I’ve recently been getting back into tabletop gaming and as part of that have been thinking about finally learning how to airbrush. I’ve also been trying to upgrade my whole gaming and modeling areas to make it easier for me to assemble and paint miniatures and play games. In the past, I’ve never had a place in the house to spray paint models, so I’ve been looking into spray booths (they call them spray “booths” even though they’re really spray boxes).
Buying such a booth costs around $70-$150, which seems a little pricy for what you’re getting (basically a box with a fan on the back). So, I started looking around for homemade versions and unearthed a ton of builds, most based on the same basic design.
This quick video run-through by YouTuber NeuesZiel is indicative of many of the projects out there. It basically involves attaching a bathroom fan (not a computer fan) to the back of a big plastic bin and then attaching an outtake dryer hose to vent the fumes out of the house. An bathroom fan can be had for around $30. My local Michael’s craft shop frequently has big plastic bins on clearance for next to nothing. I’m sure I could quickly and easily put one of these units together for less than half what a commercial unit would cost.
I also found hand-drawn plans for this booth design on the venerable Starship Modeler website (one of the oldest sci-fi hobby sites in cyberspace). These plans have the added benefit of showing you how to build a bucket-based indoor fume extractor if you can’t vent your booth to the outside. I’ll likely be setting up my booth on the laundry room counter which has convenient access to a basement window.
If you’ve ever built one of these fume extractors, I’d love to hear about yours, and see pictures. Please post in the comments.
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