Model Citizen

OK, First I want to explain I'm not preaching to the converted. I'm just doing this for all those who may be starting out or for those who just may not have thought of some of the simple ideas I'm going to explain.
A lot of you probably do things a lot better than me, but at this point in time, this set-up is working very well for me.

I'll need to let you know that this is a portable area first, and it's just for building, everything gets rearanged when the paints come out. I have everything on top of a wooden board which gets moved to a table when not in use, as I have no permanent space (yet).

What's on the board?



1: A simple ceramic palette. Used for mixing paints etc, but also very useful for placing very small parts before they are needed. One cheap tip I've heard if you can't get a ceramic one is to use an ice cube tray, which cost about 15p.

2: Tissue paper/Rubber bands, always useful things to have handy to wipe off tools or water, or quickly add a band to something that needs holding tight for a minute. I also have some white tack and paper clips in the pot just in case I need to unblock some glue, or mask an area (white tack can do that well). Also a heated paper clip can add some good bullet holes!

3: A self healing cutting mat. These things are great and will prolong the life of your blades immensely. Just cut things out on them and the gashes you make just dissapear!

4: A simple cloth, I use this for placing delicate models on, it can be folded as much as you want to give more or less cushioning.

5: Simple clips like bulldog clips or clothes pegs come in handy for keeping pieces together while they stick, or to hold a small part aloft while drying.

6: A Lazy Susan, this is just a rotating board, I made this one from some pizza bases and marbles! It's very handy for when it's difficult to hold the model or you need both hands to work around the model. When it comes to painting or spraying it's irreplaceable.

7: A small cloth that I keep my tools on, it stops them slipping off and it can be used to wipe excess glue off things or dry brushes on. These cloths I guess have the same multi-use abilities as the towel in The Hitch hikers Guide To The Galaxy.

The Tools:



These are'nt the only tools I use, but it's amazing how far you can get with just these three.

Scalpel: A lot of people use XActo knives but I grew up with scalpels having once been a paste-up artist. Keep it sharp, as blunt knives will cause an accident. For heavy duty cutting use a saw or a stanley knife. Be careful with these things and keep them away from little hands.

Pliers: When I was a kid you would get parts from sprues by wiggling them off, that is not the way to do it! use pliers and then trim off the excess with your knife.

Tweezers: For small parts or fiddly areas these come in extremely useful.

And also Glue:



I mainly use three types of glue:

Super Glue: Nothing beats this for areas that just wont stick, or materials like resin or vinyl. It's better if you spill to just leave it to dry and then either peel it off or sand it off. I've also used it to create water droplets!

Liquid Poly: This is for injection plastic models. It actually causes a slight "melt" along the plastic which welds the two peices together. If you have a small seam you can usually fill it with this stuff, though most modellers use a smaller brush than that provided. You can also use the dregs to mix up a liquid plastic that acts as a filler!

Long Nose Glue: Again for plastic but with a nose that will get into the most difficult of areas. It's great for tiny parts too.

Two other glues I use are white PVA that can be mixed with water for many applications, such as tarpaulins and flags on a bit of tissue, or adding to sawdust to make grass! I also use a hot glue gun for when I need a really good bond, such as affixing to a base.

Well, I hope this has been of some help to you, if you require more advice or want help on a particular subject I recommend these two modelling communities:
The Clubhouse and Total model