PROSCALE Starter Guide: Which Product to Buy First Based on Your Collection
If you own under 50 paints and paint at a desk, start with a desktop rack — PR-A for dropper bottles or PR-33MM for Citadel pots. If you own over 80 paints and want to reclaim desk space, start with a wall-mounted PR-5. If you paint on a shared or temporary surface, start with a paint station (PS series).
Starter guide: a first-purchase decision framework built around three variables — collection size, paint brand format, and available space — rather than a recommendation to buy the most complete or expensive option first.
THREE QUESTIONS THAT DETERMINE YOUR FIRST PURCHASE
Choosing the right first PROSCALE product doesn’t require reading the full catalog. Three questions narrow it to one or two realistic options.
Question 1: How many paints do you own? Collection size determines the storage format. A collection of under 50 bottles is well-served by a single desktop or corner rack. A collection of 50–100 requires more surface area — either a larger rack or a first step toward wall storage. Over 100 bottles typically means wall mounting is the most space-efficient path.
Question 2: What paint brand(s) do you primarily use? This determines the slot diameter — 26mm for dropper bottles (Vallejo, Army Painter, AK Interactive), 33mm for Citadel pots, or universal format for mixed collections. Getting this wrong means the rack doesn’t fit your bottles.
Question 3: Where do you paint? A dedicated desk at a fixed location points toward a rack (desktop or wall). A shared or temporary surface — kitchen table, a surface that needs to be cleared after sessions — points toward a paint station. A drawer or cabinet where supplies are stored between sessions points toward the PR-3 mini organizer.
The answers to these three questions map directly to the decision table below.
THE FIRST-PURCHASE DECISION TABLE
| Collection size | Paint brand | Space available | Start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50 bottles | Dropper bottles (Vallejo, AP) | Dedicated desk | PR-A |
| Under 50 bottles | Citadel pots | Dedicated desk | PR-33MM or PR-2-33MM |
| Under 50 bottles | Mixed brands | Dedicated desk | PR-4-U Universal |
| Under 50 bottles | Any | Shared/temporary surface | PS-A, PS-B, or PS-U |
| 50–100 bottles | Dropper bottles | Dedicated desk, corner space | PR-2-A |
| 50–100 bottles | Citadel pots | Dedicated desk, corner space | PR-2-33MM |
| 50–100 bottles | Any | Desk + some wall space | PR-4-U + one PR-5 |
| Over 100 bottles | Any | Wall space available | PR-5-26MM or PR-5-33MM (2 units) |
| Any size | Any | Want portable + home base | PS station + PR-4-U bundle |
THE START-SMALL PRINCIPLE
The most common first-purchase mistake is buying more storage than the current collection needs. A 200-slot wall system for a 60-bottle collection is not better organization — it’s premature optimization with money spent on capacity that doesn’t yet exist.
PROSCALE’s system is designed for growth by addition. A painter who starts with a PR-2-33MM corner rack for 60 Citadel pots can add a PR-33MM frontal rack when the collection reaches 100. The two units coexist on the desk without interference. When the collection reaches 150 and desk space runs out, the move to wall mounting (PR-5-33MM) doesn’t require discarding the earlier investment — it supplements it.
Starting small isn’t a compromise. It’s the correct sequence for a modular system.
[IMAGE: three-stage progression — PR-2-33MM alone for 60 pots; PR-2-33MM + PR-33MM for 100 pots; PR-5-33MM wall-mounted with 150+ pots]
SPECIFIC STARTING POINTS BY PAINTER TYPE
The Warhammer painter starting a first army
Collection profile: 20–40 Citadel paints, typically the paints recommended for a specific faction or army. Desk space is available but not large.
Recommended start: PR-2-33MM (corner rack, 33mm slots). It fits the Citadel format precisely, converts dead corner space into organized storage, and has room to grow as the collection expands. The integrated water pot holder and brush slots make it a functional painting station companion.
Why not the PR-33MM frontal rack? Both work. The corner variant is often more practical for first-time buyers because it reclaims corner space that typically has no other use, leaving the desk surface free for models and materials.
The Vallejo painter with an established collection
Collection profile: 60–100 Vallejo Model Color bottles accumulated over time, currently in a mug or spread across multiple containers.
Recommended start: PR-5-26MM (wall-mounted, 26mm slots). At 60–100 bottles, a single desktop rack isn’t enough. A wall unit handles the full collection in one installation, frees the desk surface, and provides clear visual access to every bottle.
