Tools For Scale Modeling 1 - Basic Level Tools

I wanted to start a series of blog posts detailing the tools I would recommend to modelers at different stages in their modeling journey.

This is the first installment, and the rest can be found here:

• Tools For Scale Modeling 2 - Intermediate.
• Tools For Scale Modeling 3 - Advanced and Niche Tools - Sept 28th

This first article in the series is aimed at:

• Those who are considering scale modeling as a hobby and want to start building models for the first time.
• Those who possibly built some models in their youth and, after many years have passed, are coming back to the hobby.

If you find yourself in any of these cases, you may wonder what kit you need and what essential tools you will need to assemble it.

Regarding the kit itself, there are many options, but I'd recommend an inexpensive kit by Tamiya. They are well engineered and the parts always fit perfectly.

In the rest of the article, I will be detailing the set of tools I would advise for a new modeler.

I think the most logical way to present the tools is to follow the sequence of a typical build.

As you may or may not know, kits are typically made of styrene, a type of plastic that comes to us in the form of hundreds or thousands of parts in a sprue.

Sprues are named with letters, and the parts in them have numbers, so the instructions may call for parts “A1”, “A2” and “C3”.

The first thing you have to do then is cut them out of the sprue. There are essentially two ways to do that: using a pair of side cutters or using a hobby knife. In this second case, it’s essential to place the sprue on top of a cutting mat before using the knife in order not to damage the working surface.

Which one is better? As you progress, you will likely only use side cutters for this and the hobby knives for other purposes, but in any case, both are a must-have for any modeler, so you can’t go wrong investing in either one or even both of them at this point.

Once you have removed the parts from the sprue, you’ll notice that they are not “perfect”:

There is surely a leftover from where the part was attached to the sprue, called “sprue nub.”

By the nature of the manufacturing process, many parts have a “line” in the plastic where the two sides of the mold join. Unsurprisingly, these are called “mold lines.”

Some parts may also have imperfections from the plastic injection process, such as “flash.”

Those have to be removed. The hobby knife can be a good help here, but you have to be careful, or you will damage the soft plastic, leaving noticeable dents.

Once the parts are ready, it’s time to glue them. Styrene can be glued using specially formulated glues, the most famous of which is the Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, which is widely available. Try to get that or any extra thin cement from other brands. 

These cements work by slightly dissolving the plastic on the contact surface of the parts so that, when they cure, the parts are melted together.

I’d advise you to get some glue holder as soon as possible. If you spill your bottle of cement during a build, you will waste not only the glue but risk damaging your cutting mat and even the kit itself. It wouldn’t be the first case when a kit ends up in the bin after being melted by spilled glue.

So, you follow the instructions, cut and glue part after part, and the kit begins to take shape.

One thing you may find at this point, especially in old kits, is gaps in certain spots. The joint among different panels in a tank or the joint between the wings and the fuselage are the most typical spots. The solution is simple: fill the gap with putty and sand it down once dry so that it’s flush with the rest of the model.

After the model build is done, it’s time to paint it (I know, plane cockpits or tank interiors have to be painted earlier but I’m simplifying this into a general case, bear with me here).

If you are starting you may not want to invest in a full airbrushing setup yet, and rely on more affordable solutions:

One alternative is to use brushes to paint the model. A set of brushes sized 00 - 5 at least is enough for a beginner. If you want to achieve a homogeneous cover with a brush, you need to dilute the paint significantly. 

All paint manufacturers offer thinners created specially for their paints. Make your life simple and get that thinner. As you gain experience you will free yourself from this requirement and learn which thinners can be used with which paints independently from their brand.

I recommend you to get a palette to mix different colors or mix paint with thinner in a convenient way.

The second alternative is to use a portable airbrush that comes with a mini compressor. This is definitely more expensive than using brushes, but the results will be better and it will allow you to achieve very eye-catching results for some time before you feel the need to invest in a full-fledged airbrushing setup.

The final step, once the model is painted and the paint is dry, is applying decals. As a newbie modeler, I don’t advise you to invest in any specific tools. Decals can be cut from the sheet using regular scissors or the hobby knife we mentioned above and submerged in warm water in any recipient you have on hand.

This would be all for a beginner-level modeler.

As you can see, this is not a huge number of elements needed if you want to start in the hobby. In fact, here’s an approximate budget for all the basic tools for scale modeling listed so you can estimate your initial investment:

Basic side cutter: $15

Hobby knife + blades set: $12

Cutting Mat: $20

Set of sandpapers: $18

Hand drill + drill bits: $17

Extra Thin Cement: $6

Glue Holder (optional): $15

Putty: $12

Set of Brushes: $16

Mixing Palette: $10

Portable Airbrush (optional): $65