New Wargaming Hobby Items From Around the House
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2017
- There are many household items that you can use to make you a better wargaming hobbyist, and Uncle Atom wants to show you a few.
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TOOTHPICKS! I keep a box of 500 toothpicks (which is like $2 at Walmart) on my table. The 3 main things I use them for, apart from getting food out of my teeth, are:
1. Mixing paints
B. They are great if you want to put superglue (gel works better) in a very small exact spot. Pour some glue in an old bottle cap then dip the toothpick in the glue to give you a really nice small bit of glue on a nice pointy, hard applicator to put the glue exactly where you want.
III. painting small details. Space marine eyes are a great example, whittle/sharpen a toothpick into a flat fine point, lightly dip into paint, poke the space marine in the eye and you're done. Much easier I've found than a brush sometimes.
Jason K the toothpicks I buy in the UK come in a hex shaped container with a 25mm indent at one end to put a base in and you get a nice statue on a pillar got myself some mono pose 2nd edition marines to make an avenue of them
1
B
III
Go to the dollar store, you'll save 50% on the 500 toothpicks.
I have done this stuff since I was seven. How my brother hated stepping on my toothpicks secretly secured in our shag carpeting
It seems that your most valuable item is "infinite amount of storage room"
That's something I definitely lack. That's one thing I'd ask for if I found a genie.
False nails - those ones that my daughters like to use - make great looking shields, suitably painted and glued to outside of vehicles, over the entrances of buildings, or to pimp up models bases.
Colin MacMillan Genius!
Excellent idea
I'm going to have to try that, as well as seeing how well they work as roofing tiles also.
They make excellent teeth for Halloween masks too...
They also make for great "dragon scales", for tiling wargaming houses. Only, they need to be a "found item", in bulk, as fake nails, or acrylic nails, are expensive, at least when you need 300 for a roof. Might wanna try small plastic teaspoons first.
Instead of $15 for fishing containers, go to the jewelry making department at Hobby Lobby, they have nearly identical containers for $2.
Or get the pink on sale containers. Not many fishers are googly eyed 'bout pink.
This guy's voice is like butter
Autotune will do that...
@@raywhichway1790 You apparently have no idea what autotune is...
Vorvadoss the way he talks kinda reminds me of Mike Rowe from dirty jobs.
David Tenant is alright but we all know UNCLE ATOM should be narrating the new Warhammer kid's books. After all... what are uncles for??? A voice like butter indeed!!! (I'm assuming that's a compliment)
Unsalted sweet cream, specifically
I use Crown Royal bags for my dice. Free bottle of whiskey with dice bag purchase
ditto … :)
I had one of those as a kid, for a marble bag......
Pass the bottle around while you game, carry the dice home in the bag
At some bars where they sell crown royal, they sometimes have a large quantity of crown royal bags that they don't use after serving it. I got mine for free that way, and maybe if you have friends who also do this stuff you can get a couple for them too.
fun thing about being a watchmaker is having really high level tools to make small thiungs with
"Things you probbably already have" *pulls out food dehydrator* sure buddy ;)
If you're on a budget or simply don't have easy access to some of the things suggested in this video. Here are other solutions for storing minis and bits:
- Small resealable plastic bags. They also take up less space than for example tupperware. You'll get the for example when buying electronics or even if you buy a new shirt or trousers, cause that's where the replacements buttons are kept.
- Empty matchboxes
- Empty ice cream containers
If you want to, you can mark everything with sharpies or if you want to reuse them for different stuff buy a few franking labels and use these.
A very unconventional idea for acquiring basing materials:
If an electronic breaks on you and the warranty has expired, take a screwdriver and disassemble it as much as possible. Inside you'll find lots of interesting shapes. Afterwards take all the big stuff like the casing and use a side cutter to clip and rip the it apart. Again, you'll get lots of different, interesting shapes you can use as ruble.
I use bottles of artificial tears for my eyes because they get dry. When the bottle is empty it can be reused for flow aid or something. Just make sure you relabel it so you dont squirt flow aid into your eye...
It would help the eye lids flow over the eye tho?
