general supplies for ship models?

For modern ships, a good hobby shop or vendor will be okay. If no good LHS in your area you need to use a mail order vender, like squadron, sprue brothers, Roll models, etc.

Bluejacket and Model Expo  have some modern fittings. If you move to sailing ships, Bluejacket and Model Expo are about the only sources.

thx modelcrazy

That's a good list, esp. the Optivisor.

A good collection of small and medium, flat and round paint brushes.

There are some good You Tube videos on recommended items you should have.

For ship rigging a good long tweezer is helpful in addition to the small one.

I bought two chrochet needles from a craft store and made a fork and a hook by cutting away the appropriate parts of the eye of the needle. I then drilled a hole in the end of a piece of dowel, for a handle, and glued the needles into it.  A fork and a hook are great aids to rigging, even on the rigging for a powered ship.

A pin vise, a hobby knife with a good stock of sharp blades, house hold items such as a tooth brush will serve you well for many things, I use toothpicks for all kids of stuff, a small parts holder can be a life saver, I use round fine files instead of sand paper on many occasions, I found that a good supply of cotton swabs come in handy.

Like Don said, a good set of tweezers.  I got one through Model Expo and installing PE and rigging has been A LOT easier.  Also a set of snips, both diagonal and flat face are great, for cutting sprue and trimming PE. I cannot wear bioptics very long, so I use a magnifying lamp.  

You may want to check out Micro-Mark; they sell a lot of specialty items for ship modelers plus a good many general hobby items.

www.micromark.com

Mike

Hi ;

 As usual the guys are spot on .I would recommend the " Rogers " drill bit set though . It comes with bits numbered 61 through 80 in a stand with a little clear dome cover .

  I did buy another set  " No Name " and it's okay .The set cover slides from bit to bit and lets you just get that one without touching the others . My only complaint is this .They bend easier . Of course that's a plus . Better they bend than break . 

      The " Rogers " set has been around since the model trains I was into were Brass and Balsa .      T.B.

Actually, I break as well as bend those small drills quite often. I consider them supplies that must be bought again and again. I keep the plastic container, but just restock on individual drills every so often.  I find for most modeling work, I can usually get away with using the next size, so only buy replacements when I get a "gap" of several missing adjacent sizes.  I suspect that while the individual drills are more expensive than they are in the set, I don't break the larger ones, like the low sixties, that often, so figure I am better off buying the individual ones and putting them in the old case.

Sure is getting hard to buy them locally.  To many local hardware stores do not carry numbered drills in ANY size!

Some time back I bought, during one of Model Expo's 50%-off sales (which seem to happen every few weeks), a wood box containing 10 of each size, 60-80, in little plastic tubes. I figure I won't need to buy drill bits for some time.

It seems ME doesn't sell that set any more - though it does sell bits in packs of five. One could buy them in quantity during one of ME's aformentioned sales, and not spend much.

So many drill bit sets are on the market nowadays, and there's so little indication of where they came from, that I don't bother noticing the brand names. I'm convinced that the distributors get their bits from quite a few different sources - and don't know or care about any difference between a good bit and a bad one.

A great place to start your purchases, once you have developed a list of tools....Your local Flea Market. If you are not stuck on everything having to be brand new, you can get some great slightly used tools for less than half what it would cost you new, in most cases. Plus, flea markets tend to have items that you cannot find retail any longer because they come mostly from estate sales of other hobbyists and crafters.

Most Flea Markets that I have been to will have a tent set up by some vendor that has only tools. Let the Wife and Kids, or girlfriend wander the rest of the Flea Market as you will spend hours in a place like this. Also a great place to buy tools of any kind for around the home.

Happy Shopping!

Kevin Ma

need to getting new supplies.......

My other models were built by only a hobby knife and some sandpaper........

I want to get my first serious model. (revell bismarck 1/350) with full paint and tools 

Any suggestions?

thx

 

It's likely that most of us have accumulated our workbench tools over many many years.

I find MicroMark very expensive.  Scale Hobbyist hands down has the best prices on the internet.  Tower Hobby is my second choice and they have a lot of stock.

Be aware that Excel #11 blades are twice as sharp as Xacto blades and it's the reason I use them.  If you haven't done photo etched before then I would practice on something smaller than a 350th Bismark,  or it could be a very frustrating experience.

