7 Things every miniature painter needs to add to their arsenal right now.

[Adam Huenecke]

Greetings, all!

Looking around my work space, I was reflecting upon some of the "special" items I've added to my arsenal of tools in the past, and thought I would share my list of must have items that can improve any modeler's experience. Without further a-dude...

1.) Tamiya Clear Red
9483
Want to paint blood? Here you go. No hassle, perfect blood every damn time. This stuff even "coagulates" in the cap like real blood. Perfect texture, gloss, and thickness. Try it, I promise you will not be disappointed.

2.) Super Glue Accelerator
9484
Tired of holding pieces together while your glue dries? Spray some of this on, and the bond is instant. Perfect for getting that arm perfectly positioned or whatever. "Oh, but the bond is not as strong!" some contrarian will add. That contrarian is probably holding pieces together as we speak. I've barely noticed a difference in strength honestly but in almost every instance this stuff makes my life easier. Use it.

3.)Jewler's Saw
9485
I can't believe it took me as long as it did to pick one of these up. Whether you are working with plastic or metal, you will never get a more precise and easy to control cut than with one of these. An absolute must-have for any serious modeler or kit-basher.

4.) Non-American Uhu glue
http://www.materius.de/out/pictures/master/product/1/uhu_alleskleber_flinke_flasche_35g_mit_loesungsmit tel(2).jpg
You know how European modelers (massive voodoo) always have awesome blood and slime effects? This is why. Get your German friends to send you some of this (the stuff you can buy in the US with the green writing on it is not the same). The European stuff probably gives you face cancer or something, but it is worth it for the awesome effects you can get with this stuff. This is what I used for the wings on my Nurgle Daemon Prince. It is great stuff.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/popg0estheworld/40K/Nurgle032.jpg (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/popg0estheworld/media/40K/Nurgle032.jpg.html)

5.) Citadel Agrax Earthshade
9486
Most people already use this, but it is awesome enough to warrant mentioning. I have not met a model that could not be improved with a little bit of this stuff. I put this on everything. Great for quickly shading nearly ANY color. It isn't fancy, but if you are painting Troops or other numerous minis, this will get the shading job done quick. For my Cultists, I painted base colors, shaded with Agrax Earthshade, and then picked out a few details, and I was done. Super quick. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/popg0estheworld/40K/Nurgle084.jpg (http://s11.photobucket.com/user/popg0estheworld/media/40K/Nurgle084.jpg.html)

6.) Magnifying Lamp
9487
This is the priciest item on my list, but it is well worth the investment. Nothing substitutes for doing micro-detail work (eyes, etc). It is hard to describe exactly how this improves your experience, but it takes the things you are working on, and makes them look BIGGER and BRIGHTER. Okay, it is not that hard. Still, this is a purchase you will be glad you made. Put it on your Amazon wishlist or something, maybe Santa will bring you one.

7.) Self-Healing Cutting Mat
9488
Anyone who does papercraft or styrene work can attest to the importance of one of these. Makes cutting easier, and catches your blade when you slip. I'm a slob, so I even paint over mine, and it is still fine. I use these as a foundation for all of my operations. A cheap, easy way to class up your work space.

I'm sure there are many other items that everyone will attest are super important, but these are a few of the things that I think many beginners don't know they should have (except Agrax Earthshade. Everybody knows about that, but it is still great).

Good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

I didn't mean for that UHU picture to be so huge, but its size is equal to its awesomeness.

[hyudun]

I think you need to add head lamp to your list. A hands-free light that attaches to your head and won't cause your hands to cast annoying shadows? YES. They can also be obtained for ~$15 USD. Also useful for house & auto repairs and hunting for Sasquatch.

[obrinian]

1.) Tamiya Clear Red
9483
Want to paint blood? Here you go. No hassle, perfect blood every damn time. This stuff even "coagulates" in the cap like real blood. Perfect texture, gloss, and thickness. Try it, I promise you will not be disappointed.


I would like to add. A mixture. Of Tamiya. Smoke and the clear read. 4/1 red being the larger. Also make it looks like a artial blood great for ogres

[NonComPoop]

I find that magnifying desk lamps get in the way. I prefer to use a good pair of magnifying reading glasses that are 2 to 3.25 x magnifacation do the trick quite nicely without breaking the bank.
.

[obrinian]

Darn my phone needs to show me these msg posted. Srry for the 15 msgs

[obrinian]

The Tamiya paint is awesome been using it for years. But. Another color. You might want to add is smoke.... then with a 4/1 mixture. Of it and clear red. It looks amazing

[Languin]

I find that magnifying desk lamps get in the way. I prefer to use a good pair of magnifying reading glasses that are 2 to 3.25 x magnifacation do the trick quite nicely without breaking the bank.
.

I use 2 at the same time for minute details..lets say the magnification is...extreme.

