First and foremost I needed a nice case to store and protect them, but also because my Favorite Local Gaming Store has a painting bar with airbrush compressors and I've been working on getting a little more mobile with my hobby supplies.
Supplies
All told, I'm about $30 into this project. The case was maybe $15 and the large pack of foam was around the same. (Which you'll use for more.)
A cheap source is to pick up a pack of those interlocking foam squares. (Walmart will have them.) These probably would have been nice when we were spending hours gaming around a table back in the day.
From a DIY perspective, this stuff is actually great for all sorts of stuff from building terrain to cosplay costumes. It's also easy to work with. You can cut it with scissors, X-Acto blades, box cutters, etc and melts with heat guns.
The case itself was just something I found at Curries, though they're available all over. (Hobby Lobby / Michaels, Dollar Stores, etc.) Try to find something thick enough that you can fit 2 layers of the foam.
Cut Foam to Fit the Case
The first step is to cut the foam to roughly the size you're after.
Then trim it until it fits in the case. You want it to be tight enough that the foam will stay in the case, but not so tight that it squeezes the forms you'll be cutting into the foam later. But don't worry, you can always pull the foam out and trim sections of the edge again to make everything fit nicely.
Once you have one layer, trace it and cut another layer.
If the case has some unusual angles or trim around the edges, you can get a little creative with how you cut things up.
For this case, that meant using a blade to cut half-way down through the edge and from the bottom to create a step.
So in the end I have 2 pieces of foam, one cut a little smaller so it fits in the bottom of the case. This bottom piece will act as a base for the airbrushes to rest against, while the top piece will hold the airbrushes in place.
Cut Foam to Fit the Airbrushes
- Start by laying your airbrushes and any other supplies you'd like in the case to figure out where everything will fit.
- Trace them out with either a pen, marker or knife.
- Cut the pattern out.
* I found it easiest to cut it out in sections, no need to try and cut the whole thing out at once.
For things like the small wrench or the keyring for the cleaning brushes, you don't need to cut anything out, just make a slice in the foam.
Final Photo
This is what I've ended up creating:
Oh, and if you've got a sticker with your airbrush, slap it on the front of the case while you're at it. We've since used this a few times and it's absolutely great. Being able to transport the airbrushes to our FLGS while being confident in their safety is pretty key.