Equipment required for the hobby

[Dr.Evil]

Basically what do you need and use for all parts of the hobby, from the first draft drawing to the finished photo of the figure.
Just list what you use and if possible where to get them and the Mods can make them into a easily read list.

What type of paint brush's, paint's, thinners and such.

[cheddarmonger]

Nice, very nice.

Start off with:

Diamond needle files, titanium twist drills and at least two pin vises, xuron track cutters -- all availabe from Heresy Miniatures

Scratch awl -- a strong sharp short awl with a rounded handle.  Great for pressing divots into miniatures to make drilling easier; no more drill creeping when you have a divot to start in!

Strong Pins -- tip!  Get one of those plastic rods that are used for adjusting miniblinds and cut a 1.5 - 2 inch chunk off of it.  Drill a small deep hole in one end.  Superheat a headless pin over a stove burner or other open flame and push it into the small rod.  You have a cheap but extremely useful pokey tool, great for prying gunk out of mini crevices or unclogging superglue bottles!  Or jabbing annoying guests.

[Perv]

Primer, everyone needs primer.  I persoanlly cant get on with the brush on primers and think a spray can does such a better job in a fraction of the time.  GW primer is an absoulte rip off at £6 per can for 400ml as you can get a can of 500ml in various colours off Ebay for around £2.  I use Simoniz Grey and cost me just under £30 for 12 x 500ml cans, including delivery.  This is enough to last most people around 10 years I'd say so you may want to go halfsies with someone.

Word of warning regarding GW Roughcoat spray.  I tested this on something and came back to use 2 weeks later only to find it completely clogged up and unusable.  The result from the test wasnt as good as using paint with sand added to it anyway so I'd advise against buying this and just use cheap waterdown emulsion with sand thrown in.

[matty1001]

Pre prep:
Colour wheel
Books on colour theory
Pencil
Pantone markers
Sketch book
The mini

Prep:
Cork
Scalpel
Clippers
Needle Files
Wet and dry sanding block
Wet and dry paper (400grit)
Pinning drill
Paper clips
Brass Rod
Superglue
Milliput
Greenstuff
Vallejo White Spray Primer
VMC Foundation White (brush on primer)

Painting:
Winsor and Newton Series 7 brushes. Sizes: 00 0 1 2
Paint: VMC, P3, GW (not foundation)
GW 'Ard coat brush on gloss varnish
Testors Dullcote

Basing:
PVA glue
Milliput
Sand
Slate
MIG pigments
Static grasses
Fine flocks
Bit's and pieces of wood/roots etc
Herbs

Erm....thats it I think.

[Bruenor Odinson]

What's wrong with the Foundation paints, I use them every day and find them a godsend in some cases.

[matty1001]

Because all my painting consists of washing and glazing (even the basecoats) so they are useless for me.

[Bodhi]

For sculpting:
Corks (from a shop that sells "make your own wine" sets and stuff like that

Wire. Different gauges (from your local Hardware store. Just avoid galvanized wire. Everything else works fine. Putty doesn't stick to galvanized wire)

Green stuff (numerous sources. Last batch I got from Heresy)

Brown stuff (the same there)

Magic sculp (if european. I've bought mine from masquerade miniatures)

Aves (seems to be more common than Magic sculp in USA while it's hard to obtain in Europe Has much the same properties as magic sculp)

Clay shapers (Heresy sells them as do most artists shops at least here in Stockholm. I buy mine from an artists union shop that gives a discount for artists who can show taxpapers that they run their own company as artists)

Various different steel tools that I've obtained in various ways over the years. (A nice starter set is the one that Matt Gubser sells with his little booklet) I never use about 80% of them, they just seem to gather like flies  :icon_wink:

Pinwises. I have five but am thinking of buying more (for holding everything from arms to swords to figures balancing on one leg. Main figures standing on two legs go on the corks) Heresy has them.

Drills (Heresy again)

Copper "sticks" for barrels, sticks, spearshafts, whatever. Hobby stores have them. My local hardware store USED to have them...

I bought saws from Heresy but they where a disappointment. Far to thick and rough for delicate greens I felt. So I'm looking for considerably thinner saws but have no idea where to find them.

[Bruenor Odinson]

Because all my painting consists of washing and glazing (even the basecoats) so they are useless for me.

Ahhh, OK just thought you were rubbishing them.

[matty1001]

Because all my painting consists of washing and glazing (even the basecoats) so they are useless for me.

Ahhh, OK just thought you were rubbishing them.

Nope, they do what they do. But I don't do with them what they do! :D

[Bungle]

reference books. To get uniform colours and patterns correct. (no point having the wrong colour facings and cuff on your napoleonics)

superglue

halfords spray primer.. black white grey whatever easy to get hold of and dries fairly matt for me.

Cote d'arms spray matt varnish.


Woodland scenics fine ballast for basing.

ready mixed pollyfiller/ spackle

oil paint palette knife, for applying polyfiller
Noch static grass, and static grass applicator bottle.

bases.. coins, washers etc

good files, and a scalpel

good quality artist brushes

paint... a large variety of loads of different types and colours to choice

mug of black coffee (to accidentally dip your brush in)

Peat brown ink
Nut brown ink
antelope brown ink

wax number five
lighter
shredded plant leaf
"church warden" pipe

for those contemplatively moments

[Bodhi]

Ah, superglue...
My twelve year old daughter allways nicks it for her various hobby projects (right now she's building a landscape for her collection of "corpse bride" figures with two planes - the world of the dead and the world of the living. A big fan of Tim Burton she is) and then it's gone somewhere in the odd chaos that makes up her room. So I have superglue but NEVER find it when I need it. It sSHOULD be sold in BIG packages - preferably with a chain and lock attached  :icon_wink:
So far she hasn't accidentally glued her fingers unto her eyelids but I guess it's just a matter of time...

[Keeper]

I can't believe that so far no-one has mentioned ...

time to oneself away from work and the family so that you can concentrate ... :D

[Bungle]

I can't believe that so far no-one has mentioned ...

time to oneself away from work and the family so that you can concentrate ... :D

I sit in the living room with the TV on painting watching and while my mrs sits in another chair..

[Bodhi]

I can't believe that so far no-one has mentioned ...

time to oneself away from work and the family so that you can concentrate ... :D

Don't be silly. We're talking equipment needed here. Hard and cold facts. We're not discussing impossible dreams. That would be another thread. :icon_wink:

I've got the nights. Kids go to bed at around ten. Wife goes to bed at around eleven, I go to bed at around two. Guess who's allways up first in the morning? I usually get up at six and then the rest of the family in various orders.

[Keeper]

I have a garage to retire into in the evening, when the wife is watching her period dramas, which are either full of people saying "Would you like a cup of tea, and to marry my daughter" or they're poor excuses for hardcore pron.  Both of which are not conducive to concentration.