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Modelling Starter Toolkit..


little-cars

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Hi,

I'm looking to but together a package for new modellers so they can get everything they need to get start building plastick kits.

Looking to cover basic tools, glues, fillers, decal setting and paints etc...

A lot of us have returned to the hobby, so have been throught this learning curve so will have ideas.

I've put together a list of items that I think are needed, but am looking for input before I finalise the package.

Thanks,

Paul

little-cars

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Plus:

Paint brushes - one small round, one medium round, one large round, one medium or large flat, and all the best they can afford.

Something to open tins of paint with - I use the round end of a nail file. Actually it's my most useful tool of all; it's a lever, a stirrer, an aid to placing decals, you name it ...

Needle files - one half-round, one flat, one rat-tail. If you're going into sanding sticks you might as well get these as well, for confined spaces. If it has to be one or the other, needle files offer more flexibility. Or, instead of snips, you could try nail clippers, since they come with a handy file attached.

CA as well as polystyrene cement - 'cause you never know!

An old toothbrush or similar - handy for sweeping away swarf.

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Ditto the above but a Swann Morton Scalpel handle and blades rather than a craft knife. Also a cheap paintbrush to apply liquid cement with as apart from Tamiya glues all the rest have either no brush or a far too big one. Some pointy forceps too.

And the address of their nearest IPMS, MAFVA or whatever model club.

Andy

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Thanks again for the suggestions.

I'm looking just for the tools to get people started in plastic modelling, not more advanced stuff like airbrushing and reisin PE handling sets, that would put the price of the kit up to much, so this is what I have at the moment.

Swann morton no3 handle and pack of no10, 11 & 15 blades.

Side cutters, Pointed AA tweesers, Flat ended locking tweesers,

a pin vice, set of micro drills.

Swiss cut files, 140mm set of five, four of five sanding sticks.

A4 cutting mat, masking tape, Tamiya 10mm.

Poly cement, thin/medium Super Glue, Gator Grip Glue.

Squadron white & Vallejo filler.

Brushes, 5/0, 3/0, 0, 2

Vallejo model air starter set, 16 colours covers the basics.

A few other bits, pipettes, paint pallets, clips.

Other general household bits, cotton buds, cocktail sticks, blu tack, maybe included.

Basic get you started guide, book or DVD.

Guide to the set and what each item is used for.

Links to generic web resources & mail addresses of clubs.

Pointers items like pigments and washes.

Any feedback gratefully received.

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Not sure what the brush designations are, but I use flat brushes quite a lot: a 'medium' sized one would be good for a starter kit. I think they seem better for large areas and also dry brushing.

Another inexpensive thing I use all the time when painting is a small ceramic palette, for mixing paint. I also use it for dropping superglue into when it needs to be applied with a pin. It can easily be cleaned with paint stripper when it gets really messy.

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I'd be mindful not to overload the set and then make it too pricey - if you're aiming this at beginners or people returning to the hobby, IMO you need just the basic tools and at the right price, makes a good impression and they can always add to their toolkit at a later date.

Me personally, I'd leave out stuff like filler, glues, tape etc..and just have the basics and maybe add a few items on top - i.e:

Good quality knife and blades

Cutters

Sanding sticks (coarse, medium, fine)

Tweezers

Chuck and some drills

Cutting mat

It all really depends on what market you are aiming for and what price point you are selling at.

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Not sure what the brush designations are, but I use flat brushes quite a lot: a 'medium' sized one would be good for a starter kit. I think they seem better for large areas and also dry brushing.

Another inexpensive thing I use all the time when painting is a small ceramic palette, for mixing paint. I also use it for dropping superglue into when it needs to be applied with a pin. It can easily be cleaned with paint stripper when it gets really messy.

Flat brush is in then.

For CA, I use a small paint pallet with ali. foil pushed into the recess, so it can be discarded easily after use.

Thanks,

Paul

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Flat brush is in then.

For CA, I use a small paint pallet with ali. foil pushed into the recess, so it can be discarded easily after use.

Thanks,

Paul

Good tip. I tend to make a total mess of these things with paint, Araldite, Cyano etc, and then periodically blast the whole lot with Nitromors and a scraper.

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I'd be mindful not to overload the set and then make it too pricey - if you're aiming this at beginners or people returning to the hobby, IMO you need just the basic tools and at the right price, makes a good impression and they can always add to their toolkit at a later date.

