Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

The title wasn't "GW tools, are they worth it?" because we all know they're priced too high. Problem is, I don't have a hobby store nearby that I can go to, and am not sure if the hardware store has what I'm looking for. I need a pinning vice for the first time, and GW's drill fits the bill. At ĺeast, it looks like it does. To get the free shipping, I'd also get the files and some basing materials. Is there a good non-GW alternative that won't murder me on shipping? Or is the GW stuff worthwhile in this case?

Why not just go online and get a different brand's hobby tools? Army painter has some great stuff, and it's a lot cheaper than GW's stuff. IIRC their pin vice set is like $10ish?

 Robisagg wrote:
Why not just go online and get a different brand's hobby tools? Army painter has some great stuff, and it's a lot cheaper than GW's stuff. IIRC their pin vice set is like $10ish?

You know what? You are a saint, I would have never thought to look them up for tools! (The name implies... you know what I mean). That'll definitely run me less than GW would have. Shipping to Canada may still be relatively pricey, but this is much better. Many thanks for the referral!

Here's a link to a set on ebay canada:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Army-Painter-Hobby-Supply-Hobby-Tool-Kit-MINT-/131275248490?pt=Games_US&hash=item1e909d536a&_uhb=1

Shipping's not TOO bad, hopefully this'll help!

 Robisagg wrote:
Here's a link to a set on ebay canada:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Army-Painter-Hobby-Supply-Hobby-Tool-Kit-MINT-/131275248490?pt=Games_US&hash=item1e909d536a&_uhb=1

Shipping's not TOO bad, hopefully this'll help!

That definitely does help. Army Painyer won't ship to Canada directly (for reasons I suppose I can understand), so my initial excitement was doused a little. I'll see what esle the seller has from them that I'm interested in. Thanks again!

I actually prefer the GW pin vice as it's bigger than most and easier for me to handle. Since it comes with drill bits it wasn't much more expensive than my last one (£7 pound the pin vice £5 drill bits). I could have probably got them both cheaper online but I prefer to buy from a shop so I can look at them properly.

It's pretty good quality but it is around £6 too expensive compared to online retail. The rest of their tools I wouldn't touch though way overpriced for what they are.

I don't know what the situation is like for you up in Canada but over here in the UK a whole bunch of hobby stores sell their stuff through Amazon so you can get stuff like pin vices, files, xacto knives etc. easily.

So that could be worth looking at.

Dont try to cut paper clips with the snips

They are not hardened so will screw up the tool

I hear the metal GS tools arent tooo bad but you could get better ones anywhere,

I bought the whole set when it released, it just happened to coincide with me need my first set of tools, here is my take.

The sprue clippers: Very nice tool, works great feels good in your hand. Perhaps a bit more spendy than equivalent alternatives but a quality tool.

The files: These files are decent, although they are only "finishing" files. If you need a more aggressive file from removing material you'll need to pick up some needle files elsewhere as these are fine and very fine.

The Pin Vise: It has a good "fit" in your hand, the ball seems to fit better than others. Although I was less than happy with the collett for the small drill bits, it doesn't seem to want to center very easily. If I were doing it again I'd look for something else, perhaps the Starrett pin vises.

The Moulding/Sculpting tools: Never used them, I don't do any moulding or sculplting so no comment.

The Mouldline Scraper: I love this tool, I use it all the time and it works great. No chatter and fits in the hand very nicely. Wouldn't change a thing on this one.

The Hobby Knife: Don't like it at all. No reason to have a "retracting" knife IMO. I don't like the way the blade mounts, it seems a bit loose when mounted, and I don't like the fact that the tool is square. Skip this one and buy a nice xacto knife or equivalent.

They Nylon "Spreader": I like this simple tool, it's just flexible enough, and rigid enough to work very well for spreading thick paint (texture paint) or similar material. Not ground breaking but I personally like it.

Overall I think the set is decent, and not as overpriced as some people say. I compared the cost of the set to alternatives and it was in line with other stuff out there, that is of course if you're buying it at a discount. Does anyone pay full retail for GW stuff?

BladeSwinga wrote:
Or is the GW stuff worthwhile in this case?

Worthwhile is a tough word to define. Yeah, their stuff is overpriced, and in many cases it's the exact same item you can buy in a hardware/home improvement store for pennies on the dollar. However, in my life I have knowingly overspent many times. If I need it, it's convenient, and it's in my hand right now, I'll sometimes consider it worthwhile to overspend. Not having a Hobby store near you does make access to supplies more difficult. I'm sure you have a major Hobby chain in Canada, maybe even Hobby Lobby. Check out their on-line stores. I know Hobby Lobby sells pin vises and jewelers files. Every major retailer I've ordered from on-line offers in store pick up, or direct shipment. And, as another poster pointed out, a lot of them have stores on Amazon. And if you have a hardware store near you, check them out. I'd say the majority of my supplies over the years have come from the humble little hardware store.

If the new pin vice is anywhere as good as the last one they did id get it. I have three pin vice one from antics squeaky and undoes its self, one from unknown source it only has one vice head which is bad the GW one is by far the best. I also think there new and old snips are good again ive used lots and they prove a clean cut and have the strength to chomp if needed. Reject tools from GW are imo the knife, files n mould line remover.

The new files are excellent. The box doesn't show it, but they are diamond files that are fine and ultrafine, which are perfect for plastic/resin. In my opinion, the shape (flat on one side, rounded on the other and tapering to a point) is the most useful of the various varieties. The price is also not bad, as high quality diamond files are usually a bit pricey anyhow, and generic set diamond files are usually too large and/or too coarse for plastics or resin miniatures.

