You may or may not have read my previous review here on Sprues & Brews where I checked out the Series M brushes from Artis Opus.

If you did have a read then you may remember noticing the part where I mentioned I was reviewing a hobby box at the same time. Well, I wasn’t lying, and here is that review. 

May I present to you the All-in-One Modular Art Box from Krydrufi.

Our thanks to Krydrufi for sending us this product to review.

What is the Krydrufi Modular Art Box?

Simply put, this is a handy portable paint station. Normally we review products that are designed specifically for miniature painting and modeling, however this product is actually designed more for traditional painters, such as those who do watercolour or acrylic painting.

Krydrufi, the wizards behind this product reached out to ourselves and other miniature hobbyists, to test this out for our style of painting, as they felt we can also get a lot of usage out of this art box and open the door to other tabletop enthusiasts. 

Before I really get stuck in to this review please bear in mind we were sent what you would call the full set. Over on Krydrufi’s website you can order individual modules, so yours may not be exactly the same as the one we reviewed with regards to contents. 

What do you get in the Art Box?

At this point I’m going to point you in the direction of the video I filmed for the Modular Art Box. In said video I unbox the product and take you through all of its modular parts, as well as its other contents. I also sum up my experience with the art box at the end, should you want a minor spoiler!

So out of its packaging you get 5 key modular parts, as well as extras.

The largest part is the main body of the art box. It can contain the two included water pots, both of which fit in such a way that it gives you a handle to carry this unit around. The version we received also included paint brush holders for air drying that simply slip on to the edge of the water pots, and holders to keep your brushes in the water. Finally for this part you get two silicone ‘sheets’ that perfectly fit the bottom of the water parts and are designed for you move your brush across to help get rid of any paint on your brush whilst you clean it. 

You then get two identical smaller modules that can clip together, and importantly to the bottom of the main unit. The tray features an airtight lid, which when open gives you a perfect small wet palette (when combined with the included wet palette sheets).

Finally you get two further, again identical, modules. These again can be clipped together and/or to the main unit for transport and storage. These again have lids. When opened, you have space to hold paints that you have been using. I’ll say at this point that ideally you would use this part for more ‘solid’ paints, like acrylic. Sadly I could find no use for Citadel and similar paints with these modules, due to the consistency of the paints. Perhaps you could use it for spare parts or small hobby tools, however it is too small for brushes. 

The Water Pots & Holders

Starting from the top, having two water pots is great for brush maintenance. It’s also fantastic if you are switching to and from metallic paints, as you can clean your water in different water to the one you are using for your other paints.

A big shout out to the silicone pads in the bottom of the water pots. I found these to be fantastic at getting rid of paint off the brush without being too ‘rough’. I didn’t find they damaged the brushes at all. 

When placed correctly the handles in both parts make the art box really easy to transport. The brush holders (both internal and external) held my brushes firmly, yet easy to attach and take off. I wouldn’t recommend using the one designed for holding your brushes in water with your brushes, as it won’t do them any good. You can use these to hold on to your brushes on the outside of your water pots too, although you do get some air dry ones too with this set with drip trays as well. 

The Wet Palette Trays

I found these to be incredibly helpful. 

When I’m painting I tend to move between my hobby room (with its comfy desk, lots of space, all my tools etc) and the living room so I can chat to the wife once my son has gone to bed.

The downside with painting in my living room is having to move all my hobby stuff around for the sake of a couple of hours painting. As you may imagine, this art box helps me out massively straight off the bat.

Once item that I don’t tend to take downstairs with me is my Redgrass Wet Palette due to its size. Whilst the surface area of the wet palettes with the art box are significantly smaller than my Redgrass palette (although don’t forget with this build of the box you can utilises two of the trays as wet palettes, doubling the space) I’m automatically bringing a palette down, ensuring I’ve got one to hand to help my painting! 

The included wet palette paper worked perfectly, as did the ‘sponge’. The trays were super easy to maintain and clean. 

If you don’t want to use both trays as palettes you could use one for storage of small hobby tools or parts, but again be wary that due to the size it won’t fit a standard length paint brush, or a GW sized plastic glue pot. It did however fit my super glue and clippers. 

The Paint Trays

The only slight disappointment with this product was the paint trays. 

I tried them to store Citadel, Two Thin Coats and Army Painter paints, but due to the nature of the paints they just didn’t keep or store well. The little segments in the trays are ideal for acrylic paints.

I couldn’t find a great use for them as a miniature painter, but could see a more traditional artist making a lot more of them. 

I guess that’s the handy thing about the module system though, as I leave these two off and in a drawer on my hobby desk, so that I’m just connecting and using the parts I need. 

Summary

Every part of the Modular Art Box feels solid and well made. The clips used to connect each module together fit tight enough to be secure, yet easily enough to unclip. 

It does exactly what it’s designed to do. It’s not too large and it’s lightweight enough to move around.

I would have liked a slightly larger wet palette, which in turn would have made the trays larger so you could store brushes in the second one. In fact, having a component to hold even my glues, hobby knifes and stuff would have been perfect, as it would have literally held everything I needed to hobby, aside from pots of paint. 

It’s a shame I couldn’t find a use for the paint holders, again maybe if it was a little deeper I could have put pots in there, but it’s clear what the main demographic is here. 

Everything else worked as intended, in particular the silicone inserts and brush holders with drip dry trays. 

My grievances aside, I’m a big fan of this product, and I’ll be continuing to use it (in particular when downstairs!). It’s very quickly become part of my hobbying routine, and it means I’ve started to use a wet palette downstairs as well as when I’m sat at my desk. I’ll be keep an eye on Krydrufi’s website in the hope they add some more modules!

You can treat yourself to one today via this link right here! 

Our thanks again to Krydrufi for sending us one to review.