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Painting holders… love them or hate them, am I right? Personally, due to sheer quantity of miniatures that go through my desk I’m used to paint miniatures mounted on shot glasses. Standard painting grips are bulky and take up too much space, not to mention price and need of at least few dozen of these to keep up a comfortable work flow. This is why I was never truly interested in any Painting Grips available in the market… until now!
A-Case is a well known, one-man company from Poland, specializing in probably the best magnetic carrying cases for miniatures that money can buy. Let me put this up front: I am a big fan of A-Case product line and grew tight with the company. I might be a bit biased here. That being said I try my best not to get influenced by sympathy for A-Case, to a point of being very sceptic about any new product lines. Luckily I got samples for thorough beta testing. After some brutal, ruthless hobbying, I can honestly say all my misgivings got put to rest. More so I grew fond of Magnetic Painting Grip to a point of pre-purchasing multiple sets and extensions and switching to work with it almost exclusively.
At first glance A-Case Magnetic Painting Grip (MPG) might put you off. A mix of stylish design with a rather unorthodox production method result in a feel far from popular Chinese plastic we all are used to. A huge advantage of 3d printing is being able to fully integrate magnets and metal plates within the body, leading to increased durability and comfort of work. Apart from visuals, which are highly impacted by bare metal plates* (see update below), the MPG feels great and I had no quality issues amongst multiple Grips and about a hundred exchangeable heads I currently possess.
I really dig the shape and visual aspect of the MPG. The mix of colors and texture, specific to 3d print, makes it look sturdy and fit hobbyist’s workspace nicely. My only beef is with bare metal plates* (see update below), which look out of place. Still, these are almost always hidden beneath a miniature so it’s not a big aesthetics issue. All the while bare metal means better magnet compatibility.
Here’s where MPG shines. Large integrated magnets combined with a variety of exchangeable heads makes it, in my opinion, the most interesting painting grip in the market. Different head shapes can be used to distinguish different painting levels, or mark units, which is paramount in bulk painting. Switching miniatures is fast and comfortable. Weight is balanced between light and solid further increasing the comfort of work. On the downside the MPG might be difficult to keep clean, but the same is true for all painting grips, regardless of material.
Additionally:
After spending couple hundred hours painting Warhammer 40,000 miniatures with this thing in hand I can say it feels like made just for me. Goodbye shot glasses, as from now on the MPG is my go to tool.
Price wise the A-Case Magnetic Painting Holder comes close to competition, depending on how you look at things. With a set of five caps it definitely wins over multiples of other handles, but is less more expensive than its immediate competition of Redgrass Games:
As of November 2023 the item has seen some improvements. In response to users feedback the bare metal plates got exchanged for black powder coated beauties and new types of caps/heads got introduced as well.
As of January 2024 the extension range grew exponentially. Additional items include 25mm top, Oval Shaped top, Batch Painting top and Priming Top. I have tested all of them personally and can vouch for each and every one.
Whereas the 25mm and Oval is rather self explanatory, the large extensions are a bit more advanced. They work great both individually and alongside regular toppers, depending on the size of the miniatures bases mounted on top. Worth noting is the weight of mounted items – too much and there will be need to hold the base of the extension while operating as not to let the weight take the entire thing off of the handle. That being said – I have not encountered any issues when working on my own miniatures.
To sum things up: Magnetic Painting Grip is a brilliant design that fits, but is also not dependent on the “magnetic” theme of entire A-Case brand. MPG is comfortable and user friendly. It also is fully compatible with A-Case transportation cases which adds additional value. Based on feedback the item seen improvement and is currently my very favorite painting holder of all time. And I’m talking purchasing multiple, multiple copies level of favorite. I sincerely couldn’t recommend it enough.
What’s your opinion? Have you used one? Let me know in the comments.
4 comments so far
BenPosted on10:32 pm - Jan 23, 2024
Hello, due to your review of a-case product I purchased the biggest case and their magnetic painting grip. I really liked those and now wants more as only five grip is a good number to test but I found that I usually have more than 5 minis at work at the same time.
So I got back to their shop site and noticed the new Mega pack https://shop.army-case.com/gadgets/mpgmegapack/ with a “batch painting top” and a “priming top”. But with only one photo it’s kind of difficult to get an idea.
Did you have it and in your hands ? What’s your opinion on it ?
ScarhandpaintingPosted on11:28 pm - Jan 23, 2024
Hey Ben, thank you very much for your comment. It is awesome to see someone being impacted by my content. I get rare if any feedback so I very much appreciate you taking your time to write this comment.
As for your question – Yes, I had all of the new additions to the MPG in hands and tested them thoroughly. Some of them got sent to me as a gift so I can test them before release, some of them I purchased on my own. All work fine and I can vouch for them, although I recommend being careful with larger extensions – depending on the weight of the miniatures you want to mount on top. No issues with plastics, but I can see potential issues with heavy metal/resin miniatures packed with regular stones on the bases etc. That being said – all of the new items are amazing. I have updated the article adding a large gallery of all the new MPG extensions.
Thanks again for reaching out to me. Cheers!
BenPosted on10:22 pm - Feb 4, 2024
Well, thank you for your quick answer and update. That’s really nice of you.
I have a last question for you: did you used any of those top for painting Armada ships ? I have try the standard cap but it’s too big and doesn’t let easy access to the keel (so I added a small bit of cork to elevate it). I wonder if the new 25mm top would work better.
PS : and I really like all your blog post about Armada, your site have the best content on Armada I could found on the web.
ScarhandpaintingPosted on11:51 pm - Feb 4, 2024
Thank you very much for such a praise. I really enjoy Armada and do my best to promote it. The game deserves the best treatment because it is truly awesome.
Back to MPG:
I actually used both the standard head and the new 25mm. I have painted Armada ships with and without bases mounted on these. For example Basilean, Orc, EoD, Northern Alliance and the Salamanders I have painted on regular tops without bases attached to the ships. Dwarfs, Ghost Ships, Sea Monsters and the latest Twilight Kin I have painted on a mix of 25mm and regulars, with bases attached. Not all were magnetized when painting, some were mounted using Blu-Tack, allowing me to get where I wanted to with a brush. I think it all depends on your personal preferences. Personally I prefer 25mm toppers for most stuff, unless it’s 30mm wide and larger round bases, then the regular ones for stability.