Tools You Can't Live Without

[Kenny]

What tools do you have on or near your bench that you didn't have when you started modeling but now you just can't live without?

I'll start: Flexi-file. I honestly don't know what I would do without this, I use them all the time. Are they still available? I only have two of the frames and I'm down to one of each of the grits.

Here's another: Castrol Super Clean (or preferably generic equivalent.) Remember when paint was forever? Or brake fluid seemed to do nasty things to the plastic and was such a mess to get rid of.

How about you?

[CaseyG83]

What tools do you have on or near your bench that you didn't have when you started modeling but now you just can't live without?

I'll start: Flexi-file. I honestly don't know what I would do without this, I use them all the time. Are they still available? I only have two of the frames and I'm down to one of each of the grits.

god's gift to modelers!

I bought one back when i building airplanes but it still very usefull with autos. three things i cant live with out are my touch-n-flow, a cheap pair reading glasses and sticky tack.

[Raul_Perez]

For me, it's the Dremel Stylus!! This is the slickest, best shaped and easiest to use little powerhouse I've ever had!! If you do any type of customizing, this thing is a MUST HAVE!!

Regards,

[CAL]

This particular riffler file from Squadron, and probably us it more than any other tool. I use the other files in the set, and another set of flat files, but not nearly as much as this one.

It's a real gem. It's wide enough to get things straight and flat, small enough to get in those hard to reach places, and feels right when you use it.

Second would probably be a round needle file and round riffler file.

Other tools I would definitely miss if I didn't have them around.

My airbrushes.

I do like the flex Files, too. I still have my original 3 frames, and yes they still make them, and seperate replacement grits.

A small index drill bit set and a pin vise.

Pair of spru cutters.

Tenax.

and any of the 7 different tweezers I have aquired over the years. Funny it seems that there is only one pair of tweezers that work well for one particular task.

Acetone - which I use to clean my airbrushes no matter what I spray.

Two different sets of Micro Meshes.

Q-tips.

Tooth picks and skewers.

and a recent addition of a dozen small allegator clips on the end of a stick. These things are awesome. There hasn't been a part yet they wont hold.

The Tamiya paint stand set is pretty slick, too.

Edited February 2, 2008 by CAL

[CAL]

For me, it's the Dremel Stylus!! This is the slickest, best shaped and easiest to use little powerhouse I've ever had!! If you do any type of customizing, this thing is a MUST HAVE!!

Regards,

That looks pretty cool.

I have a love-hate relationship with my Dremel.

[Kenny]

That looks pretty cool.

I have a love-hate relationship with my Dremel.

Yeah, I have the flexible shaft for mine but it is still a pain in the arse. The Stylus looks pretty slick!

[Kenny]

Here's something else I didn't have when I started that I couldn't live without today: Fine tipped paint pen!

For small details like gauges, can't be beat. I used this on the bezels for this dashboard:

[dub]

I'm with all of you guys. That Dremel Stylus is absolutely a great addition to any toolbox. I got one for christmas and don't know what I was doing without it! I actually have two favorite files. One is for big work and the other one is for fine work. Purple Power is good stuff; way better than brake fluid. I also have about 50 of those alligator clips that I can add different lengths of stock for ease of handling. (I got a bag at the craft store for $3 IIRC.) That silver Sharpie is a great tool for chrome part repair, too. The only thing I have to add, is that I also love my razor saw too. It makes getting frame cuts perfect nice and easy.

[stanleymsn]

I have to say my airbrush and then my computer,exatco knife and my bare metal scribing tool

[MonoPed]

I just recently snagged this from Horbor Freight, on sale for a song. I've just used it a couple of times, but I now wonder how I measured stuff without it for so long. It is my new fav tool!!

[Kenny]

Don't forget to turn it off! No auto shutoff on that one. (I go through lots of batteries! )

[Jairus]

Two hands!

(Even if scarred, bandaged and bleeding)

[Danno]

One of my all-time favorite new (well, I've been using them for 5 or 6 years now) tools is the very high-tech and complicated Transparent Polyethelyne Painting Aid (TPPA), but the cost per unit is very, very affordable, making them incredibly valuable ... priceless, even!

Once upon a time, I suffered the embarassment of over-sprayed fingers, forearms even, and it seemed I could never get the overspray off my fingernails and out of the cuticle cracks. But ever since I discovered TPPAs, I've sprayed thousands of parts, hundreds of bodies, a few walls, windows, and occasionally the dog ... but I've not suffered a single over-sprayed hand, finger, nail, arm or shirtsleeve!!! I love 'em.

I have a subscription service. For just a few dollars a month, I get a new TPPA delivered to the house every morning ... along with a free newspaper rolled up inside!

[MonoPed]

Don't forget to turn it off! No auto shutoff on that one. (I go through lots of batteries! )

Mine shuts off after a few minutes inactivity, and turns back on when ya move the slide.

[Kenny]

Mine shuts off after a few minutes inactivity, and turns back on when ya move the slide.

That's a nice feature. Mine is a few years old. I'm glad they made that change.

[novadose71]

Here are a few "tools" I have come up with through the years. I took the pic a while back in hopes of posting some tips. I'll use it here instead.

