Between recording videos for The Long War and herding cats, I really don’t have a lot of time to paint. I suspect the same is true for a lot of you out there as well.
So over the few years or so I’ve tried to shift the focus of the Spikey Bits blog from super amazing yet time intensive tutorials to more attainable methods and projects. I came up with the Hobby Basics Series, as a sort of collection of tips and tricks for beginners and veterans alike.
Which brings us full circle back to tasty Pringles chips. Awhile ago Meeker showed me a strange use for the little plastic tops that cover the metal can of chips, apparently they make great paint palettes.
Of course I didn’t believe him. So the other day I was painting on my titan and tried it… and he was right. These things are pretty amazing to use.
The lid itself ends up being slightly concave, meaning it bows slightly inward, making a great “recess on demand” to hold paint. Which also tends to keep the paint from drying out slightly longer as well, which is nice for long painting sessions.
This new palette is big enough to hold a bunch of different colors of paint too before you have to clean it off- which is where this little guy becomes quite an asset.
Have you even tried to clean paint off one of those hard plastic palettes? It pretty much sucks, to be honest, because no matter how hard I scrub or scrape, it always seems to end up being a total waste of time.
Enter Mr Pringles and his amazing flexible plastic lid!
All you have to do to clean this puppy off, is just scrape lightly with your finger, and the paint literally peels right off. Now all that is left behind here is some stubborn wash “stains” and a few heavy specks of paint (see above).
After a trip to the sink and a quick swish with some dish soap and a paper towel, the palette is magically clean again! Best part is that took literally less than a minute total to do, which to me is pretty good considering all the time I’ve spend in the past cleaning those other palettes.
Now I’ll admit I let it get this caked with paint on purpose just to give it a test drive, so normally it should be even easier to clean off, I would imagine.
Best part is: all you have to do to get one, is spend like $2 at the grocery store, and it comes complete with a snack as well (that is mostly gluten free even). Win, win, in my book!
Another good benefit of getting a can of Pringles is that you can turn the can upside down and use it to prime miniatures as well.
The bottom is actually some sort of metal as well, so until they change the container to save money you can flip it over, and use it to hold magnetized bases for priming / airbrushing figures too! Heck even if they are not magnetized, just use some double sided tape to securely fasten them and paint away. You can even used the containers for terrain as well.
Well that’s it for now but I’ve got a ton more of these to write up, as I seem to always be trying new things here and there. I even just heard Dr. Pepper is good to use for rinsing resin minis. I haven’t tried it yet, so no idea if it works or not but I will certainly let you know if it does.
What do you think of this “tech” tip? Every tried something non-hobby related, that ended up being amazing to use? -MBG
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