Blu Tack. This thing is useful in so many ways. Got a siphon feed airbrush and want to seal them paint bottles that still have paint in them but they don't have any sort of cap? Blu Tack. Want to attach a mini to a cork for a savvy temporary painting handle? Blu Tack. Want to try a pose for a complicated kit before gluing it all? Blu Tack. Want to make some fancy camo on a vehicle using an airbrush but don't know how to mark out and mask complex shapes to get nice patterns? Blu Tack. Want to scrub some color here and there for a nifty weathering effect? Blu Tack. Want your overall hobbying experience to be a blissful journey of untarnished enjoyment? Blu Tack.
empty prescription bottles work well for folks who don't have corks to use as a painting handle. Also those little stands you sometimes get in pizza boxes work great for drying stands with a little blu tack.
I just can´t get it in my country, I ask y hobbys stores and all say the same, use superglue to a thingy and there you go, but they can literally break all. (sorry my bad english, second language)
@@bernapatinola It's called poster putty in other places. If all else fails, order some online.
@@joshuaclark3406 ty so much have a great weekend
Earl Grey Tea...use as woodland debris on bases.
Does this rot over time, or I suppose not since it'd be dried? Do you seal it with a spray or anything?
I haven't had any rot. Been about 2 years?
I'm sure the Brits are going crazy over this post!
Do your miniatures smell like tea? (Was thinking instant coffee granules would also work)
What a waste of tea! Heresy!
I steal my wife's nail polish crackle effects for lava. throw down some orange/yellow a layer of varnish for protection and then apply the effect and boom! instant random cracked lava. Great for all kinds of details, lava swords/skin/spit. I used it on my blood letter swords and chaos ogres.
Daniel Chalmers i
Off the top of my head:
• prescription medicine bottles with locking lids, with some blu-tac, use them as paint handles
• spice bottles, plastics jars
• said before but bears repeating: toothbrushes, never through those away, wash them and store them for hobby uses
• thick cardboard pieces, what ever size, useful for a disposable work surface
• old t-shirts, cut them up into paint rags
LOL Sorry, just have to comment... Why in the world would you need to wash a toothbrush when it got old? You've been putting it into your mouth twice a day for months. It had better already be clean! LOL
Cork sanding block from the DIY store. £1 each. Cut it up for cork stones for bases. Based an entire army with one and used about £0.25 worth.
IKEA candle accessories called "kulört". It makes excellent rocks and pebbles for terrain.
I use them too
I have one! Empty sauce squeeze dispenser for water, thinner and pva glue :) And thimbles are great mixing pot for small amount of paint!
Black Beard Projects I use the sauce thimbles from macdonnalds.
For stripping paint off small numbers of models, I recommend using salsa jars: they're short and have a wide brim, so you can get your hand in to remove models easily and you won't need to use as much Dettol (or similar) when soaking. They don't tip over as easily as taller glass jars and the resealable lid keeps the fumes contained.
Also, you get to eat salsa / queso! Who doesn't like that?!
I use salsa jars for paint water also
Aquarium supplies. A great cheap source of terrain pieces and basing materials.
gchampi2
Even better especially when you keep fish as pets lol
UNDERWATER BATTLES
Or, in broader terms, terrarium pieces for reptiles, nice hollow logs and shallow pond pieces could make for good terrain too.
YES SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS
The poundland stores in the UK are awesome for cheap solutions. Not only can you get super glue, hobby knives, sponges (for terrain rocks), floor brushes (for terrain trees), clear resin (for water based terrain) and other tools, but you also get the segmented containers that Uncle Adam got from the tackle shop. They are deep enough for me to keep my Bolt Action miniatures in. 4 minis per segment and a piece of sponge to keep them from banging into each other too much in transit to the club.
also raid the electronic tool supply stores
At Dollar Tree I found acrylic plastic compartmented holders, intended for lipsticks and nail polish, that are just right for Vallejo sized paints or craft paint bottles.
It is almost insane what we can find for this stuff at DT, lol. From those racks to brushes for weathering powders/pigments, to small organizer totes, the list is almost endless. The floral section is also great for basing materials, and they even have bags of glass marbles, to use in larger paint bottles as agitators (such as Folk Art, for those of us who use them). Heck, they even sell Mod Podge there!
I've not seen clear resin in poundland, maybe I'm looking in the wrong section?