[maxxev]

I expect the US UHU to be the one that give you face cancer the rules and regs in the EU are seriously strict... where as in the US ... well I know that any food manufacturer can make pretty much any claim they want on foodstuffs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLxHgsEjzw

But I agree otherwise, don't know if I can get that UHU in the UK though, it looks great though :).

[Adam Huenecke]

Great adds, all! I've never used a headlamp or glasses because I feel like THOSE get in the way- matter of opinion, I suppose. Maybe all of the above, and you can reach singularity with your painting setup.

[Path Walker]

I expect the US UHU to be the one that give you face cancer the rules and regs in the EU are seriously strict... where as in the US ... well I know that any food manufacturer can make pretty much any claim they want on foodstuffs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLxHgsEjzw

But I agree otherwise, don't know if I can get that UHU in the UK though, it looks great though :).

The Uhu you can easily get in the UK is the right one, I've used it for zombies and nurgle stuff, for miniatures you handle often, its not a great effect, but its brilliant for display pieces.

[Glarion]

I expect the US UHU to be the one that give you face cancer the rules and regs in the EU are seriously strict... where as in the US ... well I know that any food manufacturer can make pretty much any claim they want on foodstuffs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JLxHgsEjzw

But I agree otherwise, don't know if I can get that UHU in the UK though, it looks great though :).

Poundland has this stuff in abundance! It's in a squeezy tube as opposed to the dispenser in the OP's photo though. ;) Add some of the Tamiya red to the uhu for excellent gory blood trails!

[Thunderhawk3015]

Tamiya extra thin glue I would consider a must have for plastic.

[odinsgrandson]

2.) Super Glue Accelerator
9484
Tired of holding pieces together while your glue dries? Spray some of this on, and the bond is instant. Perfect for getting that arm perfectly positioned or whatever. "Oh, but the bond is not as strong!" some contrarian will add. That contrarian is probably holding pieces together as we speak. I've barely noticed a difference in strength honestly but in almost every instance this stuff makes my life easier. Use it.


I'll go ahead and be your contrarian here. As a person who regularly ships minis out to clients, and also who regularly gets minis shipped to him, I can tell you that the bond strength is miserable.

Rather than holding things together, what you should be doing is scoring areas, or pinning them. Either of those will allow you to hold the piece together for almost as little time, but the strength of the bond is something that can stand up to gameplay (and the post office).

Now, I'm sure I need stronger bonds than some players, but I've played against an opponent whose swore by this stuff- then his minis were falling apart as the game went on. He finished with way fewer arms attached than he began.

So I really can't recommend staying away from this stuff too much. Unless you really like repairing your minis all the time.

[Adam Huenecke]

I score and pin to, to be sure- but in the 10 years or so I've been using accelerator, I haven't had any notable problems (shipping or otherwise).

[lobster-overlord]

I've used the accellerator, but only with resin these days. yhry are light enough to not cause problems for me.


another "can't live without itm" hasbeen greenstuff. not gw's over priced offering, but the kneadatite tube for $20. separated in the tubes, they last forever. the tape starts to cure at the seam of contact and dried out too quickly for my tastes.

[odinsgrandson]

I've used the accellerator, but only with resin these days. yhry are light enough to not cause problems for me.


another "can't live without itm" hasbeen greenstuff. not gw's over priced offering, but the kneadatite tube for $20. separated in the tubes, they last forever. the tape starts to cure at the seam of contact and dried out too quickly for my tastes.

You're getting the Gale Force 9 tubes- they're still a little over priced- but not nearly as much.

Get the ones where you can get both bars in one long tube and refer to it as Kneadatite (you can get them online very easily). They're $15 in the game store, or about $12 online.

And all of it is exactly the same stuff. The one company makes the same green stuff as both bars and tape, and all of the other companies re-package it and mark up the price a bit.

[lobster-overlord]

not buying the gf9 ones, but the retail is still 20. yes I can get them online for less but the local non gaming hobby shop has them for 20, so still a good price and supports a local

[odinsgrandson]

not buying the gf9 ones, but the retail is still 20. yes I can get them online for less but the local non gaming hobby shop has them for 20, so still a good price and supports a local

Huh. Yeah, I've got an LGS that will sell them for $15 at retail, which is the price the online people say the retail is. The online stores then mark them down to $12.

So... I figured that occam's razor would say that you're getting a different packaging than I am (I guessed with GF9, because they're the most popular that I know of that price them at $20).

A less likely explanation is your LGS is marking them up $5 in order to gouge customers (I've seen some LGS owners do that sort of thing, but most of them are nicer chaps who just sell at the retail price).


So... I really don't think you're getting the same package as I am. Same stuff, just different price tag.

A lot of LGS owners don't know who to get it from the cheapest (most people don't know "Polymeric Systems Kneadatite" is the same as green stuff) and I know that some distributers that don't carry the cheapest version.

But check with him and see if he can't order it in cheaper. Sure, $5 isn't much of a difference, but it is always nice to save a little money for the same product while also supporting your LGS.