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I need to buy some tools etc to start painting mini's. I was wondering if buying the purpose made files were necessary? Also how many paint brushes (and of what type) would you suggest? I am going to order online and so would rather get everything I am going to need (for the next little while) all at once. Are there any brands to avoid/get?

A lot depends on what your budget is. Also, what do you already have in the way of tools, supplies, and paints?
As far as brands to avoid, well, Games Workshop mostly because of their prices.

Files are very important. If there is a hobby shop around, you can get them cheaper, but don't order random files from Amazon because they'll be too large/rough. At a minimum, you want one (standard) half-round file, like the one PP makes, and one fine diamond file, like the GW gold-handled one.

For your first brushes, the Citadel paintbrushes are nothing special, but they are readily available, natural hair (sable) brushes. I would buy standard, detail, and fine detail, at least.

I would get a flat brush for base coat (any brand), and and Citadel small and medium drybrushes. You can use any medium size round brush for washes.

I personally really like Windsor & Newton's brush cleaner. You should get SOME brush cleaner, as it will dramatically extend the life of your brushes. A wet palette is very useful too; make your own, or PP makes a cheap one.

 Talys wrote:
Files are very important. If there is a hobby shop around, you can get them cheaper, but don't order random files from Amazon because they'll be too large/rough. At a minimum, you want one (standard) half-round file, like the one PP makes, and one fine diamond file, like the GW gold-handled one.

For your first brushes, the Citadel paintbrushes are nothing special, but they are readily available, natural hair (sable) brushes. I would buy standard, detail, and fine detail, at least.

I would get a flat brush for base coat (any brand), and and Citadel small and medium drybrushes. You can use any medium size round brush for washes.

I personally really like Windsor & Newton's brush cleaner. You should get SOME brush cleaner, as it will dramatically extend the life of your brushes. A wet palette is very useful too; make your own, or PP makes a cheap one.

Funny you should mention files being important. I almost never use mine. I have a set and honestly I couldn't tell you where in my house they are because I haven't used them for so many years I find I can get 95% of stuff smooth enough that you won't be able to tell under a layer of paint just by using the back of my hobby knife to scrape things smooth. On the off chance I can't, I use a bit of fine sand paper, but that's rare. Light scrapes at multiple angles usually works great.

If you're having trouble sourcing brush soap, a bar of unscented hand soap works. I use on of the cheapest brands of hand soap, rinse my brush in water then carefully swirl it over the soap, gently rub it in to the bristles then wash it off (all the while being careful not to kink or deform the bristles). Not letting paint get up around the ferrule and washing it off immediately if it does will massively increase the life of your brush, for the first few years I was painting I wondered why none of my brushes lasted terribly long even though I washed frequently and that was the primary reason.

To start out with I'd probably just buy a good knife (I like Testors knives where the blade is set permanently in to the handle, having a stiff blade makes things a lot easier), a set of paint brushes (a number 1 or 2 with a good tip I find to be the most useful, you'll be able to do almost all fine detail work with it as long as it has a good tip), a decent spray primer, some glue (super glue and Testors or Revell plastic cement gets me by) some paints and some clippers (clippers makes removing parts from sprues easier, though it's not necessary, you can just use a knife, in fact you get a cleaner cut with a good knife, the number of times I've slipped with a knife and gouged another part on the sprue makes the clippers worth while).

I'd probably also grab something to fill gaps, though what you grab depends on the models you are doing.

Since you're in Australia, I can recommend this brush, it's by a company called "Creative Models", it may not be the most epically awesome brush, but it's damned good and if you take care of it, it will maintain a good sharp tips for a long time.

http://thecombatcompany.com/hobby/paint-brushes-and-accessories/kolinsky-sable/kolinsky-sable-triangular-brush-size-2/

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Funny you should mention files being important. I almost never use mine. I have a set and honestly I couldn't tell you where in my house they are because I haven't used them for so many years I find I can get 95% of stuff smooth enough that you won't be able to tell under a layer of paint just by using the back of my hobby knife to scrape things smooth. On the off chance I can't, I use a bit of fine sand paper, but that's rare. Light scrapes at multiple angles usually works great.

