Head band magnifiers for modelling?

moonmin82

New member
Has anybody tried using one of those magnifier head bands for sculpting or painting? I do a lot of sculpting and was wondering if anyone had any advice, pros/cons, etc? Been looking on ebay and there\'s a fair amount of choice.

Advice?
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Yep used one a few times.
Pro\'s:
allowed me to see mini a little closer.

Con\'s:
Weight.
Imbalance
Slippage (my skin goes greasy very easily so it slipped constantly)
Pressure on head got irritating trying to prevent slippage.

Now I use clip on magnifiers attached to my spectacles.
 

moonmin82

New member
thanks for that. did you find the view through the magnifier was fine or was it disorientating trying to coordinate your hands and eyes whilst using it? ??? despite the cons would you say the benefits are worthwhile?
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
No I didn\'t find it disconcerting as being movable I was able to move them out of the way as needed.

Still I have gotten to prefer the clip on\'s above them, but if you don\'t wear glasses (be grateful :D) they will be useless to you.
 

Einion

New member
Originally posted by moonmin82
Has anybody tried using one of those magnifier head bands for sculpting or painting? I do a lot of sculpting and was wondering if anyone had any advice, pros/cons, etc?
Pros: well they allow you to see small detail better! Cons: one of the commonest problems reported is simply that because they stand out from the face they get in the way of the end of a brush handle or sculpting tools, so you\'re constantly bumping them. So you have to change the way you work somewhat, which is an added difficulty.

Some people obviously get on well with these, others not so much. I bought a cheap one and while I imagine I\'ll have to start using it in the not-too-distant future for now the problems outweigh the advantages for me. When my eyes are tired and I can\'t focus well on the smallest details I try to take a rest, if that doesn\'t work I have to leave it and come back another time.

There\'s a prior thread or two on these here, or maybe on planetFigure, you might want to have a look for it/them (search for Optivisor).

Out of curiosity, what medium are you sculpting in?

Einion
 

RuneBrush

New member
I use one for doing fine detail stuff. I found that the band had a habit of cutting into my ears, so I got a piece of felt and had it stitched over the band - also means that it doesn\'t slip like Mike finds.
 

BPI

New member
Hi there, I got an anglepoise daylight lamp with a halo bulb, magnifying lense in the middle. I assumed that I\'d use the lense for painting but had problems with it. Best I can describe is it was like trying to paint in a mirror, had to really concentrate to get the brush tip any where near where I wanted it. Also brush end kept bumping into lamp. Now I just use it as an overhead lamp. I assume that with practice I could learn to use it. I\'ve read of people using cheap non-prescription reading glasses but haven\'t tried myself. B.
 

Wolf Fang

Member
cant say ive used one but i have used the desk lamp with a 10x magnifying glass built in to it, albeit for soldering circuit boards. dang thing worked great! only problem i found was depth perception was a tiny bit wonky but other then that loved the thing.
 

moonmin82

New member
hey guys. thanks for the thoughts.

einion - im mostly sculpting 28mm \'inspired\' minis (i.e. gw style but never quite there!) from green stuff and procreate (see my gallery). occassionaly bits and pieces in fimo / super sculpey at a larger scale.

i might be tempted to get a reasonably priced one (ie <£10) from ebay and see how i get on :beer:
 

Shawn R. L.

New member
I love using my mag headband. Make sure to get one\'s 2 lenses.

These might be a good alternative -

MG19157-2.jpg


or you could just cut the lenses off the head band type and mount them to a glasses frame.
 

Einion

New member
Originally posted by moonmin82
einion - im mostly sculpting 28mm \'inspired\' minis (i.e. gw style but never quite there!) from green stuff and procreate (see my gallery). occassionaly bits and pieces in fimo / super sculpey at a larger scale.
Just checking you weren\'t using standard MagicSculp or something similar, which are a teeny bit transluscent on the surface.
Originally posted by moonmin82
i might be tempted to get a reasonably priced one (ie <£10) from ebay and see how i get on :beer:
thumbup.gif
Worth trying; you might get on with it well.

Einion
 

moonmin82

New member
shawn - for ebay searchings sake, what would that be described as? just so i know exactly what to put in a search. cheers :)
 

moonmin82

New member
i actually have an old pair of nhs specs that ive never really needed to wear (fetching, i know!). im now looking into a clip on mag, as the optivisors look a little bulky and restrictive.
 

ArsLoqui

New member
Tell me I\'m not the only person who keeps reading the title of this thread as \"Head Bang Modifiers\"...

Maybe I do need magnifiers!
 

mickc22

Granddad!
I\'ve use the headband one, there was a small learning curve, but once I got used to it, it was great.
might try tha felt idea tho, as the band is plastic and can get a bit sweaty if it\'s hot
 

moonmin82

New member
\"Head Bang Modifiers\"? i can see the sales pitch now: \"a mechanical moshing aid for those with severe whiplash injuries\", lol!
 

DXM

New member
The last year my eye percription changed. I ended up going to the Drug Store and buying a set of Generic 3.75 reading glasses on sale for $7.00, a god send.
At work I found a pair of expensive reading glasses, the $7 pair works so much better. The lens are the narrow type so you can work and watch TV at the same time just by looking over them. They are also flush to your face so you are not poking your face with the brush handle.
 
I use my optivisor all the time now (eyes are that bad) and find it pretty good. Now and again I still bump the tool i\'m using into the front but you get use to it. I have a maglite also and the problem with them is lack of depth of field. the optivsor fixed that. I was on Jen Haley\'s website and while reading one of her articles I saw that see used the optivisor so checked \'em out.

I have also noticed that here in the UK Hobbycraft make a cheaper version with four len\'s. havn\'t tried it but it is more like specticles than the bulky optivisor plus it has it\'s own LED lightsource.
 

ThriKeen Priest

New member
Magnifiers & Loupes

I had a headband & was using it a lot, but the lenses didn't snap in to the frame very tightly; once, scrubbing some pieces in the bathroom, it slipped out & I tried to catch it, but succeeded only in batting it to the floor & shattering them. :wasntme:
So I called an expert & he told me something about how if one uses headband magnifiers too much, they can damage your vision, or cause you to become cross-eyed or something. (Wish I recalled his advice verbatim!) He advised that I buy a pair of professionally sized loupes mounted on a frame. These are very expensive, (~$700!!) but I don't think he was conning me as he didn't sell them & advised me of a couple sites that could get me set up.

So, I'm still in the market for something good, but I'm probably gonna go out & get those cheap reading glasses..:good:
 
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