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After nearly 3 years away from miniature painting(I got bored) I'm back! I opted to build model plane kits and along the way I discovered some of the tools and things that kit builders use and I reckon they have a place in the mini building world. Anyway, I will describe them and what they are used for,all are available on ebay and amazon. There are also vids on youtube.
A few things;
1) I'm not aiming this at veteran painters although I'd appreciate it if anyone chimed in if they use any of them and give beginners/amateurs their experience of using them?

2) They(I hope) might already be in wide use by modellers in the wargaming community! Just that I've seen no mention of them!

Here goes!

1) Deluxe Materials Perfect plastic putty. This stuff is well liked by the kit building community because of its unique(?) properties. It is dissolved by water! If you need a fine join filled but it is in a heavily detailed area then this stuff will do the job. It does not matter if you cover up detail with it;you can remove any excess with water leaving it in the join and it sets again. Comes in two formats;white and clear and is aimed at small gaps.

2) Tamiya tape. This tape is invaluable in model building. Mainly used for holding pieces together it has another use in the join filling side of modelling.Imagine if you have a tank and you want to use a standard putty but are worried about blotting out detail then this is where this stuff comes in. Apply it to either side of the join to be filled and then fill the join. When the putty is dry just peel off the tape and you will have a nearly smooth join with no excess mess! It also can be used on painted work without causing any damage.

3) Micro mesh papers/pads. This is like the Rolls Royce of sandpaper, funnily enough it was mainly for car sprayers to prepare bodywork for spraying. While sandpaper basically tears into a surface this stuff does it more gently and the final finish will be completely smooth. Made of diamond and some inline formation process that I can't fully explain( I got bored) this stuff can remove a mould line by means of finer and finer grades until you reach the point where the final surface will be almost as smooth before you covered it in filler! This is handy if you use a tough filler. It can remove scratches from glass without damaging the surface and also get rid of mould lines and blemishes from clear plastic parts.
It comes in two formats; Either in sheet form or in a series of foam pads that come in a pack of nine. The grades range from 400 down to 12000.

4) Scribers! Ever wanted to write something offensive on the side of your Land Raider? Just joking! Then you should look at these tools. Panel scribers come in various forms but they all do the same thing. Say for example you have sanded an area and have lost detail, this tool can restore it. It works by (depending on how much pressure you use) removing a sliver of the surface run by run until you reach the required depth. All you need to do afterwards is a gentle rub with sandpaper(see 3) to remove any debris. You can also write on panels with them;this requires a lot of practice and swearing a lot until you get it right!
They come in 2 formats; First is a curved blade setup Which you use almost like a knife but remember you are not cutting anything;you are scoring. Tamiya and Trumpeter do this tool;Trumpeter one is cheaper!
Next is the engineer's scribing pen. Surprisingly this is shaped like a pen and engineers use it to write naughty words on metal work. The only thing I'd point out is that the point tends to be thicker than the knife blade ones, but it should work well for lettering on vehicles. The scribers are also good for cutting shapes out of plasti card.

5) Wash off washes. I only know of one place in the UK that does these;Flory Models(I think there is another just started recently). It's a wash with a difference; If you make a mistake you can wash/wipe it off. With this stuff you don't use it until the model has been varnished in preferably gloss or satin. Then when the varnish is fully dried just basically cover the model liberally in this stuff(it comes in various shades). When it is dried you can use kitchen roll,cotton buds,brushes etc slightly dampened to remove as much of the wash as you want,leaving the recesses intact. Unusually it actually takes a lot of the shine of gloss and satin varnish away,in the case of model planes it leaves a very realistic finish. It's clay based and very easy to use.

As I mentioned before there are plenty of how to vids on youtube; I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel here just trying to help fellow modellers out,ok?
Hope you find the info useful!

Excellent reviews of these items!

Something I forgot to add about using scribers. They can be tricky to use at first mainly because of how much pressure you apply. Too little and you will veer off course,too much and you plough a line only a farmer in a tractor would be proud of!
2 ways round this;
1) Dymo tape. You know that tape and that gun that you'd use to imprint your name onto anything static or moving? Well this tape is good at giving you a line for scribing. For some reason only the official tape is tacky enough to hold in place while you scribe. It won't hold forever but but it does the trick. It also helps if the model has been washed in soapy water.
2) Small steel ruler. Ideal when you want to try the mental free hand approach!
3) I'd suggest practising on plasti card as this will give you an idea of how much pressure you need when scribing. Two or three runs are better than 1 heavy scribe!
Good luck,we're all counting on you!

Slipstream wrote:
5) Wash off washes. I only know of one place in the UK that does these;Flory Models(I think there is another just started recently).

Ultimate Modeling Products (also UK-based) makes them, as well. Paul and Lee's Youtube channel (ISM) has some informative videos about their features and best uses.