Me personally, I'd leave out stuff like filler, glues, tape etc..and just have the basics and maybe add a few items on top - i.e:

Good quality knife and blades

Cutters

Sanding sticks (coarse, medium, fine)

Tweezers

Chuck and some drills

Cutting mat

It all really depends on what market you are aiming for and what price point you are selling at.

I'm trying to keep things down to the basics, but it's fairly difficult. The list I gave is the pallet of tools I am using as a base.

These days there are less of the traditional model shops around, so I am assuming that people have no supplier in their area to give advice or sell them glue, filler, paint etc...

I'll probably loose the CA glue, but keep a poly cement and a pva or clear resin for clear and adding details.

That's also the reason for supplying a starter paint set and several paint brushes.

The standard Vallejo model air set has enough to get most people started, it's not cheap, but they'll end up having to buy paints anyway.

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I'm trying to keep things down to the basics, but it's fairly difficult. The list I gave is the pallet of tools I am using as a base.

These days there are less of the traditional model shops around, so I am assuming that people have no supplier in their area to give advice or sell them glue, filler, paint etc...

I'll probably loose the CA glue, but keep a poly cement and a pva or clear resin for clear and adding details.

That's also the reason for supplying a starter paint set and several paint brushes.

The standard Vallejo model air set has enough to get most people started, it's not cheap, but they'll end up having to buy paints anyway.

Is Model Air the best option for beginners without an airbrush? I find it's thin (obviously) and does dry incredibly quickly when on my aforementioned palette.

Just an observation...

Edited by dr_gn
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It works well for a lot of people with a brush, I've not found it to thin, if anything thicker that a lot of paints..... what do others think ???

I can change it for a model color set if people think it's easier..

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It works well for a lot of people with a brush, I've not found it to thin, if anything thicker that a lot of paints..... what do others think ???

I can change it for a model color set if people think it's easier..

I suppose I should add that I've never actually brush painted a large area with Vallejo Air (camo patterns etc), but on small touch-up jobs it dried so quickly that I imagine getting a smooth finish without brush marks *might* be a problem. I'll leave it to others for a definitive answer.

Somthing else you might consider for your starter kit is MicroSol. These days I can't imagine applying decals without it, although it does take some practice. Also, perhaps some advice on how to avoid decal silvering?

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I suppose I should add that I've never actually brush painted a large area with Vallejo Air (camo patterns etc), but on small touch-up jobs it dried so quickly that I imagine getting a smooth finish without brush marks *might* be a problem. I'll leave it to others for a definitive answer.

Somthing else you might consider for your starter kit is MicroSol. These days I can't imagine applying decals without it, although it does take some practice. Also, perhaps some advice on how to avoid decal silvering?

Sol & set, had forgotten them!

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After looking at all the options this is what I have in the modelling starter kit ;

Swann Morton no3 handle

swann blades 11 & 15 pack of five of each.

Swann 'used' blade safe.

Standard quality side cutters

AA Tweesers

Micro drill set, 0.3 to 1.6mm

Pin vice for micro drills

Swiss files 140mm pack of ten

A4 sized cutting mat

Tamiya 10mm masking tape

Bottle of poly cement

Gator grip glue

Squadron white filler

Good quality paint brushes, very fine 3/0, standard 0, large 2, flat 4

Vallejo model air basic paint set, enough to get you going :

modelairbasicset.jpg

Micro Sol & Set (or Vallejo not sure which yet)

Pipettes, paint pallets, clips.

Info on tool usage, pointers to modelling DVD's, books, websites & organisations.

The price looks to be about £85 plus P&P (15% off normal prices)

Anything I've missed ???

Is there to much in there ???

And most importantly would the price put new modellers off ???

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Hi Folks

I was asked by one of my work colleagues if I could give his son a few hints on starter kits and scales as he is looking to get into model building. As we only have a couple of small hobby shops selling limited number of model kits I recommended Airfix kits as the basic beginers kits to cut his teeth on.

I know they have a few at 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 so really his choice is down to his dad and him as to what takes his fancy.

I was also thinking about this topic when I was chatting to him and thought, as I have a good few duplicate tools I would make up a very basic starter set for his son.

