Tool/Building supply for model

[aeroaustin]

Howdy, 

Beautiful day in Austin and got boring day at Learning lab there is no students around here and this week as first week of summer school start, fooling around online to check it out. As long my boss is double duty manager at another campus  . I was trying not to temptation to buy more kits, I already have 50 kits so far. Right now I need to looking for supply for model.

I was asking your feedback about supply for model kit, as putty, tools, cement and CA.  In my past time I used testor cement that was annoyed me when  it used that kinds and always made messy on model. For the tools I used electrician tools is not good idea, super glue ruins my models and fogged the clear canopy. For paints, I already know what I need so not being a concern about paints but tools YES..

Way past the dues for 15 years away from hobby. Need to get in the hobby.

For cement, I noticed you use extra thin cement from Tamiya, another cement does you recommend? for clear canopy, 

As for CA glue, what kinds of brand?

About Putty? Squadron or Gunze or Mr.Hobby? liquid or paste?

Another suggestion about tools as cutter? anything to get as important tool?

I can get all the supplies in same time instead of different place..

I know there is lot of questions to ask you.  

[JimD]

CA: I use the Loctite brand straight from Wal-Mart. I use the thin liquid and the gel control. Love them.

Putty: Bondo Glazing Putty. You can get it at Autozone.



It's awesome stuff for major filling and leveling. It's lacquer based so you can thin it with lacquer thinner. Too thin and it will shrink a bit, but I've never needed a third application.

 Though, I'm really starting to love Vallejo Plastic Putty for fixing air bubbles in join lines and things like that. It's acrylic so you can apply it and wipe it away with a damp swab or something.

Metal tools...I highly recommend the UMM Scriber.
umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_105&products_id=474 (They say sold out...but they'll restock I'm sure...thing is amazing)

Tamiya Sprue Cutters...don't waste money on any others....worth every penny.

You didn't ask about abrasives...but I'll also recommend you swing by a Sally Beauty Supply (they should have them in Austin..usually next to Target) and get some of their nail sanders...the "Tropical Shine" brand....the pink and blue are great...I still need to go and get some more assorted grains though.

[TRM]

Jimmy's not steering you wrong! All quality! For alternates...

I have been using CHP-170 side angled wire cutters for a while now for snipping the spue. Work like a charm and fairly cost efficient. I grab them at shows for about $4 but recently picked up 2 pair for $5 and free shipping on sneeze-bay.

Loctite is excellent for CA...I have a healthy supply of "The Original Super Glue" (thin) (what it's called...LOL!! They sell it at Home Depot in .07 oz. tubes...10 to a box for about $9. I toss a tube in 3 or 4 kits while I am building. I keep the extras in the fridge to preserve them. I also grab a 3 -pack of 3M gel CA from AC Moore. Same size.

I hate to promote sleeze-bay too much, but it is a fantastic source for smaller consumable items...#11 blades..pack of 100 for about $6 Free S/H, Milliput...$6 Free S/H, Tamiya white putty...about the same. I also have been using the Vallejo Putty for almost a year now and it does work fantastic. Easy to work with, clean and sand and non-stinky!

Cutting mats...HobbyLinc or E-bay....couple bucks versus 15 or 20.

Sanding sticks...like Jimmy said, check Wally Wolrd, CVS and/or Walgreen's (or whatever you have down there). You can get them a lot cheaper than at the LHS. Also check E-bay...again I picked up some 10 packs of various grades for under a buck....yup...free shipping!

[aeroaustin]

Jun 3, 2015 18:58:15 GMT -5 JimD said:

CA: I use the Loctite brand straight from Wal-Mart. I use the thin liquid and the gel control. Love them.

Putty: Bondo Glazing Putty. You can get it at Autozone.



It's awesome stuff for major filling and leveling. It's lacquer based so you can thin it with lacquer thinner. Too thin and it will shrink a bit, but I've never needed a third application.

