A better portable workbench

While my attic 'man cave' continues to be unavailable to me - due to it having been relegated to the house junk store - I have been instead using my portable modeling tray for kit building and painting. However, it looks like this ‘temporary’ solution has developed into the norm  and will be for the foreseeable future, so I decided some modifications to the tray were in order.

My trusty old Progen Paintsation, which now looks a little worse for wear. The main
issue is lack of space once I have all my tools, glues an brushes and what-not on it.
Once, loaded with tools there's actually not much room left to build/paint on!

The 'tray' - which is actually Progen's laser cut MDF Paintstation - is OK but lacks the additional storage space I need, as this is now my main modeling table. Of course, Progen's design was never intended to be a primary work area, just a makeshift portable work surface, so storage was kept to a minimum.

So, the problem was - how to add a reasonable amount of extra storage space to my Paintstation while still keeping it manageable as a tray I could move about? (I work, mainly, in our lounge and so, every so often, the wife insists I remove all clues of my ‘toys’ when we have guests.)

After a few rough sketch ideas, I settled on an under-tray draw storage solution. A simple 'bolt on' box that I could attach to the bottom of my tray...

My sketch of how I would like the bolt-on draw section to attach to my
workstation top. This also shows how I would like the draws to be.

The benefit of this was that I could have it made while still using my current tray and then quickly screw it on without having to take apart or put my Paintstation out of action.

Being a complete DIY clutz, I sent my designs up to my very talented big brother and he quickly worked out how my design could be made using MDF and wood. Well, the task is near complete and Ian has sent me the first preview of my under-tray storage draw...

(Note: the actual bit about the workbench starts about a minute in - Ian starts with a look at his new action camera that we have been talking about!) :)

Nifty eh? There's more than enough storage there to keep my tray uncluttered, yet it will still keep the whole unit portable.

The complete add-on draw unit ready to slip onto the bottom of my Paintstation.

While my brother puts the finishing touches to the draws I have to figure out how to get the thing down to my home in Yorkshire from darkest Scotland!

Can’t wait for it to arrive. Big thanks to my brovver.