Saka Light Cavalry

Saka Light Cavalry

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Twin Daylight Tube Lamp Review

Back at the Baccus open day we were discussing the use of a head held magnifying glass and the relevant benefits against drawbacks. The following day I re-learnt all about the help of extra light, as in LOTS of extra light! This was at Dr. Mikes painting display. He was using twin tubes daylight lamps which knocked the socks off my single bulb daylight lamp. The detail on the figures literally leaped out and made painting so much easier and helped in speeding up the painting. In short in had all of the advantages (and more) of the head magnifiers without any of the set backs. Though in reality it comes with it's own disadvantage, that of cost. One of these babies will set you back between £80 - £110 in the UK. That's a lot of lead. But for anyone painting 6mm figures with any regularity you either need to paint in good daylight or very good artificial light so I started to look for a bargain.
 
I found this baby on e-bay, it's not the brand that Dr. Mike was using but it clearly is a copy of it. So close a copy that clearly an original was sent out to China and all but the badge is a direct rip of the original. My only negative point about this lamp is that the flex is rather short. No issue for me as it is right next to the extension lead and plug socket but if it's not, you will need that extension cable. Well at £55 plus £8 post it's a significant saving.
 
On receiving the lamp though I found an Invoice to the person I bought the lamp off on e-bay. It seems the guy I bought it off does not stock these lamps, he just sells the item and orders it direct from the supplier! Rather a smart move I thought. So I now have the details of his supplier and after doing a little following up I know how you can get one of these lamps for just £37.68 INCLUDING POSTAGE! Yes for about a third of the badged version you could have a great lamp. I honestly would not be without this lamp now. I paint faster and better than before and whilst I got it mostly for my 6mm I have found the same results in larger scales. More detail (and flash etc) and easier and faster to paint and all to a better standard. The lamp comes with a clamp for the desk which needs padding to protect from damage to the table and is fully assembled. You just need to fix on the clamp and angle to your best position. Th hood only gets touch warm and I have it a few inches from my forehead without any discomfort or strain, it has to be used to believe it.
 
Here is the link to the supplier CPC, which goes straight to the lamp itself, but in case of difficulty it's code is la0400387 and it's called Pro-Elec HT8011 - Task Lamp and cost is £25.45 with a handling charge of £5.95 for post and VAT on the top making it the £37.68 mentioned. If you visit them on facebook they say they will give a further discount! They are based in Preston for anyone who may want to try and collect. The lamp was well packaged in the white foam like inner inside a sturdy box and wrapped with the large bubble wrap and delivered by UPS the day after payment!
 
Honestly I can not recommend this enough, I was happy paying £65 but this is is a fantastic price. You do need to set up an account with them but it's quick and easy and you can pay by card or cheque so it's as simple as you could wish.

16 comments:

  1. I'm going to have to do something about my lighting situation. That's a good deal on that lamp and it sounds like a good idea. I just spent the last of my birthday money on lead yesterday.

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  2. That's what I need! Thanks Ian.

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  3. Thanks indeed for sharing this, a very useful tip. Lighting has always been major concern for me, and increasingly more as I grow older and my eyesight decays. Need to check if they ship abroad too.

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  4. Just a note. The lamp comes with the two required tubes, these are daylight tubes and in fish tanks need replacing every two years. They should last 5+ years with no problem for frequant use, longer for less. The still light up but losethe daylight light (you do notice).

    I believe they do ship external to the UK but you need to contact their export dept. These things are heavy though so I expect doing a search in your own country you would get for lower price than even surface mail

    Ian

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  5. Amazingly cheap! It might have a problem in europe...220 volts here but most electrical goods from the UK work (I just have to change the plugs)
    The only worry would be the postage costs. I´ll look into it.
    Cheers
    paul

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  6. Might have to get one of these babies!

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  7. I keep hearing about these Daylight lamps. Must be a reason for that. Everyone who has one including seems to say they are the way to go. Great post and very useful.
    cheers

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  8. You do really need a good lamp for any painting projects especially 6mm!!

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  9. Thanks for sharing!
    it seems to be good!

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  10. The difference in quality of light between daylight bulbs in lamp and these daylight tubes is comparable to chalk and cheese.

    @ Paul, the starters work 220 - 240V so the starters would not bethe issue at least.

    Ian

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  11. Great blog Ian. Thanks for posting his - could be just what I'm after! How wide is the head of the lamp ? There are no dimensions given on the site and it looks quite large in your pic - I've got a relatively condensed painting area so need to make sure it fits ! (and it definitely comes with tubes supplied ? )

    Cheers

    Simon

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  12. @ Simon. The head is 18.5" but to have the lamp fairly low (forehead height whilst bent over the table) the arm has to be slightly below level for the top section so if from the side it's 31" but if you can have the clamp at the back of your desk the desk would have to be at least 22" deep but 30+" would be best.

    Yes it comes with tubes, was one of my questions when I bought it as it seemed too cheap! that was before seeing how much it could be got for LOL.

    Hope you enjoy the blog

    Ian

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  13. Great thanks - I've just ordered one!

    Cheers

    Simon

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  14. @ Simon, hope it helps you as muchas it has me. If the desk you work on is something you don't want to damage then use something like a couple of beer mats as padding, one each side of the clamps jaws as it can dig into the surface. Not an issue on mine as I had to make an extension to the table to sit it where I wanted it

    Ian

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  15. Great find!

    This lamp (and the newer triple tube version) seem to come in two UK branded flavours: Shesto Lightcraft/Modelcraft and Daylight.

    Shesto is very honest about simply sourcing already made products, whereas Daylight makes it look like their lamps are proprietary.

    The Pro Elec versions you found at CPC are the cheapest of the bunch and they look identical! Do you think Shesto and Daylight have simply sourced these lights from Pro Elec and rebranded them? Even the product codes are similar e.g. LC8011 vs HT8011 and LC8015 vs HT8015.

    Regards,
    Tony

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  16. @ Tony

    Thanks for the detailed comment. I have seen some of these lamps in action via Dr. Mike at a few wargames convention and he has a couple of brands and they look very simular but the build quality of som seems just a little better. I am fairly confident that the CPC one is the copy. I have since bought another four for other people and again the service and packaging were top notch. CPC are discount suppliers but their service is not. I use my lamp 4+ hours a day and it works great. The balast acts as the counter weight on the arm and has the added benefit of keeping the heat away from you whilst painting etc. Build quality is good and the whole thing is solid. I can not recomend enough

    Ian

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