 

Jimmydel, thank for respond back...

I never thought of Bono product that's will be working on model, I learn something new to me. Thank for tip about thin with lacquer than to hard on sanding thick putty.

Metal tools...I highly recommend the UMM Scriber.

umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_105&products_id=474 (They say sold out...but they'll restock I'm sure...thing is amazing)

I checked out and it say out of stock, I will contact and see if restock, if not and substitute another brand it will be good if get this Tamiya scriber II?

inTamiya Sprue Cutters...don't waste money on any others....worth every penny.

sert quote here

implied that is what you meant Tamiya modeler cutter?

www.scalehobbyist.com/manufacturers/Tamiya_Models_and_Paints/Hand_Tools/modeler-s-side-cutter/TAM00074093/product.php?s=4&t=0&man=tam

You didn't ask about abrasives...

Lol, I knew you will ask the question about abrasives, well it not my concern to ask but it should have to add the question.. plan to get wet and dry paper from Advanced auto parts on specific grains, another as sticks or kinds of abrasive to get from sally Beauty, of course my wife tends go there to buy beauty stuffs. usually located in south Austin (slaughter and I-35).

Mostly of time I tend order kit from scalehobbyist.

Thank for input, really appericate. if I have any question I will ask.

[aeroaustin]

Jun 3, 2015 19:18:09 GMT -5 TRM said:

Jimmy's not steering you wrong! All quality! For alternates...

I have been using CHP-170 side angled wire cutters for a while now for snipping the spue. Work like a charm and fairly cost efficient. I grab them at shows for about $4 but recently picked up 2 pair for $5 and free shipping on sneeze-bay.

Loctite is excellent for CA...I have a healthy supply of "The Original Super Glue" (thin) (what it's called...LOL!! They sell it at Home Depot in .07 oz. tubes...10 to a box for about $9. I toss a tube in 3 or 4 kits while I am building. I keep the extras in the fridge to preserve them. I also grab a 3 -pack of 3M gel CA from AC Moore. Same size.

I hate to promote sleeze-bay too much, but it is a fantastic source for smaller consumable items...#11 blades..pack of 100 for about $6 Free S/H, Milliput...$6 Free S/H, Tamiya white putty...about the same. I also have been using the Vallejo Putty for almost a year now and it does work fantastic. Easy to work with, clean and sand and non-stinky!

Cutting mats...HobbyLinc or E-bay....couple bucks versus 15 or 20.

Sanding sticks...like Jimmy said, check Wally Wolrd, CVS and/or Walgreen's (or whatever you have down there). You can get them a lot cheaper than at the LHS. Also check E-bay...again I picked up some 10 packs of various grades for under a buck....yup...free shipping!

Trm, Thank for respond back..

One question for you, sneeze-bay, are the another word for evil-bay? or word of (E-bay)? if allow to say?  I can't find any on website about sneeze-bay. I think I am getting tired of evil-bay or whatever 

Maybe I should get different putty to play with it and see which is better suit for me. Like Jimmydel say about Bono.. Modeler's have their preferred that is working with them. I am open to anything to learn and play with it.

about the cutting mat, more likely it come  from Hobby Lobby, want big size. I haven't check it yet, need to make sure the size is important to me..

[JimD]

Yup. Those are the side cutters. Excellent tool. You'd do good to have a pair.

The UMM scribber is very popular so I suspect they are temporarily out of stock. Also browse the UMM site. You may see some other gadgets you like.

I do use a couple of different sandpaper that I get at lowes however 90% of my sanding is wih the sticks. You can also cut them to various shapes and angles.