The mold line remover is also excellent. It is a bit better weighted than the old one, and is exceptional for removing certain mold lines cleanly, like those on space marine boots. It has a rounded curve on one side, which is something that the back of a No 11 xacto doesn't.

The sculpting tools are pretty meh. They are not bad but a bit pricey, with the only thing special being that the spreader tool is nylon, allowing you to put certain adhesives on bases without bonding. However, I prefer my metal one, as it feels more durable, and it isn't a problem to clean anyhow.

The pin vice is a good quality, but every hand drill does the same thing. You won't get straighter lines or anything...

The knife is a total waste of money. It is a boxcutter style knife, which I find inferior on many levels. Most importantly, I change a No 11 blade after every use (they are cheap by the hundred).

Hope that helps!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
By the way, for any that aren't familiar with them, diamond files are different beasts from standard files. Regular files have "teeth" -- striations that are diagonal or perpendicular to the file. Diamond files are actually not really files; they are like sandpaper, or emery boards.

Diamond files are exceptional useful for making a mirrorloke finish on metal, and they can be used in any direction (whereas standard files must be used against the direction of the teeth.

However, a regular file has deeper valleys between the teeth, so you can file down material more efficiently. Plus, they are easier to clean and don't have to be cleaned as frequently. Finally, cleaning green stuff from diamond files is a royal pain in the rear.

Bottom line -- it is worthwhile to have both types, plus a set of miniature (2mm) files. I would also recommend the P3 set for standard files. You get the 3 most useful shapes (half round, round, triangle) and they are a reasonable price. However, they are quite coarse, and are not suitable to finish plastic, and should not be used on resin.

Most of 'em might be worth it if the GW shop is convenient and you'd get killed on shipping from anywhere else, but personally I'm sceptical about how many GW shops are that convenient. With the caveat that for me, the GW mould line cleaner was about the same cost as other brand seam scrapers + shipping. Ditto the guys who said that was a good buy, and the files.

 Desubot wrote:

I hear the metal GS tools arent tooo bad

Nah. They have big chunky edges like the last ones. Alright for spreading putty, but any kind of marking, detailing, and cutting putty will be pretty difficult.

 Demigod wrote:
The Mouldline Scraper: I love this tool, I use it all the time and it works great. No chatter and fits in the hand very nicely. Wouldn't change a thing on this one.

I really want to buy one of these but just can't bring myself to do it.

You want an easy mold line scrapper? Take the blade of your hobby knife and keep it parallel to the mold line and just scrap on the line, it vanishes you never waste time fiddling with extra tools and for $3 you can get a pack of 10 replacement blades at your local hobby center in the odd case razor sharp turns into sharp. In two years I have chucked 3 hobby blades.

 BunkerBob wrote:
You want an easy mold line scrapper? Take the blade of your hobby knife and keep it parallel to the mold line and just scrap on the line, it vanishes you never waste time fiddling with extra tools and for $3 you can get a pack of 10 replacement blades at your local hobby center in the odd case razor sharp turns into sharp. In two years I have chucked 3 hobby blades.

I thought so too, until a friend convinced me to buy one. Now that I own one, I rarely use the back of a knife anymore.

Where there is a mold line on a large, curved surface without fine details, such as an armor plated leg or arm (there are tons of these on space marines), the mold line remover can give you a superior cleanup job in much less time. It's (much) stiffer than a hobby knife blade, so it won't flex, which gives a much more consistent cut. It rarely leaves nicks in plastic. Plus, the end that's near you is curved, so you can scrape a curved surface with a curved surface instead of flat surface; that means more of the scraping tool will contact with your surface, giving you a blended, curved cut rather than a flat cut against a curved surface. The tip is also rounded, so you can use that end in slightly cramped spaces.

Where it's the wrong tool is if the mold line is in a very confined space (such as between two raised surfaces, in a valley, right down the middle of plasma gun, or down the spine of a critter like a genestealer. In this case, it's totally useless. But, so is the back of a hobby knife. Here, I usually have to use the blade of a hobby knife (and not always a No. 11) and various files to meticulously clean out little bits a millimeter at a time, then clean that up at least well enough so that when primed, it's indistinguishable from the material around it. Then again, I hate fixing those miniatures, so I generally tend to shy away from buying them

Most Games Workshop stuff is good quality, though some of it is not. The thing is you can get everything elsewhere cheaper and as good if not better.

The only reason to buy GW is if it is convenient. There are also useful tools that GW don't offer, such as saws.

@OP I would look for an online source, or maybe two separate sources, who can send you everything in one or two parcels to minimise postage cost.

£90 is a lot of money for the GW bundle. It would be surprising if you could not spend the money more effectively elsewhere.

What Talys said. Exalted.

Here are some alternatives that I found:

http://jayadan.com/blog/2014/4/29/thoughts-on-the-new-citadel-tool-range

 Dullspork wrote:
Here are some alternatives that I found:

http://jayadan.com/blog/2014/4/29/thoughts-on-the-new-citadel-tool-range

I'm somewhat surprised the guy missed the #11 X-Acto retractable knife. The only complaint I have about it is that it is mostly plastic and the chuck can twist.

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and also express my love for the GW pin-vise. Its a really good tool and the other brands I've had are nowhere near as good. The others are all decent quality but IMHO but can be found better/cheaper elsewhere.