Need some friendly advise

Hi, Klip - Some additional info would be helpful, such as what you will be building. Ships, cars, aircraft, armor, figures or whatever else?

Pretty much any kits will require the usual tools, small files, cement, sandpaper, X-acto kife with perhaps a variety of blades, paint brushes, filler putty, sprue parts cutter, etc.

Youtube has numerous hobby site videos, from painting, to construction, to airbrushing and so on. By the time you have completed a couple of builds, you'll have a good idea of what's needed. Also, swing by a hobby shop if your town has one, they should have building aids and advice available

Questions along the way are always OK, someone will help out. Good luck with your builds, it's a great hobby and FSM is a great place to be a member of.

Patrick 

Hello Klip!

I say having the tools isn't enough - you also have to learn to use them really well. So depending on your experience get some of the tools you already have around (a nail file? Nail care kits have many cool things inside!) and start building. It will get apparent really soon what could help you. You'll probably want to get yourself a nice sharp knife, needle file set, sanding block, several sheets of sandpaper - different grits. Tweezers with fine ends, fine side cutter help a lot, too. There is a lot more - just remember not to buy el cheapo stuff - good quality pays off later. But it also pays to know who sells the good stuff without going bananas with the prices. Like you can get better prices and quality for paint brushes in an art supply shop rather than in a modelling shop. Same thing with scalpels - I found that buying them from medical supply shop gets you better prices and quality than in modelling shops. Side cutters are better bought in an electronics supply shop, thay also have very nice tweezers. Shops selling jeweller's supplies are also nice places to visit.

Hope it helps, good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

You can get a pancake compressor at Harbor Freight for around $50. You can also get the regulator and moisture trap very cheap  there. I replaced my regulator about 2 years ago and it cost me $10 on sale at HF.

 Badger makes excellent air brushes and are very affordable. They last a life time. I bought my first Badger in the late 1970s and it's still going strong. 

Welcome to the Forums Klip!  Glad to have you aboard!

The ladies make-up section of the Acme, Giant, or whatever grocery store is in your area will provide you with cheap and useful sanding sticks of all grades.  They also have tweezers for holding small parts.  As was said above, just keep your eyes open and you'll find lots of things you can use.

Jim   

You can build a model with the materials in the picture. This picture does not include painting supplies...

Lessee.... Besides paint, thinner, & brushes

sprue cutters

hobby knife set

various tweezers

sanding strips/needles/pads and or sandpaper in various grits

glue - thin liquid, CA in thin,medium and or thick, tube glue

clamps

Perfect Putty or other hobby putty of your choice

That's just the basics. In time you will find other stuff that can be useful.

Don't forget tape!  Tamiya modeling tape is great, but regular old blue painter's tape is fine.Use it for holding parts together while the glue is drying,  masking seams while sanding, and masking areas while painting.

If you need clamps to hold some parts together, you can use clothes pins.  I have the regular size spring loaded type as well as mini ones I found at a craft store.

For sand paper I would suggest that whatever grit you get, use wet or dry.  Sandind under light running water helps remove the waste from the kit and keeps the paper clear.

Where are you located? 

Optivisor.

Ah... ya beat me to it. I knew I was missing something. I was trying to remember there was one more item but couldn't think what it was. I know I had it in my mine but forgot to mention it. LOL!

Tape! Ah... ya beat me to it. I knew I was missing something. I was trying to remember there was one more item but couldn't think what it was. I know I had it in my mine but forgot to mention it. LOL!

On YouTube /Internet has some helpful videos on  basic tools to have on building plastic models.

Klip - 

Everyone has done a great job covering the hand tools and accessories. As for airbrush and compressors you have a lot of options that can be cost savings or expensive. If you have never owned an airbrush system stick to "kits" all-inclusive. Below are a few options of kits from Master Airbrush Systems. Reasonable cost and preformance is there.

My advice regarding airbrushes is to stick with well known brands for a couple reasons: 1) The quality of the airbrushes is high, so you are less likely to have problems with their function, 2) replacement and accessory parts are readily available at many stores. I personally prefer Paasche and Iwata, but they are more expensive than others. I agree with Hunter, you should get a kit to start.

Don't fall into the air can trap because you don't want to purchase a compressor...it only takes a few projects to realize you have already spent as much as the cost of a compressor since the canned air does not last long and with the investment in a good airbrush, the compressor is just as important. I have used some very nice desk top compressors that are very quiet, but be sure it has a good amount of air flow capability and get one with a spray gun regulator or purchase one separate, it is ideal for controlling the air flow to the airbrush. I recently bought a new tank compressor from California Air Tools off Home Depot's website, GREAT option (if you have the space for it)! It is nearly as quiet as the little desktop compressors and the reservoir on it gives you a lot of work time, plus you can work on your car or do some brad nailing on the side.

Lastly, you need some space to use the airbrush. You can set up a spray station outside if you don't have a garage, but if you can afford the cost and space, a spray booth is ideal to allow you to spend hours painting without annoying everyone in the home with smells and damaging your own health.

For further details on airbrushing, check out the painting forums or as someone mentioned, check out Youtube.

Liquid Magma

My advice regarding airbrushes is to stick with well known brands for a couple reasons: 1) The quality of the airbrushes is high, so you are less likely to have problems with their function, 2) replacement and accessory parts are readily available at many stores. I personally prefer Paasche and Iwata, but they are more expensive than others. I agree with Hunter, you should get a kit to start.

Don't fall into the air can trap because you don't want to purchase a compressor...it only takes a few projects to realize you have already spent as much as the cost of a compressor since the canned air does not last long and with the investment in a good airbrush, the compressor is just as important. I have used some very nice desk top compressors that are very quiet, but be sure it has a good amount of air flow capability and get one with a spray gun regulator or purchase one separate, it is ideal for controlling the air flow to the airbrush. I recently bought a new tank compressor from California Air Tools off Home Depot's website, GREAT option (if you have the space for it)! It is nearly as quiet as the little desktop compressors and the reservoir on it gives you a lot of work time, plus you can work on your car or do some brad nailing on the side.

Lastly, you need some space to use the airbrush. You can set up a spray station outside if you don't have a garage, but if you can afford the cost and space, a spray booth is ideal to allow you to spend hours painting without annoying everyone in the home with smells and damaging your own health.

For further details on airbrushing, check out the painting forums or as someone mentioned, check out Youtube.

 

Liq Magma - 

Very well said. With that said I was highlighting a more cost savings kits due to the fact he is completely new and wanted to keep his budget in check. But your statement is accurate and spot on with the brands you recommended. I wanted to watch what I recommended as not to scare him off with costly airbrush systems. Once he has progressed into the hobby he could purchase a better airbrush and compressor. Again, well stated and informative.

While I do have a spray booth and use it for rattle cans, I generally do  not use it much when airbrushing.  Unless you do very large models, and turn the flow way up, you may find you do not get that much overspray.  I just airbrush at my regular bench and do not generally have a problem unless I have parts or something at the very front of the bench.  I generally just sit back a bit from the bench, and have the flow pretty low.  I use an airbrush sort of like a regular brush that does not leave brush marks, instead of using the airbrush as a substitute for a spray gun.  The only exception I find is 1:350 ships like carriers and battleships.  I do crank up the flow on those and use the booth at times.