@@sasserine It isn't always there, but it looks like a syringe. It is sold as a two part apoxy glue, but in actual fact cures clear and can be used for water. It takes a good while to cure. So much so that perhaps doing in layers might be faster.
the wife's/girlfriends/mom's card nail files; they are super cheap and even come in different grades!
Emery boards is their name, you can buy them in packs of about 50 for dirt cheap. Very useful.
At the beauty supply store, you can also get fingernail file sponges. Which are great for smoothing curved or irregular surfaces. They usually cost me a buck to a buck fifty, and come in a very fine/fine, fine/medium and medium/course flavours.
I have a larger/thicker two-sided one that has a foam core that I think lasts longer than the cardboard ones. It looks like this. www.amazon.com/Diane-Manicure-Cosmetics-Fingernail-polishing/dp/B004QWAWM4?th=1 It's around 8 inches long, an inch wide, and an eighth of an inch thick.
also the backside of the hobby knife takes off the mold lines also.
Daylight bulbs and a cheap desk lamp from local hardware store.
YES! Wow, I cant believe this is so far down the page. That is so important. I cant believe how much easier painting was with just a simple lamp.
It took me a while to think to do this, but it's literally a game changer!!! i highly recommend people get themselves a desk lamp and daylight bulbs.
I found a 400ft roll of coax cable (the stuff you use for your tv) for $5 at a thrift store. I strip out the copper and use it for pinning.
A process not for the faint of heart, lol, but well worth it in the end.
soooo … how many paper clips can you buy for five dollars? … 1250!
You could try melting it and making little nuggets and bars of copper. Or paint them and now it’s gold or silver. I was thinking of melting some old broken cables myself.
@@sweeety969 Copper has quite a high melting point, so if you by chance own a furnace go for it, otherwise you might be out of luck.
I have been binging your videos! You are like the "Bob Ross" of miniatures. Great content.
I don't have a fancy vibrating jewelry cleaner, so when stripping models I put them in Simple Green and leave them on the dryer for a couple of days. Half a dozen loads of laundry later and they're good to go. I also use an old electric toothbrush rather than a manual one (for models that arent delicate)
This is something I have been attempting to do through other means. Using the dryer is an amazing idea. Thanks for sharing!
That's good for getting bubbles out of silicon molds too a great substitute for a vacuum chamber.
So simple, yet brilliant
Check out Biostrip 20. It works in minutes without weekending material. It works with metal, plastic and resin. You can strip an entire army in a day with that stuff. It's also cheaper than simple green.
Castrol super clean, it works over night and is 100% biodegradable. doesnt effect plastics at all and most metals are fine. used it to strip the paint on my old sisters no problem
After Christmas, we picked up some Tupperware style ornament cases. Very cheap on clearance and they have moveable dividers so you can make whatever sized cell you want and they can be linked when stacking them. Great for army transpo.
I used a sandwich size Tupperware container to make my painting palette. I fold a paper towel into quarters and put it in the bottom with a piece of baking parchment on top. The paper stays wet for weeks at a time and is perfect for painting.
A wet palette is indispensable when painting minis. :-)
That's EXACTLY what I do.
I use a sponge mostly
Use a flat sponge.
I cannot for the life of me tell if this is satire in reference to his other video, or a crazy coincidence, haha.
I use an old toothbrush quite a lot, it's great for getting little bits of plastic you have sanded off your mini and if you wash your minis first it's a handy thing to have. I also stole/was given my girlfriend's eye brow tweezers and they are useful for alsorts of stuff! Great video as always mate!
Yep, eyebrow tweezers. Very cheap and literally identical to the ones GW sells.
Is it okay to do that with plastic minis? And even after they've been assembled with plastic glue?
Yeah it should be fine just use luke warm and not hot water and you'll be Ok!
Respect the last podcast on the left t-shirt, great podcast
i bought bamboo kitchen draw inserts normally used for forks and knives. turn them on their side and they make great paint shelves
For paint storage, I repurposed a cheap plastic three-tier lazy Susan that was originally used for makeup. It has six divisions per tier so I organize paints according to color family, metallics, washes, varnishes, etc. What I like about this setup is it eats up very little real estate on my table and easily portable when I need to move it all and use the space for something else.
