Painting miniature figures can make for a fun hobby, whether you’re an avid toy collector, a board game aficionado, or just someone in search of a creative outlet. As with any endeavor, the job gets considerably easier when you have the right tools on hand. When painting miniatures, the Hobby Holder definitely counts as a must-have addition to anyone’s toolkit.
Billed as “the most versatile painting handle and grip on the market,” the device gives you a firm and stable grip on the figure you’re painting without actually touching it. That way, you don’t accidentally smudge paint on areas they’re not supposed to be, all while allowing you to bring it as close as possible to your face while still maintaining a comfortable posture.
The Game Envy Hobby Holder is a small plastic device with two thick disc-shaped elements connected by a short tube. The smaller disc on top comes with screw patterns that allows you to attach standard 28mm bottle caps (yep, the kind you’ll normally find in bottled drinks) onto it, while the bigger disc at the bottom serves as the base that you can use to hold it during use. The idea is to temporarily attach your miniature figure onto the bottle cap (they recommend Loctite Fun-tak), so it will stay in place while you paint it. Once you’re done, simply unscrew the cap from the disc and let the figure dry somewhere before taking it off the cap. From there, you can screw on a new bottle cap and stick on a new figure on top. Aside from bottle caps, the disc is also compatible with Citadel and Formula P3 paint caps, while the hole in the disc can alternatively accommodate a 20mm wine cork (if you don’t have bottle caps around). A small hole at the bottom of the large disc allows you to push the cork out using a file (or the handle of one of your brushes).
The tube between the two discs is designed to take a stability bar accessory, which adds a vertical bar to the rig, allowing you to hold the miniature figure between your thumb and index finger (thumb at the base, index finger at the top of the stability bar). You can also just pinch the bar in your fingers, in case that’s a more comfortable position. When holding the stability bar, you can rotate the disc in any position, allowing you to face the miniature at any angle, which should help further speed up the paint job you’re doing. Two stability bars are available: one that measures 56mm tall and another measuring 76mm in height.
The Hobby Holder also comes with a grip accessory that connects to the bottom disc, essentially giving you a long and thick handle for gripping the thing with your whole hand. Altogether, this thing offers numerous ways to handle the figure while you’re painting it, allowing you to comfortably lean back in your favorite chair while painting your Street Fighter figures, Horizon Zero Dawn robots, and Conan the Barbarian creatures.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Hobby Holder. You can reserve a full unit (main holder with the complete accessories) for pledges starting at $36.