Small hobby files, sanding stick with assorted belts, a plastic welder like "same stuff" for glue. Good tweezers will cost maybe $15, and they are yards better than the $5 dollar ones.   Chisel blades as well.  pin vise and a few bits. 

I wouldn't go overboard but the best lesson is not to buy cheap tools. A good tool will last for decades.

I now have more sources of 60-80 drill bits than larger numbered drills.  Hardware stores in my area no longer sell sets of larger drills, say a 1-60 or 20-60.  They only have individual drills.  Going online, a google search shows ridiculous prices for such sets now. 

Buying all the drills I am missing would cost a lot too (numbered drills seem to go for more than fractional size drills.

I have enough missing I was going to buy a new set, but I guess I will look at tap drill sizes I need, and only replace those sizes I know I will need.

Hi;

   I notice something here .Well known hobby names .Don't forget you can get most all of the stuff for a beginner at Hobby Lobby . Either Excel or X-Acto , Various glues , plastic sheets ( K&S ) and so on .They even have a nice selection on brass  ( sheet , tube , etc. ) and Balsa -as well as - Basswood .

    They have flush cutters with a very narrow tip in the beading dept . Acrylic paint out the door and a good selection of enamel  , both spray and brush . Brushes ? From the cheapest plain brush to the most exotic an oil artist would use.

   Now , for Weathering , they have the sets and many other pastels you can use including the hard cotton artist fade tools .

 They even once in a while have serious clamps and such , wood and plastic clothes pins and the more common types . Ah , the list goes on . Just go in and go to the back of the store and start at the far right and slowly explore every aisle .   T.B.      P.S. They have nice Lemonwood sculpting tools .These are great for burnishing the finish step of Foil Chrome .

Michaels has most of those items too, and my Sunday newspaper always has coupons (40% off for both).  Really helps my modeling expenses.  Also, both have balsa and basswood stock. 

I have found good uses for the beads themselves from the beading department.  One size of chromed bead makes great shift lever knobs for 1/25 cars.  Small beads also sometimes useful for antenna insulators.

Great suggestions there Don, walk through there from time to time just to get ideas.

John ;

    I have that very same set ! What I did was order it so I could refill the " Rogers " holder when I need too . Works great . So far I have a full set of tubes with at least one or two bits left in them . Darned good idea .

  I have to note here . I have had my original " Rogers " holder from gosh knows how many years ago . Plus , a couple of others I've bought to replace mine if it breaks or wears out . I have replaced one dome so far .

      I find them so handy .They will fit in a pocket if I am going to a Train repair session at the Museum . Then there's my second tool box for teaching , which has a " Rogers " holder with bits from who knows where . But it's full and ready to go .   T.B.

Wilbur ;

 I have X-Cel blades as well as X-Acto brand .I find the X-Cel brand doesn't have the blade end profile that X-Acto blades do .The X-Cel blades , while very sharp and and they hold their edge well , the very tip is not as fine or pointed as X-Acto .

  Darned good blades though . Plus I always buy at least four of the larger full black blade holders . I believe with both that's 15 blades each . Between P.E. and scratch building I go through blades at a prodigious pace .

 For a 1/96 scale project I go through at least a holder or two .Why ? well , I learned that while basically dangerous by themselves these blades are more so when dull . Just like a reasonably good knife . A dull blade will cause you to get hurt quicker and more often .      T.B.        P.S. Especially when working with two or three different types of material in one model .

It should be noted that there are X-acto blades and there are X-acto blades. A year or two ago the company started selling a new "Z Series" #11 blade that is considerably sharper than the normal version, and seems to be made of stronger steel. (The tips don't seem to break as easily.) I've made the "Z #11" my go-to blade for most purposes.

The visible difference is that the Z blade has a gold tint on its edge. X-acto says it's a high-tech coating.

I've bought Z blades at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and (drum roll please) Wal-Mart. 

I purchased a box of "Z Series" and found them not to be any better than the standard blade.  It could be me and the way I use them but I just can't tell the difference. 

When starting a new kit I do start with a Z Series but then if I need to replace it I use a standard blade.  I will not be purchasing them again after this supply runs out.

Both blades do a very good job of drawing blood if I am rushing a clean up, LOL.

I use a brand x blade for the #11.  It is not as good or as durable as real X-acto or the Zs, but it is enough cheaper that I can afford to replace them more frequently (I buy the quantity 100 package).  I always put in a new blade when I start decal work or masking work.