Hey Atom! Just found your channel a couple days ago and had to subscribe because you answered almost every question I had (and a few I didn't) keep up the great work! Can't wait to see more videos while I paint my Horus heresy imperial fists
You can also get those "bitz boxes" at craft stores, used to organize floss for needlepoint or cross-stitch. Even cheaper than at a sporting goods store. I also use a pencil box to store tools like knives, files, etc.
one of my best yard sale finds is this little device, often called a photo holder clip, or card holder clip. Its just an alligator clip, on a positional spring/wire thing, with a weight at the other end. Its great for holding little bits while you paint them, or for holding bits in place on larger models while the glue dries.
On the tubs front, if you get butter or sandwich spreads etc in tubs, those are endlessly useful. I've washed loads up for later storage, including spare bits and tea leaves for flock.
And as always I love your channel Atom. Keep it up buddy!
Bamboo skewers. I use them to mix paint, sculpt green stuff, I've used them and poster tack ( or whatever you call it) to hold smaller fiddly bits for glueing and probably other stuff
Makeup sponges for simple gradients. Paint your colors in lines on the sponge then dab it on (works best for larger, flatter areas).
I use food court serving trays for my projects and paints. They are perfect for models and if you spill your wash it contains that too!
For a quick and extremely efficient paint shaker I use a jig saw and a tool speed clamp. You can either file the clamp into shape so that it fits into the jig saw. Or drill holes in the clamp and saw blade and connect them using nuts and bolts. There are several TH-cam videos on how to do this.
2 pieces of foam, 2 pieces of 24 gauge wire, and a cheap orbital sander from Wal-mart or other department store also makes an awesome paint shaker.
+Ome Briggs
Thanks for replying and adding another great cheap option. :-)
I use the tupaware "tubs" for 2 different things: 1. Storing my magnetised weapons, got a different one for each squad so i can keep all weapon options handy for them, 2. Water/Palette, i havent yet got round to starting to use wet palette but the tupaware boxes work well to store water for washing brushes, while the lid itself makes a good dry palette. At least that way they both stay together :)
The lure boxes are SO SMART because they are cheap and give us a consistent search term
Thank you, good sir!
Likked and sobscroobed!
For organization and long term storage of bits, I go straight to the bead section of the crafts stores. The fishing box type containers are something I use for what I'm working on, but I use tiny plastic baggies for deep storage of spare bits to save space.
My "nerding kit" paint carrying solution is actually a 1500 count plastic card storage box.
I use nail buffers and files more than the pin files I bought for models now a days. 400 grit sandpaper as well. Also from the nail care section, I use clear polish for water effects.
What you find in your Garden. Small stones, twigs, sand, moss all for free. My Bretonnian Green Knight stands on a small piece of wood that looks like an old Log.
I am also currently thinking of starting a Sylvaneth Army in an Autumn/Ruins theme for the Bases, so small rectangular stones are important. For that, Stuff that Modeltrain people use is perfect, they got loads of great stuff on Amazon.
I'm also thinking of a Skink-Skirmish Warband with a star motiv, but that is something else entirely.
Both however are in the far future, first I have to paint Karl Franz and 8 Necron Warriors to complete my 1000p 40K list.
No wonder season 3 has taken so long!
Raid the bathroom = make up brushes are good for drybrushing, make up sponges are good for weathering effects, Nail dryer also works in place of a small fan, Hair spray also for rust/weathering effects. Raid the kitchen = dryed tea bags for ground scatter, dryed coffee grounds for loose earth, baking soda for show effects. that's all i can think of off the top of my head.
The G.G.C. be careful you aren't using soluble stuff because that will start to go sloppy over time but loads of those sound cool. (Mainly thinking coffee)
I use old Coffee grinds and make washes out of them! Models look actually dirty but smell delicious! Lol
@@timandshannon03 coffee washpaints? Brilliant. Now l have to try teawash.
I like to use old pill bottles or baby food jars to hold my minis while I'm painting them. They also double for storing various things for basing (small bits of leftover cork, crushed glass, etc..)
Old jam jars for stripping metal miniatures using acetone.
Fine wire brush used for cleaning suede shoes for a fairly gentle brush over after removing mould lines.
I use an old plastic plastic sweet tub left over from halloween to wash off resin models.