[dierk]

Both Humbrol and Revell offer glues specifically for clear parts. Some people also use white glue (PVA) but the bond isn't very strong.
My favourite tool is the nano saw by RB Productions I even use them instead of sprue cutters.
If you want really thin CA you can't beat Deluxe Materials Hot Rocket glue IMHO.
You can also make your own filler by mixing CA glue with talcum/baby powder. I haven't tried it, but apparently you can even use flour instead of talcum powder.
And you definitely want some of these I'm sure there must be something similar available on your side of the pond.
My two cents worth

[TRM]

LOL!! Sorry 'bout that, yes, "sneaze-bay, Sleaze-bay, e-bing and other various connotations are all referring to Evil-bay!

Another good short cut to save some cash is with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). You can find it at Home Dip-Sh*t (another connotation...Home Depot). This is the non-hobby labeled version of basically Tamiya thin with out all the cost of the little jar. One quart might run you $9 or so...Compared to $6 - $8 for the little glass bottle, it will last a life-time of gluing! Save the little glass jar(s) you have and fill them up when you need more. Also you can mix it with the little tiny snippets of sprue trees and make different consistencies of styrene fillers.

[doogsatx]

Jun 3, 2015 16:48:11 GMT -5 aeroaustin said:

For cement, I noticed you use extra thin cement from Tamiya, another cement does you recommend? for clear canopy, 

As for CA glue, what kinds of brand?

About Putty? Squadron or Gunze or Mr.Hobby? liquid or paste?

Another suggestion about tools as cutter? anything to get as important tool?

I can get all the supplies in same time instead of different place..

I know there is lot of questions to ask you.  

Cement - I use Tamiya Extra Thin and MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) - you can buy it by the gallon at any hardware store. Don't drink it though! These liquid cements work by melting and welding the styrene. MEK is amazingly good at it. I'd also recommend getting some of the yellow microbrushes (Hobby Lobby carries them) for application, as well as a Touch-n-Flow for longer seams.

For CA, I'm a Loctite fan as well. Gel is amazing.

For white/PVA glue, Gator's Grip is the way to go.

Putty - I use 3M Acryl glazing putty and Vallejo Plastic Putty. The 3M stuff is very similar to Bondo.

Sprue and other cutters - Get some Tamiya sharp-pointed side cutters. They're amazing. And Xuron makes some nice PE scissors. I'd also recommend getting a good razor saw - UMM-USA has a nice selection.

Sanding is important, too. Pick up a few Flex-i-File tri-grit sticks. Generic stuff is fine for initial sanding, but those tri-grits are phenomenal at the final finishing and polishing bits. Also snag some micro-mesh sanding cloths in the 1000-and-up grit range.

Another majorly unsung hero of my workbench is old airbrush needles. They make fantastic punches, detail "brushes", glue applicators and so on...

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 8:27:05 GMT -5 TRM said:

LOL!! Sorry 'bout that, yes, "sneaze-bay, Sleaze-bay, e-bing and other various connotations are all referring to Evil-bay!

TRM, 

Yeah that's what I figured it out, not being use this kinds of connotations between two worlds, I am deaf, I using sign language with another people who use connotations as Lowe's  we signed "L" Losers, as Burger king, "boogers", as Home Depot,  sign as home deposit, something like that, as in forums, I haven't see common in another forums, like just you mention wally world, I have to figure it out as Wal.....t.  It fun to make it up and great to learn..

Sometime that give me to take time to figure it out what it mean. I am straightforward person with specific label not make it up word.. Please be bear with me if I will ask you if I didn't get that one.. This is my second forums to join. Sorry..

