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Greetings dakka, I'm curious to know what everyone's most valued tool or tools they use for modeling. I feel like a compiled list of tools and their uses could really help newcomers to the hobby and this forum. I'll start. My choices are a set of small drill bits, a saw frame and jeweler's blades and needle files.
The drill bits are essential for pinning and drilling out barrels.
The saw frame and blades have come in handy more ways than I could list but for completeness sake it has helped cut off the thick sprue on the resin Spartan Games models as well as some of the more finicky metal GW parts. It also makes converting a dream.
The needle files are a must have, any mold lines on metal models melt away and they work great on resin, plastic and wax as long as you keep them clean.

What are yours?

Basic stuff needed for new hobbyists:
Hobby Knife
Needle Files
Clippers

Slight more advanced stuff for people doing conversions etc.
Fine Saw
Pin Vice w/ drill bits

Gosh, my list of valued tools is long. I made a bunch of tools specific for sculpting using different shaped GW bits like spikes, round surfaces, blades for sculpting fleshy musculature. You just have to keep them wet so they don't stick to the green stuff and clean them after use. The best kit I've found for such pieces is the Chaos Spawn. I'd post some pics, but only my camera phone works atm and it can't show good enough detail.

I am going to be buying some colour shapers for smoothing out and working with Green Stuff, but in the mean time I cut an unused pencil top eraser from a mechanical pencil and sliced one side off to get a flat surface. It works pretty well for smoothing out green stuff. Again, gotta keep it wet. All of these bits and bobs I've used I mounted on old brushes with the bristles cut off and secured first with glue then some apoxie sculpt to make sure they don't fall off.

Another tool not mentioned yet that I highly value is a simple fingernail clipper. I use it most when working on metal models to remove flash before filing. I still use it to clip plastic nibs here and there. Generally I clip bits off the sprue leaving a bit of the plastic nub so I don't damage the plastic piece. This leaves a bit to be removed still. Sure, you could use a hobby knife, but there is risk of cutting fingers on delicate pieces. This is where I use the fingernail clippers. Does a great job!

As well as a hobby knife, I use a mold line scraper on longer, flatter surfaces that need mold line removal. I often use both tools on the same project depending on where the mold line is. You can find a scraper that is made like a dental tool that works well enough, but the one GW makes is also fantastic. Just doesn't work well in small areas - but the hobby knife does!

Files are a no brainer, but specifically small jewelers files are fantastic.

As well as a file, I also use emery board in three different grades. It depends on the type of model I'm working on if I use these or not. If it's something I plan on painting to a high standard I use all three. I don't know if GW sells them anymore, but not long ago they had a set of 3 that are great for working on fine cast and plastic minis. Really helps smooth areas like flesh where a mold line was to ensure there is no seam when painted.

Drill bits and some sort of pinning rod. Depending on the project I either use bare metal paper clips (for plastic minis) which usually have two thicknesses, or I use Brass Rod (for things like metal Warmachine Warjacks).

I also find my dremel to be one of the best purchases I ever made for hobby projects. I don't usually use it on miniatures as it's easy, even on a low setting, for the tool to skip out of place and ruin a mini or a finger. But for scratch building and converting terrain, there is no better tool.

Needle nose pliers.
Clippers (ones good for cutting steel wire, not just plastic.)
Razor saw or jeweller's saw.
Needle files OR emery fingernail boards.
Hobby knife. Both the normal x-acto #1 handle/#11 blade type and scalpel sort AND a snap-off blade box cutter or similar.

Pin vice and bits (1mm or less).
Wire/rod for pinning.
Putties (I have apoxie as well as GS and milliput and Squadron. Different ones for different jobs).
Glues - plastic, epoxy and superglues (different glues, different jobs).

That's what's in my toolbox.
in addition to a dremel (which is overkill on plastic or finecast).

Hobby sized needlenose pliers
locking pliers
pin vice
Xacto knife kit
more Loctite than I can shake a stick at
flush cutters
mechanics wire (great for pinning, and cheap)
Dremel
Hobby file kit
mini-clamps
alligator clips (standard size)
Badger 105 Patriot

I'll save you some trouble, and post a link to this awesome article from awhile back.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/The_Toolbox%21

A mould line removal tool is worth its weight in gold.

I re-purposed the plastic clam shell my first Legion of the Damned squad came in for my go-wherever modeling kit. In it I have a fairly complete (though not exhaustive) set of tools:

Medium handled hobby knife
Spring loaded forceps
Double sided large bore pin vice
Swivel small bore pin vice
Citadel cutters
2 Emory boards
Pack of pinning brass
second pack of used brass for priming small items
Large paperclips (for heavy pinning)
4 Jewelers files - various shapes
3 Drill bits (larger than either pin vice accommodates)
A bottle each of Super Glue and Liquid Plastic Glue
a Space Marine mini for scale

600 grit sandpaper

Anatomical Dissection Kit

About $25-40US depending on how extensive you want to get.

