Hobby Basics II: Tools

Although the selection of available tools is much smaller than the selection of paints, for a beginner the choice can be quite hard.

This article should cover the basic tools you would need to assemble a warmachine miniature. 

A basic toolbox doesn´t need a whole lot, but you should look for quality when you buy. You should avoid the "big" names like Army Painter or Games Workshop, because their tools, as good as they are, come with a hefty pricetag. It´s much cheaper to get everything you need at your local hardware store.

1. Hobby Knife

The uses for the hobby knife are endless. The main use is for cleaning off any mold lines from your mini, although the knife also has it´s place in doing conversions. Look for a model with replacable blades, cause working on metal miniatures can dull a knife quite fast.

2. Files

Also used for cleaning up mold lines, some prefer files for this step. They can also be quite handy, when assembling a figure, when you need to shave off some material for a better fit. Get some small files in different roughness, so you have a good selection.

3. Glue

Privateer Press uses two materials for their figures: Plastic and Metal. When buying a glue you´ll have to keep in mind, that the plastics from PP differ greatly from the material GW uses. It´s more a plastic/resin mix, than a "normal" plastic. So plastic glue won´t work on Warmachine models. Therefore you should get a good super glue for assembling your minis - I personally am using a german brand called "Pattex" which is quite good, although I will order some P3-Glue in the near future to give it a go.

4. Green-Stuff

Go get some green stuff, it works wonders when assembling your minis. Just take a bit of the stuff and put it on one side of your part, then add a little super glue. Then press the parts together. The green stuff will hold the two parts perfectly in place while the glue cures. When the green stuff is all dried out the parts will be almost inseparable. With this technique even the most daring poses will be possible, when assembling your figures.

Of course it also has many other uses like correcting casting errors and conversions.

5. Pinning Drill

A pinning drill is a small drill use for pinning models - either for strengthening the joints or fixing a heavy model to a fancy base, the pinning drill will become a invaluable tool in your hobby arsenal.

That´s my two cents for today, I´m hoping  this short overview will help some of you.

As always, enjoy and have fun,


IK-Painter