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 2:11:10 GMT -5 dierk said:

Both Humbrol and Revell offer glues specifically for clear parts. Some people also use white glue (PVA) but the bond isn't very strong.
My favourite tool is the nano saw by RB Productions I even use them instead of sprue cutters.
If you want really thin CA you can't beat Deluxe Materials Hot Rocket glue IMHO.
You can also make your own filler by mixing CA glue with talcum/baby powder. I haven't tried it, but apparently you can even use flour instead of talcum powder.
And you definitely want some of these I'm sure there must be something similar available on your side of the pond.
My two cents worth

Something that I can check it out. I have heard about ca glue with talcum on youtube but I need to watch the video to use this way.

as the clamp, I can get harbor freight, 


www.harborfreight.com/spring-clamp-set-22-pc-69374.html

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 11:40:52 GMT -5 doogsatx said:

Cement - I use Tamiya Extra Thin and MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) - you can buy it by the gallon at any hardware store. Don't drink it though! These liquid cements work by melting and welding the styrene. MEK is amazingly good at it. I'd also recommend getting some of the yellow microbrushes (Hobby Lobby carries them) for application, as well as a Touch-n-Flow for longer seams.

For white/PVA glue, Gator's Grip is the way to go.

Putty - I use 3M Acryl glazing putty and Vallejo Plastic Putty. The 3M stuff is very similar to Bondo.

Sprue and other cutters - Get some Tamiya sharp-pointed side cutters. They're amazing. And Xuron makes some nice PE scissors. I'd also recommend getting a good razor saw - UMM-USA has a nice selection.

Sanding is important, too. Pick up a few Flex-i-File tri-grit sticks. Generic stuff is fine for initial sanding, but those tri-grits are phenomenal at the final finishing and polishing bits. Also snag some micro-mesh sanding cloths in the 1000-and-up grit range.

Another majorly unsung hero of my workbench is old airbrush needles. They make fantastic punches, detail "brushes", glue applicators and so on...

Doogs, 

Sometime I typed the word dog, it not dog, its doogs.. it hilarious.. 

Only using Tamiya Thin cement, not another kinds of Tamiya Cement? Buy one bottle then if it ran out and get MEK (from Lowes) to refill it out.. as long it not drink! wink!

As PE scissor, I can check it out because I know that I will get PE for the kits.  How about the tool to bending something for PE?

I check out the 3M Acryl putty and the price are same as Bono and can find on Amazon. I can try them out to meet my preferred.

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 0:24:34 GMT -5 JimD said:

I do use a couple of different sandpaper that I get at lowes however 90% of my sanding is wih the sticks. You can also cut them to various shapes and angles.

Sanding is important, too. Pick up a few Flex-i-File tri-grit sticks. Generic stuff is fine for initial sanding, but those tri-grits are phenomenal at the final finishing and polishing bits. Also snag some micro-mesh sanding cloths in the 1000-and-up grit range.re

I just have an idea about the stick for sanding, just throw it. plan to using any sanding paper sprayed with adhesive with medium foam on tongue wood stick or Popsicle to have different size of grains and size.  If it lot of "work" than buy simple from beauty.. Just in my mind.  

Sometime I have crazy and silly idea to do but lot of work...  

[JimD]

You could absolutely do that. I tried it and it was just too much work for me. I'm lazy and I won't let a few $$ get in the way of ease. Lol. I'm told that Tropical Shine (the nail sticks from Sally's) makes multi grit polishing sticks too. Though like Matt (Doogs) said, I use the Flex-I-file ones right now plus some other polishing pads.

PE scissors are s great idea too. I have a Tamiya pair along with a Tamiya diamond file for cleanup. There's others out there. That's just want I use.

If you plan to do metal finished with Alclad or something similar get some polishing compounds along with cloths. I like Novus, but I'll be getting the Tamiya system soon too. I hear it's great.

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 11:40:52 GMT -5 doogsatx said:

For white/PVA glue, Gator's Grip is the way to go

Doogs, 

question about Gator's Grip, where do you get? Order? Can you give the link to this one that you order it. Thank

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 17:20:40 GMT -5 JimD said:

You could absolutely do that. I tried it and it was just too much work for me. I'm lazy and I won't let a few $$ get in the way of ease. Lol. I'm told that Tropical Shine (the nail sticks from Sally's) makes multi grit polishing sticks too. Though like Matt (Doogs) said, I use the Flex-I-file ones right now plus some other polishing pads.
Rr
PE scissors are s great idea too. I have a Tamiya pair along with a Tamiya diamond file for cleanup. There's others out there. That's just want I use.