Mine is similar to this (minus curved probe and wide probe replaced with large forceps and curved forceps):


I got it at medical school for dissecting bodies and after getting it sterilised I have been using it (with the addition of a brush to apply PVA) to do all greenstuffing and basing work on my models.

Pretty much my 1mm drill bits (for use with pin vice drill or power drill) are the only other equipment I use.

My 2 lights.

First is a desktop halogen, high output with the bonus of putting out some heat, which speeds my drying times so I don't have to stop between coats/colors.

Second is a 24" flourescent above and infront of my painting area. kills shadows and with the 6500K daylights bulbs I use, produces a clean light that acts like sunshine. helps me know how true my colors are and where highlights need to be.

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Anatomical Dissection Kit

Nice! I still have mine around here somewhere, though I've accumulated a lot of other tools for modelling.

On that note, it's difficult to say what I think is a must-have and what's merely convenient. But at a bare minimum I'd say...

At least one good, basic hobby knife.

A second knife, with small blades along the lines of Excel's #6 stencil blades. Probably not generally indispensable, but they are to me, for modelling and sculpting. Heck, I use at least three different types of blade.

At least one good sculpting tool. Good dental one.

A decent set of clippers.

A set of needle files.

Needle-nose tweezers.

Pin vice and an assortment of drill bits.

 Vermis wrote:

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Anatomical Dissection Kit

Nice! I still have mine around here somewhere, though I've accumulated a lot of other tools for modelling.

On that note, it's difficult to say what I think is a must-have and what's merely convenient. But at a bare minimum I'd say...

At least one good, basic hobby knife.

A second knife, with small blades along the lines of Excel's #6 stencil blades. Probably not generally indispensable, but they are to me, for modelling and sculpting. Heck, I use at least three different types of blade.

I found the #16 http://shop.excelblades.com/p/16-stencil-blade-1000-pcs works the best for overall cutting and trimming, and they're strong enough to handle heavier work (like head removals )

As for the tools every modeler needs, I think a basic hobby/craft knife set is necessary, I used my dads pocket knife to trim the flash on my first ever model, it didn't go so well...

This is the one I use now and it has served me from my second model onwards. http://shop.excelblades.com/p/hobby-knife-set-wooden-box-1

Thera are WAY to few pictures in this thread... :(

 granander wrote:
Thera are WAY to few pictures in this thread... :(

Happy?

One thing I have on my bench I don’t think was mentioned is some poster tack. Useful for testing poses before glueing.

mad_eddy_13 wrote:I found the #16 http://shop.excelblades.com/p/16-stencil-blade-1000-pcs works the best for overall cutting and trimming, and they're strong enough to handle heavier work (like head removals )
This is the one I use now and it has served me from my second model onwards. http://shop.excelblades.com/p/hobby-knife-set-wooden-box-1

I have one or two of those blades from a similar - but cheapo off-brand - set, but I'm still too fond of the #11s and tiny stencil blades. Dif'rent strokes.

granander wrote:Thera are WAY to few pictures in this thread... :(

This is an older pic, and specifically sculpting tools rather than general modelling, but for starters...



Left to right:

A GW sculpting tool from two generations back. My first sculpting tool, abandoned for ages 'cos it was crap, then taken out and attacked with diamond files and fine sandpaper 'til it had more useful shapes and actual edges. I have other wax carvers, but this one's been my main sculpting tool again for ages.

Three knives. First one, with it's aforementioned fine blade, was from an Impex set I had long before I discovered wargaming. Second is from the cheapo set I mentioned (that big split down the collett happened on it's first tightening), but I kept it 'cos it still worked well enough and the dulled blade was useful. I've thrown it out since, in favour of the replacement, the shiny new Excel knife sitting to the right.

A smaller handle from the cheapo set that holds what I can only describe as a metal spike.

A paper embosser tool. Basically a tiny ball on a stalk. Useful for pushing and widening round holes and cavities in putty. Prompted me to buy the one with interchangeable heads: one needle head and three different ball heads.

Wooden tools. One bamboo skewer modified according to an article on the Reaper site, and a rivet tool made from a bit of dowel and some very narrow brass tube.

A whack of clay shapers. I use two the most, the double-ended taper and the size 0 round cup, and sometimes the size 2 round cup.

An old paintbrush for dusting lint and flakes off sculpts and models.

Two pairs of tweezers: the straight are stronger and useful for general objects and bending armature wire. The curved-nose are useful for very small and fine objects.

I could empty out all my other tools onto the cutting mat and take a new pic, but it might be four times the size of this one, and this one maybe already goes against the spirit of the OP.

Essentials:

Sharp Xacto Knife

Pin Vise

GOOD clippers

Krazy Glue with brush. After experimenting with many, many glues it's this I'd choose if I could have only one.

5.5 inch Needle Nose Pliers. My wife used to use them for piercing purposes, they work awesome for glueing small bits in awkward places

Great Tools:
Dremel
Xacto Hobby Saw and metal Mitre box
Plastic Glue, how I love thee!
Paint Pushers (sculpting)
Dental Tools (sculpting)
Airbrush
I have so many tools it's crazy.

 Nevelon wrote:

Happy?

Yepp!