it now! The lens is about 6” across which gives a good field of vision and of course the light is always pointing in the right place. Only problem I can think of is that I have a tendency to hit the end of the paintbrush against the underside of the lens but that is minor.

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    1. Looking at the quality of your toys certainly bodes well for what can be achieved…
      The lens on mine is four inches across… with I think might be a bit on the small side… but I will see how it feels once I have had my second operation…

      All the best. Aly

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  8. My father in law gave me a magnifying device intended for stamp collectors I think (judging by the illustrations on the box it came in) 20 years ago ...I gave it a brief try but I found it hard to relate the brush to the figure...I was either too far away and not actually painting anything, or, too close and making a mess of the figure. I might have got the hang of it if I persevered, but I didn't bother.
    Our late 80's mate Barry has one and he is still able to turn out creditable figures, so it will be interesting to see how you get on Aly.

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    1. I think it might be a case of retraining that muscle memory that I have developed over the years… I used to take my glasses off to paint… Now I will be putting them (or a lens ) on instead…
      It is certainly a good omen that your friend Barry is still turning out decent looking toys using one…

      All the best. Aly

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  9. Been using one for years Aly, don’t know what I’d do without it. Found it easy enough to use from the get go. Had those glasses with the built in lights and such too at one point but I always worried that I’d end up forgetting I’d got them on and that I’d end up in Tesco marvelling at how big the tins of soup were.

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    1. Hopefully I will find something that works as well for me Mark…
      You are certainly putting out a lot of fine looking toys at the moment…

      All the best. Aly

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  10. It comes to us all Aly, I use magnifying glasses over the top of my normal glasses, or I can't see anything. Hope it works out for you.

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    1. It certainly does Ray…
      Of course my experience with the magnifier so far is with only one good eye… So I’ve yet to see how I get on using it in a way it was designed to be used…

      All the best. Aly

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  11. Another vote for the Optivisor or similar for when you want to try painting with some magnification. I find the headset, despite the nerdly appearance, to be far more user friendly than a standing magnifier, though yours is much fancier than mine! Do be warned, that if someone of the opposite sex sees you wearing it, they may not be able to keep their hands off you. So sexy...

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    1. Looking at your lovely toys certainly sells the idea of trying an Optivisor David…
      I will see if I can pick up a cool looking hipster version… “Go big or go home” as they say… Whoever ‘They’ are 😆

      All the best. Aly

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