PLASTIC MODEL TOOLS, WHAT DO YOU NEED?

Tools are the most important part of this hobby. Let's face it, without them nothing gets done. Now it is easy to get over board with tools and get just about everything under the sun. But if you are just starting or starting over after an absence in the hobby there are some basic stuff that you can get that will take you through most everything. Here's what to start with:

• X-acto knife and spare blades
• Different grades of sandpaper (medium, fine and very fine)
• Glue (The Humbrol kind in the blue bottle is the best in my experience)
• Tweasers
• Small cutters
• Q-tips
• Putty
• Tooth picks
  

That would be the basics, now you can add more as you go along and get more creative. Here's some stuff I wouldn't live without while making plastic models:

• Cutting matt
• Needle files
• Paint mixer
• Mustache scissors
• scribing tool
• Drill and drill bit set

I have tons of other little tools and knick knacks, but these are the basics. Before you go out and buy everything, look around the house to see if you haven't already got this stuff lying around. A couple of side notes on the tools mentionned above, the sandpaper must be usable with water, the paint mixer is made from a mini drink mixer. The putty I use is model specific made by Tamiya, but if it is not available to you or too expensive, you can use regular car finishing filler putty. That's the kind found in a tube, not the one in the big bucket. ;)

If there are 2 things that I would put on my list first if you decide to go beyond the basic tools, it is the needle file and the mini hand drill with drill bit set. These are worth every penny and will allow you to advance in leaps.

Remember that it's about having fun.

Gerry :)