If you plan to do metal finished with Alclad or something similar get some polishing compounds along with cloths. I like Novus, but I'll be getting the Tamiya system soon too. I hear it's great.

99 posts, one more post to get 100 posts YAH!! :-). Lol..

Jimmydel, I'm thinking about metal pigment or paints, Alclad or AK extreme metal.

Novous is the kind of compound for polish or buffer? Cloths for compound is any kinds of fabric?

[TRM]

You can get the Gator Glue direct through the Gator Glue Scale Model Studio - www.gatorsmask.com/gatorglueorder1.html Send the owner (Kenny) and email (given on the page) and he will ask for your address to calculate the postage...which is not much. (couple bucks). Great guy and an excellent product. I have the thick and thin versions and both work awesome! Check out the masks he sells as well. If you ever need something he does not have listed, ask him...he probably will work one up for you!

LOL..we will try and keep you on you toes with the connotations here my friend!! The same thing applies with sign and me...Andy (Deafpanzer) tried to show me a bunch of stuff in sign...it ended with all bad words though!!

[aeroaustin]

Jun 4, 2015 22:46:10 GMT -5 TRM said:

LOL..we will try and keep you on you toes with the connotations here my friend!! The same thing applies with sign and me...Andy (Deafpanzer) tried to show me a bunch of stuff in sign...it ended with all bad words though!!

TRM, Thanks for link and person to contact, I will shout Kenny about Gator..

Yes totally agreed with you about ended up with bad or dirty word through sign language. I have experienced for a thousand times, when meet new people and they are fascinate to sign language and want to learn to sign and end up with dirty but FUN...  It very dangerous for me because sometime it overboard. (shhhh)  :-))

[sabre]

Jun 4, 2015 16:08:07 GMT -5 aeroaustin said:

I have heard about ca glue with talcum on youtube but I need to watch the video to use this way.

Hi Aeroaustin, here's a few YouTube Videos that you may or may not of seen on the subject. 

SprueCutters.com has a few videos out on the basics, this one covers the use of talcum for filling joints and like you I find it helpful to see a particular technique in action as well, so I hope the following videos will be helpful to you.



Paul Budzik who is a dentist has a somewhat different approach and he also uses dental acrylics for filling joints amongst other things. I recommend watching his video on dental acrylics as I found it to be very interesting as I do with all his videos. He also makes his own scribers out of dental tools, along with a lot of other useful tips so I highly recommend subscribing to his channel.

 

A lot of the guys who make these Modelling tutorials on YouTube like Florymodels, Fine Scale Modeller, International Scale Modeller just to name a few also do reviews on different products as you are probably aware of. I reckon Scale War Machines is amongst the best when it comes to product reviews and is well worth following also, here is a sample of one of his reviews on Mr Surfacer products.



There are literally hundreds of modelling channels on YouTube and even some of the guys on this forum have their own or they have their own web/blog sites where you can pick up more than a few useful tips but a lot can be learnt from following the skilled modellers and their builds on this forum. 

One thing I forgot to mention is that a lot of guys post pictures of their Hobby Rooms and even some do a walk-a-round of their hobby rooms on YouTube where you get to see what tools, paints and products they use. Anyway I hope all this helps you out.

[JimD]

Jun 4, 2015 22:35:23 GMT -5 aeroaustin said:

Jun 4, 2015 17:20:40 GMT -5 JimD said:

You could absolutely do that. I tried it and it was just too much work for me. I'm lazy and I won't let a few $$ get in the way of ease. Lol. I'm told that Tropical Shine (the nail sticks from Sally's) makes multi grit polishing sticks too. Though like Matt (Doogs) said, I use the Flex-I-file ones right now plus some other polishing pads.
Rr
PE scissors are s great idea too. I have a Tamiya pair along with a Tamiya diamond file for cleanup. There's others out there. That's just want I use.

