Equipment

My workbench.
Most of the information about equipment and tools to use I gathered from browsing the web. Of course you can usually buy anything you need but sometimes it's good to make your own or adapt other tools for a new purpose.
Hand Tools

Craft knife and blades.
I use a Swann Morton metal handled knife with No.11 blades for trimming the plastic.

Tweezers.
The reverse type are better for gripping pieces.

Scissors.
A sharp pair used solely for cutting out the decals.

Paint brushes.
Various sizes used for painting, glueing and applying Maskol liquid masking.

Paint Stirrers.
I like to use the wooden coffee stirrers that Ikea helpfully supply.

Syringes.
Used for measuring accurate paint / thinner ratios. Most of the time I use the 1ml size and occasionaly 2ml for larger paint jobs.

Toothbrushes.
For cleaning up the plastic sprues prior to painting.

Pin vice.
Used with micro drills for drilling out small areas on the models such as the holes on the brake discs.
Paints
I use mainly Tamiya acrylics and lacquers. The acrylics come in 10ml bottles which have to be thinned using Tamiya's X-20 thinners. Other substitutes can be used but after searching the net I've found most people will use this as apparently there is a "flow" agent added to help with airbrushing. The acrylics come in gloss (X) and matt (XF) varieties.It's always handy to keep some X-21 flat base around. This can be used to make a gloss colour into a matt colour. The lacquers come in 100ml spray cans (TS) which can be used straight from the can or decanted into a container for use with an airbrush.
Recently I have started experimenting with some other brands. I now use Halfords plastic primer for base coats because at £4 or so a can for 300ml it's a lot cheaper. Another brand that has made its way to my workbench is Alclad. These are far superior in my opinion for metallic finishes than Tamiya's. They come ready thinned in 30ml bottles but are relatively expensive at £4 a bottle.

 

Airbrush
Useful Items

A lot of people recommend using an airbrush and compressor so eventually I got one. The model I use is an Aztek A4709 kit which comes with different nozzles and paint jars. The reason I chose this instead of the usual brands favoured by a lot of modellers is its ease of use and ease of cleaning.

You just spray, run some cleaner through the brush and get straight onto the next colour. Excellent for lazy people like me.

 

 

Tamiya masking tape is excellent and comes in a nice dispenser and three widths.

Maskol masking fluid for awkward masking jobs.

Micro Set And Micro Sol for decal work, helps to blend the decal around curved surfaces.

Oven cleaner for removing paint and chrome plating.

Flexi-I-File paper for extra fine sanding.

Tamiya polishing compound and modelling wax for the final finish.

Blu-tack and cocktail sticks for holding parts.

Something to say?
>>Any comments on this part of the site then please contact me. I'd like to hear from you, good or bad.
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