Well, time for some more Hobby Zone Modular Workshop System madness! In today’s build and review we are looking at the Corner Shelf Module and the Corner Bottles Module.
As a disclaimer I built these three units for Josh. He bought my Hobby Zone workshop set up and I in turn moved to a Ikea Skadis based desk set up. I switched to the Skadis as I liked the versatility the pegboard afforded me. There isn’t anything wrong with the Hobby Zone kit I had and I really like the Hobby Zone products. Truthfully the modular workshop system is very solidly built and has a clean aesthetic. I suppose it was just time for a shake up.
As I was building these modules for Josh I left the magnets out so he could install them with the polarities matching his existing components. Magnets are not something you want to guess on.
As a reminder, some parts of these kits will need to be removed from a sprue-like tab system. You will need a few tools to aid assembly. A hammer, a sharp blade, sandpaper, and a wood glue or PVA glue of your choice. I prefer Aleen’s tacky glue as it doesn’t need to be held together much while curing, is water clean up, and dries clear and hard. Oh and blue painters tape or clamps are good items to have handy as well. They are not needed but nice to have. I also use an off cut wood block to act as a spoil board to help put the magnets into their sockets. After I position the magnet and put it in the hole slightly I put the wood block over it to keep from striking the hammer directly on the shelf wood.
OM04 Corner Shelf Module
The OM04 Corner Shelf Module allows the shelf system to turn 90 degrees inward. The unit can be stacked with other corner modules of similar size and comes with magnets to keep the pieces lined up.
There are two shelves both of which have 2.5” of height space.
It seems like a convenient way to store small works in progress or any tools you don’t mind seeing a little bit.
Assembled Dimensions : 11.8″ x 11.8″ x 5.9″ (30cm x 30cm x 15cm)
Everything fit together really well. This was probably the easiest Hobby Zone product that I’ve put together. First, the sides are glued onto the middle shelf. Then the top and bottom shelves are glued to the assembly. And finally, the white backing is glued in place. I held the pieces in place with some blue painters tape but there isn’t much play for them.
OM06u Corner Bottles Module
The OM06u Corner Bottles Module is designed to be a stand alone piece or to sit on top of the OM04 or its sibling the OM03 Corner Drawers Module.
While paint bottles are the obviously item stored here you could really use it for anything.
Assembled Dimensions : 11.8″ x 11.8″ x 5.9″ (30cm x 30cm x 15cm)
My bad on this one, I didn’t take assembly process photos. I was distracted with wrangling my 4 year old. This kit requires you start by cutting the components apart. The first assembly is attaching the center support to the base plate. This is followed by gluing the side walls to the base plate. Then each shelf deck is laid down on top of the middle support and into the keyed openings on the side walls. Everything fit together very tightly (in a good way) and construction took about half an hour.
The only extra bit I did for this kit was to sand where the sprue type connectors attached to each part. For the most part they are out of sight. This is doubly true when you load the shelves up with paints. That doesn’t stop me from being thorough though.
The shelf module will hold forty-six 17ml paint bottles. Vallejo, AK Interactive, 2 Thin Coats, and Army Painter are good examples of paints which come in 17ml bottles.
If you’re feeling dangerous you can store fifty-eight 17ml paint bottles if you double stack the front row. Just don’t be clumsy, you’ll have a mess if you’re like me and tend to knock things over.
Evan here barging into Ben’s article to say I’ve had a hobbyzone corner unit for a good six years now. Unlike the racks above I have the unit with drawers and the fitted bottle rack for 16ml bottles. I’ve found use for the small drawers to hold various things like small decal sheets or piles of printed or extra kit stowage. Here’s a few photos for a taste of a different setup:
Conclusion: These kits are pretty simple to assemble, fit well together, and offer an esthetically pleasing addition to the a Hobby Zone workshop. More importantly (maybe) is that they offer some serious storage space. Being able to harness vertical space is a game changer for people with limited space.
Rating: Iron Dice Recommended
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