Nail polish remover is usually acetone, there is acetone-free nail polish remover - so beware. Of course acetone melts plastic minis. So for them I stick them in a plastic bag, hold my breath & spray oven cleaner into the bag & put it OUTSIDE (the fumes are toxic). After a few hours the miniatures can be removed and washed with water. Of course if anybody has a less messy method for stripping plastic miniatures please post it.
I love old Jelly jars for that and washes! Also Mason Jars! My wife pickles and cans food, once a lid has been used and sealed and then opened, it can't be reused so I have lots of extra lids and small jars are cheap and we buy dozens for food and I just keep a few here and there.
I use cheap small planting cells (used for planting seeds, normally in 5x3 cells and come in plastic or soft materials). I get a boat load for £1. I put them in my old starter boxes which fit 20 cells perfectly. I use them to transport models.
Thanks for the ideas and tips. Btw, killer shirt, man. One of my fav podcasts.
I cant believe you're wearing a Last Podcast shirt! I love this channel even more now, if that's possible.
baking soda (also known as bicarbonate of soda) is the ultimate super glue accelerator.
I've been using the fishing boxes like you showed for a while and for the same thing! They are great! I still need to go through all my sprues one day and fill up the rest. One thing I'll mention is the metallic bases from old cans that you can pop out make for great little palettes
good background today
the black with the red, like it
Masking tape. When preparing parts of new figures, use a 6inch strip of tape to stick the parts of a model to as you work. Each trooper gets a strip, stops all the bits getting mixed up. Also you can fold the end of the tape and write a label on it like 'leader' or 'gunner'.
I've got a jeweler's lamp that came with a magnifying glass in it. The glass mostly just messed with my depth perception so I popped it out, and now I have a desk lamp that I can move aground that has a big hole in it that I can look at my models through while the light is shining straight down on them. Great for painting.
My maybe $5 green floral foam block from Walmart has really paired well with my $2 set of alligator clips from Amazon. I haven't done very many miniatures, but my Gundam painting and building has improved dramatically by letting pieces dry on there.
Nail art stensils are fantastic, you can get all kinds of designs and patterns on ebay for cheap and add designs to miniatures when painting. They also make lots of rhinestone shapes, i buy tear shaped ones for my bloodangels.
Love my nail polish racks. I also love the emery boards I get from the beauty store for mold line sanding - 1/5 the price of hobby sanding boards.
I'm just getting warmed up with mini painting, but I thought using a big cheapo plastic 50ml syringe with no tip for water dispensing was pretty darn clever. Suck the full 50 of nice clean water into it and easily dispense by the drop when thinning paints. Works great for moving and measuring paint into the airbrush, and it makes a respectable little squirt for rinsing the cup between colors! I got a pack of 5 from amzn for different project for like 5 bucks. Killer videos dude- Thanks for all the help!!!
Hi, I use a load of cheap golf tees for holding lots of small minis. Get a piece of wood, drill loads of holes in it then put the golf tees in the holes. You can use blue tack or hot glue to stick the minis to the tees. Great for production line painting!
All the best and thanks for the great videos!!!
Toothbrush! Old and used or new but cheap depending on your preference. Great for all sorts of cleaning. I went with the new and cheap option and made sure it was a soft brush.
Cigar boxes. I can carry opposing armies for 15mm DBA in one box.
Flooring samples from Home Depot for elephant bases.
Electrical outlet boxes make great industrial/scifi terrain.
lava rock for gas grills make great asteroids.
I built a guard tower out of flooring samples! My wife laughed at me in home depot!
Loving the last podcast shirt. Started watching them because you mentioned them. Thanks Atom
Dollar tree rules you can get spackle foam board glue little tool organizers and in October all kinds of cheap Halloween stuff I made a cool chaos guard tower out of a plastic skull wine glass
A tip is to get friendly with the guys who work at your local tip/dump (or dechetterie en Francais) and ask them to keep an eye out for stuff you're after. My part time job is to look after the local dechetterie and our hobby area is pretty much made up from stuff I've rescued from work. Lots of little boxes mostly but I got some brushes for drybrushing and stuff that ruins brushes, paint palette is white bathroom tiles, got a big mug for water and my brush holder is made from pallet wood and clothes pegs from the tip. Last week I got a bendable vice thingy, already used for fixing my wife's glasses! Best of all my desk is actually made from wood rescued from work. Just ask, it's hardly difficult to keep an eye out for bits people are after. If your local guy says he's not allowed to, he's lying and probably keeping it for himself or selling it!!
