Hello!

Some time ago I was kindly sent an early prototype of the new miniature holder by Redgrass Games to try out, and in this article I would like to give my brief and honest impressions of the product.  I’ll begin by restating that the holder I was sent was an early prototype and not necessarily indicative of the finished handle.  It’s also worth stating that this is not a paid review; my opinions are entirely unbiased and based on around 10 hours of use with the holder.

The first thing to note is the simple economy of the design; there are no extra “bits” or protrusions – just a handle with a rotating platform, and some mounting putty on top.   I find this economy to be attractive and elegant in itself, yet also limits the ways in which the handle may be used.  There’s no side arm like some other holders have for example, so if you’re the kind of painter who regularly relies on the use of one (although I’m not personally) it’s a factor to be mindful of.  There is also no way to alter the size of the handle (a point I’ll return to in a moment) which is the case with more modular set ups.

Fortunately the handle is very light and comfortable in the hand.  The mounting putty works extremely well, giving a strong level of adhesion to the mini, and if (or when) the adhesion begins to lose its strength, then fresh putty can be used as needed.

The rotating platform is also extremely well realised; the level of resistance is such that it’s smooth and easy to rotate when needed, but not loose to the point where the platform will ever rotate unintentionally.

Of course it’s fair to question whether a rotating platform is necessary in the first place; I’ve personally never felt that I ever needed any assistance in rotating a 28mm plastic figure in my hand, but I suspect it’s a feature that some users will enjoy, and possibly one that once you’ve got used to it, may end up being one of those features you never knew you wanted.

The main problem I have with the holder probably says more about my personal painting habits than the quality of the product itself and it’s this: it’s simply taller than the kind of “holder” I’m used to using.  I use the inverted commas because regular viewers will know that I typically use small household objects – plastic bottle tops and the like, or sometimes the small part of the Rathcore holder set – all typically measuring no more than 4cm or so in length, which I hold with my finger tips rather than the palm of my hand.  Using a smaller holder lets me keep more of my hands resting on the surface of the table providing greater stability, whereas I tend to find taller holders like this (and others) less natural to work with, especially when I want to get the brush to the top of the model.

I must stress however that this is more of a comment on my personal habits than anything else, and it’s probably useful to ask yourself if you are the kind of painter who works comfortably with holders designed to fit into the palm of the hand like this, or something smaller (as is my preference).  If you’re one of the latter, then I’d recommend trying one out for yourself before necessarily committing.  If you’re one of the former then I suspect you are going to really enjoy this holder.  It does everything it sets out to achieve; it’s comfortable, simple to use, and the “USP” features of the rotating platform and semi-built-in putty work beautifully.

Finally, there’s the price: at 10 Euros for a single holder with 15g of mounting putty there’s not much to argue with here, although I accept that “value” is a very relative thing.

I would like to thank Redgrass Games for sending me the holder to test, and I hope you have found this review useful!

Happy Painting!

Sorastro.