DVC04006.jpg

A pair of small scissors

A couple of craft knives

A file

A pair of double ended scribes

A few emery boards

A sanding block

Sand paper

Four spring clamps

Toothpics

A tooth pick with a crocodile clip on the end

Tweezers

A hack saw blade

A pencil and rubber

Four paint brushes

And a coffee jar for water based paints

One of the paint tube squeezers so he can make corrugated tin or squeeze paint tubes

I then thought about a portable work station to save their dining table from the usual fate

DVC04004.jpg

I used a square of MDF board and closed cell packing foam (not the polystyrene type) from a flat screen TV packaging.

DVC03999.jpg

The foam is held on with black cable ties fed through holes drilled in the MDF and simply pierced through the packing foam and drawn tight.

DVC04000.jpg

One piece of foam had a notch just the right size that grips a 100g glass Nescafe coffee jar real tight for holding water or white spirits.

DVC04003.jpg

The foam is easily pierced with sharp tools and holds loads of them very safely with pointy ends protected. I have a couple of work points in my shed with my tools all placed in the same kind of foam.

workstation.jpg

I had an old hand held magnifying glass that had a broken handle and decided to drill a hole and feed a length of aluminium tube through it. The tube is pierced into the foam at a suitable angle and is steady as a rock. If needed to be packed away, the tube can be fed horizontally through the foam with the magnifier supported on the foam.

DVC04002.jpg

The large low slab of foam above will easily take a 1/35 vehicle or 1/72 fighter held in place on cocktail sticks with crocodile clips added to the end to allow hand painting. The side blocks with high and low levels will allow smaller parts super glued to cocktail sticks or whole 1/35 or 1/24 figures with fuse wire drilled into the soles of their boots to be stabbed into the foam during assembly, painting or drying.

The foam recovers well and holes can be re-used. Multiple cocktail sticks with crock clips can easily hold a large model in place in the same way.

To give you an idea of the space available, the van is 1/32 and the figure is 1/24.

What do you reckon as a starter set?

Nige

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  • 2 weeks later...
After looking at all the options this is what I have in the modelling starter kit ;

Swann Morton no3 handle

swann blades 11 & 15 pack of five of each.

Swann 'used' blade safe.

Standard quality side cutters

AA Tweesers

Micro drill set, 0.3 to 1.6mm

Pin vice for micro drills

Swiss files 140mm pack of ten

A4 sized cutting mat

Tamiya 10mm masking tape

Bottle of poly cement

Gator grip glue

Squadron white filler

Good quality paint brushes, very fine 3/0, standard 0, large 2, flat 4

Vallejo model air basic paint set, enough to get you going :

modelairbasicset.jpg

Micro Sol & Set (or Vallejo not sure which yet)

Pipettes, paint pallets, clips.

Info on tool usage, pointers to modelling DVD's, books, websites & organisations.

The price looks to be about £85 plus P&P (15% off normal prices)

Anything I've missed ???

Is there to much in there ???

And most importantly would the price put new modellers off ???

Paul,

Regarding your starter toolkit - the price of £85 is way too high in my opinion. I understand where the price comes from (and that I suggested some of the things!) , but I'd imagine if someone's just bought their first kit for say £5, then another £85 on tools would be too much. Also, if they'd successfully built a couple of models previously, then it stands to reason that they would already have a few tools and some paint.

FWIW I'd be thinking of maybe a "starter" and "advanced" toolkit, with the "starter" having the bare minimum of items and a price of less than £20, then give the option of the "advanced" version for an extra £65, or the two combined for the £85, or even some intermediate price points and contents.

Just my opinion!

Cheers,

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Paul,

Regarding your starter toolkit - the price of £85 is way too high in my opinion. I understand where the price comes from (and that I suggested some of the things!) , but I'd imagine if someone's just bought their first kit for say £5, then another £85 on tools would be too much. Also, if they'd successfully built a couple of models previously, then it stands to reason that they would already have a few tools and some paint.

FWIW I'd be thinking of maybe a "starter" and "advanced" toolkit, with the "starter" having the bare minimum of items and a price of less than £20, then give the option of the "advanced" version for an extra £65, or the two combined for the £85, or even some intermediate price points and contents.

Just my opinion!

Cheers,

I've been through all these thoughts.

If they've just bought their first £5 kit then they I had assuned that they will have have bought one of the basic humbrol tools kits either the basic £10 one or their larger £36 one.

But checking the Humbrol web site these are both 'no longer available'.

This kit is aimed at returnees, not first time modellers and is be made up of products I already sell, so I can modify the kit contents depending on demand.

If the basic kits are no longer availalble, then I'll cost up a more basic one as well.

Thanks,

Paul

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