Hobby Tools

Today I want to talk about what I have in my hobby tool box.

My hobby tool box is split into three sections.

First of all I have my "must haves", this includes:

• Scalpel (with a selection of spare blades)
• Clippers
• Super glue
• Plastic glue
• Mouldline remover
• Cutting mat

Next are my "Could be handy":

• Liquid Green Stuff
• Green Stuff
• Pin drill (includes a selection of different size drill bits)
• Paper clips/thin but stiff wire

Finally we have the "comes in handy once in awhile":

• Razor Saw

My must haves are the tools that I use pretty much every time I build a model. Clippers remove pieces from sprues and then I use the scalpel for cleaning off any larger pieces left over from the snipping process. Mouldline remover does exactly what you'd think, scrapes off mouldlines and other tiny leftover flash to get a good surface for priming. The two types of glue are essential if you're dealing with more than one material; plastic glue bonds plastic by partially melting the pieces and then allowing them to dry and bond together, whereas the super glue I use for resin pieces. Super glue is a basically a two part adhesive that uses water in the air or as micro droplets on the surface of the two parts being bonded together as a hardening agent. And finally the cutting mat, because who wants to get told off for making cuts in the dining room table.

The 'could be handy' section has the two types of Green Stuff, used for very different things. Liquid green stuff is used for filling small holes and smoothing over patches that have ended up rough. Green stuff is more for sculpting extra detail, for example when dealing with demons of Nurgle you can add a lot of extra gross bits to make your demons different from everyone else's. The pin drill is useful for drilling holes, for example the barrels of guns (you can't shot out of a blocked up gun, after all) and for pinning models in place to the base or limbs to bodies, in conjunction with the unwound paperclips or wire.

The razor saw doesn't come out very often, but it's good for cutting big solid chunks, like tank bodies or for Forgeworld gates. Don't forget to look after your razor saw, otherwise it'll end up looking like my housemate's (we call it the plague saw) and it'll take twice as long to hack through anything and probably give you tetanus.

Anybody have anything I've not mentioned in their tool box? Let me know in the comments!

So that's it for this week! See you next time from the table of a Plastic Addict!