A magnifying lamp and two giant robots

After what seem like an eternity of searching, I finally found a magnifying lamp that's suitable for my miniature hobby needs. As fate would have it, I was actually looking for something else - a six-year old desktop graphic card for my ancient PC - in an IT mall. Instead, I came across a small shop in which the owner was using a magnifying lamp. An enquiry as to where he had gotten the lamp from revealed that he also sells them. Lucky me! In fact, the lamp wasn't even on the retail selling floor so I am guessing it was being sold direct to other retailers who fix electronics for a living. 

It's an arc reactor, no it's a robotic eye ... meh, it's just a magnifying lamp's diopter lens

As for my quest to replace my broken down (did I mention old) graphic card, needless to say that after getting looks of bemusement and a couple of sniggers, I had no luck locating a new one. One salesguy told me they don't even stock one-year-old technology let alone six years! Well la-di-da ... there are still dinosaurs like me who take careful care of their stuff to make it last as long as possible. 

Packaging for the Quick 228 Magnifying Lamp

This particular magnifying lamp had a magnification of 5X and a light source comprising a 22W circular lamp. In terms of size, it's rather big and cumbersome and pretty much dwarfed my small work table which was sourced from a community kindergarten that no longer needed it. If you look closely at one of the photos below, you can just make out a very small and short red plastic chair (also from the said kindergarten) which I use with my work table. Some Transformer stickers on the table edge kinda rubs in the fact it's a table meant for those aged six and below.

My humble work table used for painting among other things

Stickers on the table are courtesy of my son when he was younger

Packaging for the Quick 228 Magnifying Lamp

Speaking of Transformers, at a different mall I stumbled upon two almost life-sized replicas of the robots i.e. Optimus Prime and Bumble-bee. Frankly I prefer Decepticons to the self-righteous-do-gooder Autobots. More so when the bad guys always seem to have cooler looking vehicles. 

Optimus Prime in a local mall ... towering all the way up to the 2nd floor

Another autobot replica in the form of Bumble-bee

Whether my painting can improve with the help of a magnifying lamp is open to debate although I am sure it can't hurt. So far I haven't used it yet and plan to do so only when painting very small details. While it's less restricting to paint without the magnifying lamp, there is only so much one can make out with the naked eye. As such, this is still one hobby tool I am happy to have at my disposal.