Alligator Clips and Foam Boards for Organising Painted Parts

Once a fresh coat of paint is on a Gundam piece, the moment between brush and next coat is where builds are won or lost. Touching a runner still wet with Mr. Hobby or Citadel colour, or leaning a freshly airbrushed shield against the desk, can undo thirty minutes of careful shading. Hobbyists from Sydney to Perth have long used alligator clips pushed into scrap foam board as a cheap, reliable way to keep parts suspended while they cure. The setup costs only a few dollars, fits on a kitchen table, and travels neatly inside a carry tote for weekend workshops at the local library or a Supanova pop-up.

The method suits beginners who worry about smudging and seasoned modellers working through a backlog of weathering coats. With a few boards stacked beside the cutting mat, every piece has a place, and the next morning's session starts without the usual hunt for half-dry components. Australian conditions, particularly the humid summers in Brisbane and the dry heat of an Adelaide workshop with the back door open, make controlled airflow just as important as the paint itself, and the clip-and-board approach handles that too.

Why a Clip-and-Board Rig Beats Other Drying Setups

Modellers often debate the best way to dry parts, so it helps to line up the most common options against the humble foam board setup before committing to a workshop habit.

For most Australian hobbyists running a single project on the dining table, the clip-and-board option delivers the strongest balance of cost, airflow, and a tidy footprint. It also adapts when a part comes with awkward undercuts, such as the inner frame on a Master Grade Origin kit, where the diecast shell alone can be cleaned and prepared with care before it sees its first topcoat.

Building the Rig from Bunnings and Officeworks

A standard A2 foam board from Officeworks runs around three dollars and provides a sturdy backplate that resists warping under a dozen clips. Alligator clips come in packs of twenty at Bunnings Warehouse, with the smaller 25 mm size best for most 1/144 and 1/100 runners, and the 35 mm size reserved for chunky polycap joints or beam shield assemblies. A roll of painter's tape, a craft knife, and a pencil complete the kit for under fifteen dollars.

Lay the board flat and sketch a grid in light pencil, spacing rows roughly four cm apart so clips never touch one another. Tape the back of each clip with a small piece of painter's tape to stop the metal teeth from marking polished surfaces, a trick borrowed from classic panel lining routines where soft jaws protect finished work. Press the clip's flat tail into the foam until it grips firmly, then tilt the board against a wall to dry.

Mounting Techniques That Protect the Paint

Clips should bite onto sprue gates, handles, and weapon mounts rather than on the painted face itself. For pieces with only one attachment, such as a single-finned shoulder armour, run a short length of brass wire through the clip's loop to extend its reach, giving the part space to swing without touching the board. This swinging motion is what lets air reach every angle, so worth the extra minute spent rigging it.

When working on heavy or oddly shaped sub-assemblies, like the torso cage of a Perfect Grade, two clips per part share the load and stop any twisting as the paint cures. Hobbyists in Melbourne's often cool, damp workshops tend to leave pieces on the rig for a full twelve hours before moving them, while those in drier inland towns usually find a coat is touch-dry within three hours and ready for masking by dinner.

Handling Delicate or Tiny Components

Small details such as camera lenses, V-fin antennae, and photo-etched parts demand a softer touch than a standard clip provides. Wrapping the jaws in a single layer of tissue paper or a small piece of masking tape keeps the metal from leaving a crescent mark on glossy black or metallic finishes. For pieces too thin for a clip at all, a dab of Blu Tack pressed onto the foam board holds them upright while a toothpick braces the back.

This gentle approach matters most when a piece has been clear-coated and is waiting for its final satin finish, since any clip mark at this stage means sanding and re-spraying the panel. A spare foam board kept aside for clear-coated components avoids cross-contamination from earlier colour sessions, which is a habit picked up from painters who prep diecast frames with a separate clean cloth each time.

Drying Through Australian Conditions

Humidity plays a bigger role than most beginners expect. Aboard the New South Wales coast in February, a piece can stay tacky for hours as moisture lingers in the air, so a small desk fan pointed across the drying board cuts cure time noticeably. In Perth's bone-dry summers, paint skins over almost too fast, which means working in shorter bursts and misting the air nearby with water to slow the surface dry and let the coat level out.

Dust is the other local headache, particularly during a Perth or Adelaide gust front when the windows are wide open. Drape a single layer of light cotton over the rig, leaving the bottom open for airflow, and the pieces stay clean without trapping solvent fumes. Garage workshops from Geelong to Cairns benefit from the same trick, and the cotton folds away into a drawer when not in use.

Storage Between Coats

Boards stack neatly once dry, with a sheet of baking paper laid across the top row of clips so the next board's tails do not scuff the parts beneath. Labelling each board's edge with the kit name, colour used, and the date keeps a multi-project weekend on track. Hobbyists juggling a High Grade and a Real Grade at the same time will quickly appreciate being able to slide a single board out without disturbing the rest of the queue.

A labelled sleeve made from a cut-down shopping bag from Kmart keeps each board dust-free in the cupboard, and when the project moves to the display shelf, the same clip rig doubles as a photo backdrop for the build log.

Transporting Finished Parts to Meets and Workshops

Slip a finished board into a flat A2 cardboard sleeve from a courier box, and it travels safely by car or on the train into the city for a weekend meet-up. Some hobbyists in Brisbane carry two or three boards in a rigid art portfolio bought from Spotlight, which protects the clips from bending and keeps the pieces upright during the trip.

For anyone heading to a regional convention in Hobart, packing the rig as checked luggage inside a foam-padded insert keeps everything intact through baggage handling. A small handwritten tag on each board with the owner's name and forum handle means any misplaced piece finds its way home, the kind of courtesy that keeps a community forum friendly and productive.