If you plan to do metal finished with Alclad or something similar get some polishing compounds along with cloths. I like Novus, but I'll be getting the Tamiya system soon too. I hear it's great.

99 posts, one more post to get 100 posts YAH!! :-). Lol..

Jimmydel, I'm thinking about metal pigment or paints, Alclad or AK extreme metal.

Novous is the kind of compound for polish or buffer? Cloths for compound is any kinds of fabric?

You can pry my Alclad from my cold dead hands. I love the stuff that much. I've been interested in trying the AK stuff too. I've just built up a nice collection of Alclad, so I've not been in a hurry to add redundancy in colors with AK. My advice would be to get a bottle of each and play around and see which you like best.

Novus is a plastic finishing system. It comes in three grades. Heavy scratch remover, light scratch remover, and clean and polish. I use the latter two (red and blue bottle). Never needed the heavy. Here's a link for some info. You can order it all over the internet.

www.novuspolish.com/

As for cloths. These are what you want to finish off the plastic before painting. I've begun doing this to all builds, not just those getting NMF. Different folks make them...Alclad, Gunze, I believe Tamiya makes some...you can find some examples here:

store.spruebrothers.com/category_s/2005.htm

I just linked the category instead of each example..so browse the pages. The Alclad set at the top is one...and there are a few others.  These and the polishing compounds come in really handy when a kit's canopy piece has a mold seam (something I've encountered a lot of lately).

[doogsatx]

As far as polishing goes, if you've got a Dremel, pick up some cloth polishing wheels (not felt - it will damage the plastic). I've always had to order them off eBay since they don't seem readily available stateside, but they're wonderful.

www.ebay.com/itm/like/311150998589?lpid=82&chn=ps

Here's the kind of shine you can get out of them:

[aeroaustin]

Jun 5, 2015 7:46:45 GMT -5 JimD said:

You can pry my Alclad from my cold dead hands. I love the stuff that much. I've been interested in trying the AK stuff too. I've just built up a nice collection of Alclad, so I've not been in a hurry to add redundancy in colors with AK. My advice would be to get a bottle of each and play around and see which you like best.

I can easily pry your hand with my one magic finger to tickle you..    LOL!!!!

Yes that's what I am planning to get some bottles from Alclad and AK, I think might be four bottles of those.

another question about decal solution and setting, are you use or just simple straight it out from water?

[aeroaustin]

Doogs, Sabre, TRM and Jimmydel and another.

Many thank for this and I have lot of list to buy supply with different place to get. I really appreciated about your suggestions and recommend that I have learn from you. I am glad that this forums are the best and great modelers!

Hopeful July will break in modeler bench with first cherry Hobby Boss P-51 with aftermarkets to guide to learn and practice before enter to high end price kit.

[JimD]

That's what we are here for. It really helps the learning curve when you have something like 4 billion years of experience hanging around.

I feel like given your splurge buying kits that your in the position to lay down some $$ on tools. I wish when I started I had invested more in tools and less in hoarding kits at first. You're doing the right thing getting recommendations. And you'll add a lot of tools as you go but it will help out tremendously to have the stuff you need early on.

[Jeff the 57th]

I'm in the same boat as you.  I went nuts on kits (though not 50 kits kind of nuts) when the hobby first got it's hooks into me and now I wish I had spent some of that money on tools I could use on nearly every build vs kits that are still shrink wrapped in the stash 2 yrs later. 

The guys making tool suggestions are much better modellers then me, so there isn't a whole lot I can add to your list that someone more knowledgeable about the hobby hasn't already suggested.  The one thing I might add is this.


 

You can pick it up at any art supply store very cheaply (<$5) and it works wonders on keeping a good point on your brushes.

Can't wait to see some of your new purchases pop up in "Show us what you got".

Cheers

#57