Two sizes of alligator clips(75-100 total)most crimped onto pieces of sprue, some not, Almost every part gets clipped at some point during a build for painting/ they are stuck into pieces of foam wrapped in 3 inch masking tape to dry

Pieces of sprue- parts that can't be alligator clipped are superglued to the end for painting then snapped off

Model Master jars fit into most spray bomb caps, labeled 1,2,3- full of thinner for cleaning brushes- one for solids,metallics and one clean for final rinse-and no more spilled thinner all over my bench

My wife used to work in a photo lab-the scrap pics make good pallettes for paint and filler- I still have a nice stack left

Little squeeze bottle has a hypodermic tube(like the touch n flow). It works awesome for black wash on grilles etc. Squeeze first to displace about half the air inside, hold your squeeze, flip over, put tip of needle on the part and very gently squeeze some out . It will flow through the area and if you get too much on the part release your squeeze and it will suck it back up. This took a while for me to master, but now that I got it figured out I'll never use a drop of wash on a brush again.

Not pictured but necessity none the less; an 8x10 piece of 3/16 Aluminum with self stick board file sandpaper of various grits for trueing flat surfaces, my paint stand for bodies, I can't spray inside without my spray booth, latex gloves, respirator, and lately I have been getting a lot of use from my dehydrator. See ya

[Modelmartin]

Yeah, I have the flexible shaft for mine but it is still a pain in the arse. The Stylus looks pretty slick!

I have a Moto tool with speed control but only use it for heavy grinding. Everything else is done by hand with knives, saws, files, and sandpaper.

[Modelmartin]

That's a nice feature. Mine is a few years old. I'm glad they made that change.

Who needs a digital? I use a dial caliper and NEVER have to worry about batteries. Of course I can't press a button and switch from Metric to Inches!

[Modelmartin]

Two hands!

(Even if scarred, bandaged and bleeding)

Hands are cool!

[Modelmartin]

You guys have most of the basics covered but I will add scotch tape. It is invaluable for doing mockups and playing around with stuff. Tamiya masking tape is fantastic and makes all other types of tape seem like garbage.

[Raul_Perez]

I have a Moto tool with speed control but only use it for heavy grinding. Everything else is done by hand with knives, saws, files, and sandpaper.

Andy,

I was the same way with my old, pre-historic Dremel tool. I only used it for heavy duty grinding and shaping. It was just too big, bulky and unwieldy with that monster cord hanging off of the back. The Stylus is light-years ahead of those older monstrosities for ease of use, even on the smallest of detailed features. It's amazingly light, fits well in your hand and easy to use for any type of grinding, shaping or engraving. I literally use it every time I’m building a model.

[jbwelda]

i am going to have to check out that dremel. i originally had a plug-in model with a flex shaft but it never really felt comfortable. then i discovered the mini mite, the cordless one, and all that changed. that thing has saved my a$$ so many times its amazing, mostly final assembly where a piece was binding up...without the dremel i would have been sunk and had to take stuff apart and probably break it. this new one looks even better!

and those flexifiles, you know i bought some one time but never really used them, and hence never got used to them enough to feel comfortable. i will have to dig them out and check them out closer. what do you guys specifically use them for? sanding curves i assume?

i would add to the list something ive just gotten comfortable with, that liquid masking material that dries into hard rubber. its been working very well and now the problem comes with my inability to cut it out properly...

ps: back to dremel, i needed a battery for my first mini mite and all i could find were updated ones that wouldnt fit. so i contacted dremel and figured they would just say tough, time to buy a new one. much to my surprise they sold me one for below retail even with shipping and i had it by the end of the week. i was totally surprised. sounded like i was talking to someone sitting in the USA too, which is getting rare.

[Raul_Perez]

i am going to have to check out that dremel. i originally had a plug-in model with a flex shaft but it never really felt comfortable. then i discovered the mini mite, the cordless one, and all that changed. that thing has saved my a$$ so many times its amazing, mostly final assembly where a piece was binding up...without the dremel i would have been sunk and had to take stuff apart and probably break it. this new one looks even better!

Hey Bill,

If you want, I can bring my Dremel Stylus to the NNL West next month for you to check it out. Once you try it you'll never use anything else!! It's really that good!!

[CAL]

I'm sure we've all used Q-tips before, I happed to find some w/ a wooden stick, in of all places, my Mother-in-laws bathroom. I got some of my own & have found many uses for them. the best one is that the wooden stick is approx. 1/8 in diameter, which allows it to be chucked into a dremel. two uses for this: polishing in hard to reach spots & my personal favorite, as a holder fro aluminum tubes being polished for exhaust tips.

Yup, I do the same thing for polishing those hard to reach places. It will only work with the wood stick ones. The paper stick last about thirty seconds in a Dremel before becoming a projectile from the spinning wheel of death.

[monkeyclaw]

I have got to go with Jairus...Hands are (were) great! For those of you who still have fully functional hands; you won't truly appreciate "special" tools; the way I do now....with only 3% mobility remaining in my hands; the work is getting a bit tougher to accomplish; but I am gonna stick with it...TWEEZERS are now my best friend...it's the only way I can pick up (repeatedly) the small parts I drop on the floor! I have had to give serious consideration whether or not to keep trying to build stuff; it's a hard addiction to break after 30 odd years. Thus far I have been able to adapt, and overcome the difficulties and challenges of building models that are of the same quality I did before. The bad news for me: there is a very good possibilty that in the VERY near future I will be losing 1/2 of the middle finger on each hand; due to complications of cardiac/vascular issues....the good news is when I whack the ol' X-ACTO thru my fingers ...they no longer bleed (silver-lining?). I do think no matter how hard it gets to do the work; I will keep at it; just at a much slower pace......matt