Historians have written about the great turning points of history. The development of grass- seed in Mesopotamia , the three field system, the steam engine , all these maybe described as ‘transformational!’ But, were they really? Can they really compare with the revolutionary potential of L.E.D. Modellers’ magnifying lenses?

They may not look much, but for a mere fifteen pounds, your world will be changed. Although they do carry a certain fashion baggage, do we care? Although  an impulse purchase my acute fashion awareness prevented me from initially investing. I was reminded of the dad character in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, hunched over the kitchen table looking like a 1950s Sci-fi film extra!

But, it was horror rather than elation to begin with. My ageing eye sight had failed me. With the 3.5 magnification, every little slip up is …….erm…..magnified. The faces were my greatest area of weakness. In this respect my old 15mm minis looked a lot better than the newer 28s. Using a black undercoat is problematic because when you look at it under magnification, it appears streaky. I looked at my professionally painted minis and the answer seams to be, more layers. And so the weekend past, in a mixture of elation and frustration.

The elation came from correcting mistakes but I warn you, it is time consuming. Pete Gregory mentioned on Facebook that you don’t really look at minis this close but I had made some real errors in my myopic , pre – glasses state. The uniforms stood up to examination quite well but I would have to check the last ten years output….

By working through the night and not talking to my family I was able to correct the most recent and start on my Napoleonics. One unwelcome discovery was how poor my brushed are. A good number were relegated to the stirer pile or broken in frustration. 

I would heartily recommend this Barkmann product. This particular one comes with five different lenses and has a built in LED light. It makes a world of difference and I for one won’t be painting without it from now on.