Here in France, a lot of DIY "sundries" (Screws, nuts, bolts etc) come in little plastic boxes that are really sturdy and reusable. Lidl and Aldi (Found all over Europe) sell loads of their "didn't expect to find THAT in here" stuff in very good boxes as well.
Empty TicTac containers, for drill bits and tiny pieces. Great for pigments as well.
Pizza savers, as a support to lift drying parts.
Beers caps, for mixing paint.
Bamboo skewers + paper/alligator clamps as makeshift part holders.
And of course your local brand of The Ever-Popular Acrylic Floor Polish Liquid (TM).
FullDemiurge I
Love your last podcast on the left shirt. Going to see them this June
I second the old tupperware thing. Great for holding water. And since no one is going use it anymore for food, it just is easy to dump and not care. I also have an old rice cooker that i use the pot from for cleaning models and stripping them. I recently stripped an armiger warglaive and it fit in the old rice cooker container perfectly. Let him sit for 30 mins and everything came off because he fully covered.
Old medicne bottles that once clean are perfect paint handles.
When I was a kid building scale models, my dad bought me a tackle box for all my stuff. I still use it (and it has many of the same kinds of tools).
Those divided containers are great for EVERYTHING. Screws, buttons, miniature and model bits, etc. Think the hardware store might sell them too.
A more general piece of advice is to look for places that deal in similar hobbies. I have sprue nippers from a Gunpla shop, a hobby knife from a craft store and files from a model train shop for instance.
I know I'm late but it makes me happy uncle Adam like the last podcast on the left. It's my favorite podcast the one that got me into podcasts.
I also bought, off ebay, a set of dentist's tools for sculpting green stuff etc.
While perhaps not a "around the house" item for a lot of people - one of the most useful tools I've stumbled on for terrain building is the 123 Bocks. These are heavy metal perforated blocks (measuring: 1"x2"x3" - hence the name) used for aligning shop tools. They're heavy, reasonably cheap and perfect for measuring 90 degree angles and holding walls/items together while drying for glue. I use the 1" width side for spacing between wood bits when making ladders, etc. Really incredibly useful. Add to that a Fiskar's cutting mat with the 1" blocked grid ---- very cheap, great quality and I use the 1" grid often for making cuts/measuring or eyeing things for alignment.
I worked at an apartment property and one family moved out and left a sweet silver makeup box with cantilever shelves. Works great for holding paints, tools and glue.
I use my wife's old makeup brushes for dry brushing. They hold paint extremely well, and work amazing when dry brushing.
I'm still just starting out, but as an electrician I have a ton of little containers that I'm already using for storing things, the round plastic disk containers that phase tape comes in, and a variety of screw or snap on lid plastic containers that held screws or other hardware are fantastic for storing a variety of materials. Also check out your local fabric / crafting store, I'm amazed at how often I pilfer my quilting shelves for all sorts of stuff!
OMG! Seems like you just guessed what I'm doing today. I'm just finalizing installing Nail Polish shelfs to organize all my Valllejo paints. Wish I could post an image here 'cause is looking pretty nice!
Great Video you man. I'm just getting in to miniatures, I've only ever done scale models. Aeroplanes really. Thanks for all the hard work! oh and, I LOVE The Last Podcast on the left!
I like using tool boxes/tackle boxes with the pull-out trays for storing my minis. I line the sections with padding for cabinets to protect the minis. It works great!
One of my favorite things for transporting minis and such are the bags for holding scrapbooking supplies some on wheels. They can many times be less expensive than a comparable bag or case (especially citadel) (army transport etc) still need to make sure your foam fits but most do also Ottlites are awesome for lighting. Places like Michael’s or Joanns can be a great place to get these items.
Another very useful place to shop for items to use is Harbor Freight, at least in here in Nebraska. I have picked up many useful items such as hobby knives, storage cases in all sizes, sprue nippers, etc, etc. My 2 cents worth! FYI I like your videos alot!
Yep I highly recommend the wall mount nail polish racks too. Oh and if your paint table is too low put it on plastic bed risers it is a real back saver.