Oh, sandpaper works really well. I have some sanding blocks and very fine sandpaper (like 600-1000 grit) that I love, but they don't really last that long. I like files because I can clean them out, and they're "like new" ... for a hundred models or so, anyhow

I'm either not good enough with the blade/back of a knife or too anal to get the job done with one. It's not really the flash (that's easy) -- it's the injection points where you cut the model from the sprue. I want that surface to be indistinguishable (rather than scarred), and if it's a fat connector, I can never do it.

I guess I forgot to mention clippers too I would get a crappy pair for metal, and for separating a model from the sprue, and a nice, sharp pair, since thin injection points can be cleanly cut off.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

I'd probably also grab something to fill gaps, though what you grab depends on the models you are doing.

I forgot that one. My new filler of choice is Liquitex Modelling Paste. Someone once asked what a substitute for liquid green stuff was, and I have no idea why I didn't think of it (since I use this stuff all the time). Just like liquid green stuff, it is water based, and is 1 part (not an epoxy) making it easy to use. It can be filed, and when totally dry is water resistant. Like LGS, though, it shrinks, so you have to put it on heavy, let it totally dry, and then file.

Milliput and Greenstuff are the two I have in my toolbox for more serious gap fillage, but I never need it for plastic GW models. More so for larger metal models (like attaching dragon wings to a dragon, and filling large gaps) and for sculpting bits.

I think it was Sean who put me onto Xuron clippers.

Holy baby jeebus those things are amazing

OP, speak to underground wargaming and the combat company (and check their websites). They are both run by really great guys who will point you in the right direction, and generally have everything you will need.

What are the Army Painter or Creative Models like (relative to GW)?

kb_lock wrote:
I think it was Sean who put me onto Xuron clippers.

Holy baby jeebus those things are amazing

OP, speak to underground wargaming and the combat company (and check their websites). They are both run by really great guys who will point you in the right direction, and generally have everything you will need.

I have a pair of those! Flush cut diagonal cutters -- although I originally had them for electronics, lol, and repurposed them to hobby

They are pretty good (much better than the cheapos); however, the GW ones are actually better cutters, IMO. Good cutters make such a difference -- anyone who's never tried a pair of quality cutters should take a sprue down to a GW store and try out their (very expensive) cutters. It's amazing how much cleaner the cut is.

The other pair that I have that's really nice is a German cutter raided from my wife's manicure tools. They are super duper sharp, but they have two drawbacks -- first, they're not very large (much smaller than GW ones), which is awkward for larger pieces. Second, they are stupidly expensive... I think something like $60, and I had to buy my wife a new pair >.< because you know, once you cut plastic, you can't use them on cuticles anymore. Right? This is also where I stole my best pair of tweezers. She had (past tense!) a pair for plucking eyebrows that had the perfect point. Didn't have to replace those, bwahahaha.

 Talys wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Funny you should mention files being important. I almost never use mine. I have a set and honestly I couldn't tell you where in my house they are because I haven't used them for so many years I find I can get 95% of stuff smooth enough that you won't be able to tell under a layer of paint just by using the back of my hobby knife to scrape things smooth. On the off chance I can't, I use a bit of fine sand paper, but that's rare. Light scrapes at multiple angles usually works great.

Oh, sandpaper works really well. I have some sanding blocks and very fine sandpaper (like 600-1000 grit) that I love, but they don't really last that long. I like files because I can clean them out, and they're "like new" ... for a hundred models or so, anyhow

I'm either not good enough with the blade/back of a knife or too anal to get the job done with one. It's not really the flash (that's easy) -- it's the injection points where you cut the model from the sprue. I want that surface to be indistinguishable (rather than scarred), and if it's a fat connector, I can never do it.

Usually I get away with trimming the sprue attachment off with the sharp side of the knife until it's almost flat and then using the back of the knife to scrap it until it's nice and smooth. The trick is to use a nice stiff knife blade and do lots of little scrapes rather than trying to do it heavy handed.