For painters not ready to wall-mount: two PR-A units side by side on the desk handles a collection of 60–80 bottles in desktop format.
The kitchen table painter
Collection profile: any size, but painting happens on shared surfaces that need to be cleared. Collection is currently boxed or stacked when not in use.
Recommended start: PS-B (Citadel) or PS-A (dropper bottles). The paint station concept solves the session-logistics problem directly. Start with a station sized for the 20–30 most-used paints; the rest of the collection can stay boxed or move to a secondary rack.
The mixed-collection painter
Collection profile: paints from two or more brands with different bottle formats. No dominant format.
Recommended start: PR-4-U Universal. One unit, no diameter decision, no bottles that don’t fit. When a clearer brand preference emerges, add a fitted-slot rack for the dominant format. The PR-4-U remains useful as an overflow or secondary organizer.
WHAT NOT TO BUY FIRST
Don’t start with the largest product in the line. The PR-7 series (large desk organizers, not yet released) or a row of four PR-5 units is not the right starting point for a 50-bottle collection. Scale to the collection.
Don’t buy multiple small units when one medium unit works. Two PR-3 mini racks mounted side by side are a worse organizational solution than one PR-A or PR-33MM. Mini racks are supplement products, not primary storage.
Don’t buy a station when you need a rack. If your painting location is fixed and permanent, a paint station’s portability feature has no value. The rack stores more per euro spent and doesn’t require clearing after each session.
[IMAGE: a well-organized desk with a single PR-2-33MM holding 50 Citadel pots — showing that a single well-chosen product is cleaner than multiple mismatched units]
OPERATIONAL SCENARIO
A painter has been playing Warhammer for eight months. They own 45 Citadel paints in a cardboard box. Every session involves pulling the box out, sorting through it for the right colors, and putting everything back. Finding a specific color mid-session takes 30 seconds of searching.
They’re looking at the PROSCALE catalog and feel overwhelmed by the options.
The decision: they paint at a fixed desk, they use only Citadel, and they have a corner on the desk that’s currently occupied by a speaker they’ve moved twice this month. Collection size is 45 pots, likely growing to 60–70 within the year.
PR-2-33MM. Corner rack, 33mm slots. One product. The speaker moves elsewhere. The collection is organized in 20 minutes after assembly.
The lesson: the catalog feels complex. The decision is simple once the three questions are answered.
FAQ
What PROSCALE product should a beginner buy first? Start with the product that fits your current collection and the space you actually have — not the space you want to have eventually. For a beginner with under 40 Citadel paints and a desk corner, the PR-2-33MM is a practical first choice. For a beginner with dropper bottle paints (Vallejo, Army Painter), the PR-A handles a growing collection from 20 up to around 50 bottles. For a painter without a permanent workspace, a PS paint station is a better first choice than any rack.
Is it better to buy one large PROSCALE product or several smaller ones? One correctly sized product is better than several small ones for the same total capacity. Multiple small products (like several PR-3 mini racks) create more complexity than a single larger unit — they need to be arranged together, and the organization benefit of a single coherent storage system is lost. The exception: the PR-3 as supplemental overflow to a primary rack makes sense. As a primary solution, choose the model sized for the collection.
Can I add more PROSCALE products later without replacing what I already have? Yes. The PR series (PR, PR-2, PR-5) tiles together — units from the same family placed side-by-side present aligned panel profiles with no visible gap. A second PR-5-33MM added next to the first, or a PR-33MM added to an existing PR-2-33MM on the desk, extends the system without modifying or replacing existing pieces.
What’s the difference between starting with a paint station and starting with a rack? A paint station (PS series) is for painters who paint on shared or temporary surfaces — the station travels with the session. A rack (PR, PR-5, PR-4-U) is for painters with a permanent or semi-permanent workspace. Both hold paints, but the use cases don’t overlap. Choose based on where you paint, not on collection size.
Should I buy the universal format or the sized slot format? If you know your paint brand’s bottle format and plan to stay with that brand, buy the fitted slot. A 26mm slot for Vallejo or a 33mm slot for Citadel holds bottles more precisely and doesn’t allow them to tip sideways. If your collection spans multiple formats or you’re unsure, the universal format (PR-4-U, PR-2-U) is the safer choice that accommodates any bottle without a compatibility risk.
For painters who’ve identified their format and want to understand how the product families connect, the PROSCALE system guide covers the full product range and modular expansion logic. For bottle compatibility by brand, the diameter compatibility guide maps every major paint brand to the correct slot size.