This was probably already mentioned, but I save all the plastic lids from cottage cheese containers and the like (large plastic yogurt lids or even the plastic lids from coffee cans) and use them as pallets. I obviously use the smallest for single figs and small group paintings, and the larger ones for painting a full unit. Please note, I haven't tried the wet pallet other than a make it yourself on which didn't work for me, so dry pallets are the way I go.
Since I don't actually travel with all my painting stuff, I use simple jars and even the foam insulation for soda cans for brush holders. I separate out my brushes by terrain, medium, fine/detail and cosmetic (for dry-brushing). Easy to grab, simple to use. Be aware that if you have a cat in the house, put your sable brushes in a lidded container or you will find the brushes all over the house. Cats love sable brushes.
I repurpose items from my older hobbies, such as bead-work, to make my mini-building life easier. I use my bead-tray for assembling units, because the handy little areas hold my sprue-liberated pieces nicely separated until I can file and/or glue them together. Also there are larger areas to keep tools, glue-tubes and the like handy. One invaluable tool is the flat-edged bead scoop. Hard to describe, but its like a teeny tiny broom tray, and makes it so much easier to move small piles of tiny bits around. Big time saver!
Lights: study lamps. You can never have too many. When I paint I never just have one light source, usually two or three.
Reading glasses. If you have an old pair of reading glasses in a junk drawer, rejoice! These are handy-dandy instant magnifying glasses that you can wear upon the tip of your nose for close up work. Even if you have perfect eye-sight, try this. You'll never go back to eyeballing a mini the old way whilst painting and/or prepping.
Your right about cats liking sable hair brushes. Unfortunately ...... I only found out about this little foibles after saving up and treating myself to a set of Artis Opus brushes for my 40th present to myself.
Used them once, and after cleaning, left them out to dry. Came home after work to see broken, chewed brush handles, complete with bite marks all over them, and separated ferrules, again with bite marks, and chewed, splayed brush heads, missing half the hairs, with a couple of self satisfied cats, acting like nothing in the world was wrong and they had no idea why I was crying.
I wrote to Artis Opus, explaining what happened, along with a picture of the 2 guilty parties, and inclosed the remains of the brushes, with a plea, asking if there was any way they could help me by giving a discount on the cost of a replacement set of brushes. They very kindly sent me a new set of brushes without asking for any money, and the letter said they thought it was worth the replacement brushes purely because everyone had laughed so much after reading the letter.
I now keep my brushes in a locked drawer. for my br
Really great advice, loving the channel and this video!
I always keep the sponge backs that come in many blister packs for dabbing off excess shade coat or for pre-wiping for dry-brushing. I also have a range of the tiny plastic airline teaspoons for stirring pots and adding pot paint to the wet pallet. I never throw out flat expanded polystyrene foam or cereal box card as they are both versatile and essential for terrain modelling.
Damn, this was a very imformative video, I loved it !!!
Please make more video like this, they are very much need !!!
LOL the fishing tackle thing is so true, I have 8 for keeping my unfinished minis and extra bits. Also recommend a plastic tote that can fit them all fairly snugly, makes it so much easier to store them if you ever need to make space or move. I also tend to use random container lids, from ice cream or margarine, as places to put minis while paint dries or for painting certain visible sections of larger models prior to gluing if required (Land Raider interior is one good example I have done) It gives you a surface that you don't care gets paint covered and can make the models easier to move around in numbers if say your girlfriend gives you a hard time for taking up half the kitchen table right before dinner.
Thanks uncle atom, had never heard of hirst arts molds before, pretty sweet stuff!
Great video. Really helpful, thanks Atom
My hairdryer also gets used for straightening bent plastic models (spears etc). Plastic stackable storage boxes from Staples for storing all my paints & basing materials. Plastic disposable spoons from the pound store for mixing paints, varnishes, PVA glue etc. Cocktail sticks for many uses including mixing pots of separated metal paint. Damp cotton buds make great paint erasers when your painting. Tops off mouthwash bottles for model holders whilst painting. Dettol (simple green) for stripping paint. Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning airbrush, also used in making homemade paint thinner. Filtered water from my dehumidifier & Glycerin as flow improver. Glass beads 8mm for paint agitators. Scotch magic tape as a sub for masking tape. Plastic disposable cups for water pots.
