More Tools

This little lump is one of my best hobby tools. It is a lump of clean clay. I use it to hold paint brushes when I am painting. Rather than lay it on the table, I stick the end in the clay to hold it upright. I also use the clay to prop up parts while they are drying. Finally, clay can sacrifice itself by ending up in the nose of tricycle landing gear airplanes. It makes a great weight to keep aircraft in place on their gear. I often include small shot gun lead pellets in with the clay. The clay keeps them from rolling around inside the model.

This is moleskin. It is a soft fabric with a sticky back. Peel off the backing and then stick a piece on your skin. I stick it on my thumb and fingers when using a craft knife to minimize the skin slicing.

Florist pliers are great for light wire cutting, and plastic cutting. They also make good light pliers. I got them at Michael's craft shop and paid about a dollar for them.

These needle nose pliers are a real pair of pliers. I got them at a hardware store and paid top dollar for them years ago. They are very strong and I use them for the toughest work. I use the cutter for medium size wire.

I also keep both large and small paper clips on hand. They can be used to apply glue, hold parts together and even be made into small tools on their own. Sometimes I cut them up and use the small rods they create as model parts.

Double ended round tooth picks are good too. They can be used to apply glue, and I even paint with them. The wood will absorb paint and can be used to apply dots of paint. Sometimes I even use a craft knife to fray the ends of the toothpick and make a tiny brush out of the end. It really helps with the details.

Canned dust remover. When clean up time comes it's nice to be able to get the nooks and crannies of the model by using canned air.