But if there's a sprue attachment point on a really smooth surface often I just have to trim it away and fill the inevitable dip or divot that forms when removing the bit from the sprue using squadron putty and then sand it smooth. This is just par for the course when doing finescale model aircraft or tanks if you want the surface perfectly smooth.

 Talys wrote:
I forgot that one. My new filler of choice is Liquitex Modelling Paste. Someone once asked what a substitute for liquid green stuff was, and I have no idea why I didn't think of it (since I use this stuff all the time). Just like liquid green stuff, it is water based, and is 1 part (not an epoxy) making it easy to use. It can be filed, and when totally dry is water resistant. Like LGS, though, it shrinks, so you have to put it on heavy, let it totally dry, and then file.

Milliput and Greenstuff are the two I have in my toolbox for more serious gap fillage, but I never need it for plastic GW models. More so for larger metal models (like attaching dragon wings to a dragon, and filling large gaps) and for sculpting bits.

If someone asked me what a substitute forfor liquid greenstuff would be, my response would be "why the hell are you using liquid greenstuff in the first place?" I hate that stuff, filler that shrinks makes zero sense to me.

Most of my filling I do with Squadron putty or greenstuff. Squadron putty if I want to sand/shave it smooth, greenstuff if I don't want to sand/shave it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

hasdrubalsbrother wrote:
What are the Army Painter or Creative Models like (relative to GW)?

I will be honest I haven't bought a GW brush in about 15 years The Creative Models brushes are better than the ones I used back in the day, but maybe G-dubs has upgraded their brushes since then, I have no idea. For their price the Creative ones are really good, $9AUD and I've been using my current one for ages and it still has a really good tip to it (I always clean it with soap and make sure to not let paint get up around the ferrule, I have some larger cheaper brushes for rough tasks that I don't want hurting my good brushes).

 Talys wrote:
They are pretty good (much better than the cheapos); however, the GW ones are actually better cutters, IMO

I got these; http://xuron.com/index.php/main/consumer_products/3/14

I haven't actually tried the GW ones, but I would fall off my chair if they do any tool better than anyone tbh

Here is a slightly outdated pic of the tools I use:


The most used one is the hobby knife, with spare blades. I use the files fairly often, but then I still work on metal from time to time. Plastic you can get by with just scrapping with the back of the knife, but files are good for other materials.

A pin vice is required if you want to magnetize (you should) or are going to drill your gun barrels. Also if you need to pin larger model’s joints.

Glue and green stuff are needed for assembly.

kb_lock wrote:

 Talys wrote:
They are pretty good (much better than the cheapos); however, the GW ones are actually better cutters, IMO

I got these; http://xuron.com/index.php/main/consumer_products/3/14

I haven't actually tried the GW ones, but I would fall off my chair if they do any tool better than anyone tbh

The next time you wander by a GW store, go inside and look at the cutters, and at the diamond files. The cutters are really nice. The diamond files are very useful to use on plastic, and the only files that I have with a similar grit are Tamiya ones.

I have a different set of Xuron cutters than you, but on your glowing recommendation, I just ordered a pair of 2175ET from Amazon at $18.31 USD I'll happily try them.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Most of my filling I do with Squadron putty or greenstuff. Squadron putty if I want to sand/shave it smooth, greenstuff if I don't want to sand/shave it.

Yeah, white squadron putty is nice too. the Liquid Greenstuff is really, really easy to apply (just brush it on). It's a great idea; the only problem is, it shrinks too much.

Liquid Greenstuff is deceptive, when I first opened it I loved it, by the end of the day I hated it You open it up and start applying it and think "wow this is awesome" then come back 20 minutes later and it's shrunk and your gap/hole/whatever is back so you have to apply it again and again and clean up the excess (which isn't as easy as squadron putty) and in the end it consumes more time than if you'd just mixed up a 2 part epoxy and filled it properly the first time.

I'm pretty sure LGS was released as a response to the tiny bubbles in finecast more than as a general gap filler. The airbubbles in finecast are small enough that the shrinkage isn't too much of a problem and also small enough that using regular greenstuff is annoying.