Miniatures starting kit

 I had a friend start in the hobby miniatures painting and I put together a basic list of simple items that they should think about having in addition to paints and brushes.  Some seem quite obvious, and some less so.  I share it here with you.

Good brush set - you don't really need a lot of brushes.  You can get by with three good brushes - a 1, a 000, and another brush for dry brushing.

Good paints - find a few that you like.

Liquid model glue - for styrene figures and models.  I use Plastruct but Tamiya is also nice.

CA glue - for metal and resin figures and moddels.  I used to buy Zap-a=gap but it always dried up before I could finish half a bottle.  I'm currently using Gorilla Super Glue in regular and gel.

PVA glue - for basing.  Most brands are fine. 

 

  

Emery boards – for sanding.  You can get a bunch in a pack at the dollar store.

 

Cheap brushes – for glue or terrain.  You can pick up a pack at the dollar store.  

 

Cheap paint – for terrain or bases.  The Apple Barrel or Americana type paints at Walmart, or dollar store.  At least a black, brown, and two tones for you bases.

 

Ziplocks bags – different sizes.  

 

Reaper (or similar) dropper bottles with a medium mix - for thinning paint.

 

A few slick mats for gluing on.  Like the kind stickers come on.

 

A few thick newspaper – for a drop cover to protect you r table from spills or splatters.

Plastic gloves - useful when priming.

Chip board sheets - like the back of a legal pad, or a cereal box.  Useful for crafting terrain or bits.

 

Paper towels or facial tissue - to remove paint from brush when drybrushing, and to clean up spills.

 

Possibly also get the following:

A craft knife and cutting board

Toolkit - or pencil/shoe box.  For holding your tools.  A container or spot for your paints is also handy.

Small holders for tokens/bits - the dollar store has many different types.

 

Also needs:

more brushes - larger, smaller, extras.

Small wire cutters - for cutting models, sprue, and wire for bits and pinning.

Side/flush cutters – for cutting sprue.

Dedicated water holder - for cleaning brushes.  Distinct enough to avoid drinking accidentally.

Tweezers - I don't really use them but some people really find the useful.

Clips/clothespins - for holding some pieces while the glue dries.

Toothpicks - for applying paint, glue, and for crafts in terrain.

 

Optional:

Wood rods/skewers

Silicon popit – for mixing paints

Bandages - have handy for when you cut yourself

Stir sticks, craft sticks (popsicle), wide craft sticks (tongue depressors)

Dollarama jewelry chains

Christmas hooks (instead of paperclips) - much easier to cut for use in pinning pieces together, or to replace hoses for the figures or terrain.

 

Later:

Figure holder – or blutac and cork or bottle to hold figure while painting.

Helping hands device - to hold pieces when gluing.

files - a flat, round, and half round.

Sharpener for craft knife - to extend the use of your blades.

Spare blades

Used blade holder

brush cleaner

Flashlight – for finding pieces that fall on the floor.

Nail polish remover – for fingers that get stuck by CA glue.

Cork sheets - for terrain.

Clip boards/hardboard - for bases for the terrain.

Foam core

Work tray? - to be able to move your setup easier if you don't have a dedicated spot to work.

Notebook – for marking down your paint mixes to match later.

This is only a start.  You may find other essentials as you work.  Good lighting is always helpful.