There are a lot of people who want to know what kind of tools they need for scale model aircraft building. Every model builder have his or hers favorite set of tools, but here are a few that everybody is using on a regular basis:
- No model maker can do without a set of good knives and sprue cutters.
- A cutting mat or small cutting board is also essential.
- Less essential but still very useful is a hole making tool and some razor saws for cutting things that a knife can not do.
- Scissors for cutting decals and masking tape.
- Masking and other tapes in various sizes. These can be used to aid painting and/or holding parts together.
- Some tweezers to pick up and/or hold very tiny parts.
- Pegs and clamps to hold parts together.
- Fillers to fill holes and gaps and some spatulas to spread the filler with.
- Sanding stick to sand down any filler, smoothing rough or uneven surfaces or to polish with.
- A brush to remove dust.
- Different grit "Wet and Dry" sandpaper is very useful for sanding down filler and to give an extra smooth surface.
- Weights in various sizes to prevent planes from "tailsitting".
- Blu-Tack to hold small parts or for dry fitting part together. Blu-Tack is also used to hold weights in place.
- Rubber bands to hold parts together, elasticated thread for rigging and needles for making holes.
- Syringes and pipettes for measuring of thinners and other liquids.
- Cotton buds and cocktail sticks for applying glue, decal solutions, fillers or to hold parts for painting.
- Also excellent for cleaning and removing paint.
- Small plastic containers for water, brush cleaners or other liquids.
- Last but not least a good set of different shaped brushes!
- Finally for those who are into scratch building or more advanced scale model building, a mini drill is an excellent tool to do that. I hope I helped some people out with this list of tools that are useful for model building.
