Hi All,
Little help for a newbie please.
Obviously we all need glues, paints etc to further the hobby, but what is the one little tool you have that is indispensible to you?
I got to thinking that there is probably something I should have that I don’t have right now that will either transform my model making exprience or make my life so much easier.
Thanks.
Howdy Kal,
Wow , that’s a loaded question for sure because each tool has for the most part a specific job to do.
I think in general, that good tools produce better results and are easier to use ie. you can buy a spru cutter for for 5 bucks at Wall Mart or 11 bucks at a hobby store. I 1st bought the Wall Mart one and quickly replaced it with a good one. It made a big differance in the amount of work to subsequently be done because the good one cut way more cleanly and resuted in a lot less sanding etc.
If I had to directly answer your question, I’d say I can’t get along without my airbrush. I fortunately bought the best one the craft store had with a 40% off coupon from Michael’s and never looked back. It’s a gravity feed Badger Patiot and I’m very happy with it and the results I get using it, but this is not a little tool.
The little tool that is indispensable in my arsenal is a good pair of self locking tweezers I got from Squadron. I use them extensively on every build.
On the low priced side of the spectrum, I find spring closepins to be very handy as clamps and parts holders while painting. I got 2 sizes at a dollar store for cheap.
Handy tools I can`t live without:
Sprue cutter
Pin vice with a good variety of drill bit sizes
Panel line scribing tool
Surgical clamps (wife works in Medical profession, thus, she can get discarded, out of date tools for me)
The Dollar store is also an indispensable source of cheap ‘one use’ supples:
tooth picks
make up brushes (for dry brushing)
make up sponges
coffee stir stix
hot glue stix
nail files
If I had to pick just one, that would be the magnifying headband.
A huge lump of Blu-Tack (silly putty . poster putty?) - indispensable for masking, holding fiddly bits for painting & keeping things in the correct position while glue dries.
Stick a small lump into the likes of landing gear mounting holes before painting & you don’t need to scratch any paint away when fitting the relevant parts.
Most useful thing in my toolbox? My cat usually, the thieving little toad.
Most useful tools? Magnifying headband, and a good quality set of tweezers, and coffee, lots of it
Without a doubt, my omnivisor. Any other tools I have are pretty much useless without it.
In that huge scale you build, and you still need one of those [:D]
Fine-point tweezers
Self-closing tweezers (several pairs, the more the better)
My Tamiya paint stirrer/spoon
To me, the one essential thing is a good hobby knife. Everything else is just to make live easier. And awhile ago I tried one of those scalpels. So now I have that plus several X-acto handles with various blades on my tool rack. I have a very large tool collection, having spent well over half a century modeling, but the hobby knife is truly essential. All else I could work around if I break or loose a tool.
My hobby knife, with #11 blades. That’s probably the tool I use most. Optivisor is a close 2nd. I wear it all the time, while on the bench. 2.5X lense.
Others have listed them, but here are things that, in my opinion, are necessary for a good build.
-Sprue cutter
-Future
-Microsol
-laquer thinner (for brush and airbrush cleaning)
-Tamiya thin liquid cement (the best I’ve found)
-Tweezers
-Sanding sticks and sandpaper, various grades.
The list goes on, but those are things I use probably the most.
Ummmm…errrr…uuuhhhh…it’s all those blasted turnbuckles I tell ya!!! [whstl]
Ye, ye, excuses. I bet if you dropped one the carpet monster would choke on it [;)]
I love the mini punch set I got for Christmas a couple of years ago. Wish I’d ponied up for it 25 years ago…
The first thing I reach for when I sit down to work is the light switch on my magnifying lamp.
The one tool that I never put up is the Xacto knife with the #11 blade.
It would appear that most of us are legally blind & play with ridiculously sharp tools.
Ah, yes. I don’t always think of it as a modeling tool, but the light source is VERY important! I also use a magnifier/lamp combo. Since I also use a pair of reading glasses at the bench, the magnifier part is not as important as the light (but it is there if I REALLY need it- in combination with +2 reading glasses the magnification is awesome). But a positionable light source to me is essential, especially in painting. A good gloss paint job requires seeing the image of the light reflected in the model surface so you can see if it is getting to that point just before it runs! Even for flat paint one needs a good light.
Geez, I forgot about about my lighted magnifier, maybe because it’s so second nature to me .
I couldn’t build anything without it
Speaking of light, been meaning to post this for a year, now as good a time as any…
Last year I splurged on a High Output shop light fixture. It was pricey, but probably the best purchase in decades of futzing about in basement, and of course model building. This thing is bright.
Like so many others, next to the light (not a tool), my other favorite ‘not a tool’ is my Optivisor.
Honey, I’m going to the basement… where’s my sunscreen? lol
Cool mancave!
Ha! That’s funny. And thanks, CN.