Oh and cheap plastic baby food containers for storing basing materials like flock.
a hair dryer is also grate for degasing primers.
Glass beads is amazing, why have I not thought of that?
for all the uk lads, Big sports direct mugs make for great be all holders, glue snippers, paint brushes everything
Fantastic shirt. 'Last Podcast on the Left' is awesome.
Bought a massaging machine for my bad back years ago. Occurred to me a few days ago that it also makes an excellent paint pot vibrator for thoroughly mixing paints.
If you don't have a wife, or live in fear of her wrath, Dollar Tree has your back. You can find all kinds of tools of the feminine verity, to re-purpose on the cheap. For those who have never been, everything at Dollar Tree sells for $1.00.
Nail Files (pack of 4)
Emery boards (pack of 24) (sand paper popsicle sticks)
Tweezers
Cuticle Nippers (good for cutting model pieces from sprue)
Nail Scissors (tiny scissors)
Cuticle Pusher (I use to work green stuff)
9-Compartment Organizer Case (5.5" x 6.5") (currently on back order)
Chopping mat (pack of 3)
The quality, of course, is not top of the line. But for the price, the money you save on the stuff that you like will more than pay for the stuff you don't.
No, I don't work for, or have stock in, Dollar Tree.
Then you have to worry about her raiding your supplies for her beauty needs.
"Yes dear, you can have those." (adding to my shopping list)
The cuticle nippers they have now are junk for sprue nipping, and that really sucks. Fortunately, where there is a DT, a JoAnn's is almost always close-by, and with their regular Oprah-like gifting of 50% off coupons that they dish out, one can rather quickly acquire the right tools for still great prices (though not quite as low as a dollar, but close enough to matter). I do this on the regular, and it helps quite a lot.
I have a cheap plastic cutting boards that I use to battle map on. I drilled a crap load on holes in it and my structural elements all have small dowel that fit into the holes so I can reconfigure rooms over and over and over again. 3 boards and I can literally run a decent battle through a few rooms.
I've got that same fan; But I use it mostly to cool myself.
Things I use:
Wooden clothespins (the kind with the metal spring) to hold pieces together while the glue drys to help prevent gaps. Also to keep pieces up off the table while glue dries if ther's no good way to set them
Plastic desk lap-drawer organizer to keep pieces together but separate while working on them.
Wooden toothpicks for disposable application of glue.
That's funny, I also have that fan and it sits under my computer desk to cool me as well:) I have a metal fan about the same size that I use for my hobby, but to blow air onto my paasche compressor to keep it cool.
Jam (I think Americans call it jelly) jars for painting water pots, one for non metallics and one for metallics. Even come with lids. Ice cream containers for WIP models that have been shelved for a bit. Keeps them together and keeps the dust off. Make up blusher brush for dusting models that are being worked on on the desk but have been left for a while. Store it in a zip sealed bag. Old pill tubs for things like scalpel blades, drills, paper clips.
The clear polish racks are amazing!
I have been meaning to post this since this video was posted but I keep forgetting. Better late than never- SILLY PUTTY. It works great for masking off areas that you don't want to get paint on and then it just eats the paint that you do get on it. Cheap and easy and widely available. Keep up the great vids Uncle Atom... even though you're not really an uncle nor a singular atom.
I started watching for tips, subscribed for the pa-chow.
I use the plastic containers that "Ferrero Rocher" comes in for my wet pallettes. Ideal size for me, and a great excuse to gift my wife some of her favourite chocolates. :-D
Other than that, kitty litter (unused!!) is a great basing material. Oh and get free customer cards from all the shops to use as plasticard for basing/terrain. Instead of pill bottles as something to tack my minis to during painting, I use shot glasses hehe
I picked up a 2-pack of Stanley Sortmaster Light organizers, pretty awesome for carrying a tape-measure, dice, laser pointer(s), tokens, etc. Toss in some thin foam and you can transport a small skirmish force. The compartments have removable dividers so you can change up the dimensions. I have mine linked "bottom to bottom", so if I need pens or a napkin for wiping off a stat card it's all right there in my "battle box"
Oh! And the 2-pack is about $15, which is super reasonable for a well known brand.