If I’m painting a miniatures for a competition or display I’ll more often than not pin them to the display base or plinth so I’ll use some old pin vice handles that I’ve accumulated, over the last 26 years in the hobby, to hold the miniature while painting so I don’t have to touch the paint work. They are great as you can tighten the vice around the pin and with the type I have you can stand them upright so you don’t have to worry about damaging the paint job. Also they rotate which I find very useful during painting.

But until now like most of you if I’ve got a miniature that I want to paint and it’s already attached the base I’ve always opted for the good old adhesive putty and cork/old paint pot method as in the photo below. Sure it’s cheap but not without its own little problems. The corks are always re-usable but when using sprays you can’t usually re-use the putty more than a couple of times at best. Plus if the miniature isn’t pushed down firmly before you start painting it can sometimes move when you’re trying to paint which can be a little annoying.

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So recently while I was browsing the Games Workshop website I saw this new Citadel Painting Handle. I’d seen it in White Dwarf a couple of weeks back but I hadn’t really paid that much attention to it at first. But as I was buying some other things I thought I’d pick it up and see what it was like. Priced at £5GBP it comes fully assembled and ready to use straight out of the box.

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It’s made of a hard black plastic and seems pretty robust.

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The grip is a very nice ergonomic design so comfortable to hold, something I’m going to really appreciate when I’m painting for long periods.

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Above the handle is a spring-loaded clamp mechanism which provides a nice strong grip on the base.

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As with anything that has moving parts though I’m always a bit dubious about how long they are going to last before they break. But it seems well made so hopefully it will be a long time before I have to replace it. I plan to be using these quite a lot so I will let you all know if anything does break.

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As you can see in the photos below it allows you to hold a number of different base sizes so it’s quite versatile.

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25mm Gaming Base

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32mm Gaming Base

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40mm Gaming Base

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60mmx35mm Oval Gaming Base

Here is a quick shot of me using the Citadel Painting Handle while I was messing around painting a test mini for my Space Wolves.

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Pros:

  • Well built
  • Reasonably price
  • Light
  • Comfortable grip
  • No assembly required so you can use it straight out of the box

Cons:

  • Spring-loaded moving parts could possibly break after a while

Conclusion:

A great little addition to my hobby desk. I’m glad I picked it up and at £5 it’s not going to make that big a dent in your wallet meaning you can spend more on new miniatures (if you’re like me). I can see myself picking up quite a few of these over the next few weeks and months.

Score: 8.5/10