I started alcohol with my good sable brushes some months ago. The accumulated pigment damages my brushes far more than the alcohol. Sometimes I can't believe how much pigment the alcohol cleans from a 'clean' brush. After the alcohol I use brush soap and then Vallejo brush restorer. My brushes now last longer than before. Just one or two drops of alcohol on a flat surface are enough.
On top of everything that Vince has said about the vortex mixer, it is also a benefit for those who are susceptible to pain from rigorous shaking of paints. Sure, a bit of elbow grease is usually enough to get the paint mixed up in their bottle, but some paints have thicker mediums/larger pigments that makes it difficult for your simple shakes to mix the medium and pigments together. I got a vortex mixer last week, and it has made my paints look a lot better for use. Now I can rest easy knowing that my paints can be revived if they aren't used for a long time.
I disagree with the vortex mixer they are overly priced and require me to sit there and hold the paint bottle and if the paint is overly thick and needs a lot of mixing (scale color). It's of bad value. I bought a nail polish shaker for 20 bucks that has a strap that lets me strap the bottles down. I can leave the bottle on that thing for as long as I want to and even walk away. For 20 bucks it's cheaper and it's better. Only thing it has problem shaking is significantly larger bottles so in our cases depending on the size of your primer bottle... However one solution you could do there if you're not finding it's shaking satisfactory... Shake that bottle up by hand and then pour it into little bottles that would normally be used to contain other paints. Cheaper and better functionality
Great video, had to drop a comment because the "full credit to my wife" bit put a smile on my face! Supportive partners are the best and you love to see it in the hobby. Cheers from a new viewer!
I'll swear by a vortex mixer as a game changer for me. Since I have tourettes syndrome, which involves persistent physical tics that have given give me regular joint pain, having a mixer has made mixing paint pots immeasurably more bearable.
I have joint issues too. I have both a vortex mixer and one of those 'cradle & strap' style "nail polish shaker". I use the shaker for paints that have sat for a while and settled or are particularly thick. I can leave it to run for minutes at a time without having to hold the bottle in place (like on the vortex, which numbs my fingers and triggers aches).
7:25 I've been using the double sided tape and pill bottle for a while now. Pro-tip from a non-pro: fill the bottle with small rocks, marbles or sand to stabilize it. Cool vid, Vincy V!
Dry beans also work as ballast in pill bottles. Loctite makes Fun Tak that is great for holding figures to the lid. I learned about it from Game Envy when I picked up one of their handles
Guess this is the message I needed to get some silicone shapers lol....but to add on to #1. You can save even more money, either going the fidget popper route or the old school Duncan tip of getting a bathroom tile from the hardware store. Been using a small tile for years now, it cost all of $0.10 maybe, and comes perfectly clean every time.
I wouldn't be able to paint without a vortex mixer, buying one got me back into painting. I have nerve damage in my spine and shoulders, and shaking paint bottles was extremely painful. Now I just pop it onto the mixer for a few seconds and I'm good to go!
I've actually bought a surprising amount of make up products to do things in mini painting. Like a little mascara brush for doing blood spatter because the bristles are pretty firm
An extension of the isopropyl alcohol, I really like keeping a box of the medical alcohol wipes on hand at my airbrush station. Great for any quick cleanup as im working
Sprue goo - had it fail on me because i used the wrong jar - i used an old jam jar, which turns out to make it airtight has some sort of very small seal. The vapours from the liquid, erroded this, and then the jar was no longer airtight, and the good went hard. Basically reusing an old cement bottle is ideal, as it'll seal correctly!
-Left over Ring Pop rings with foam tape work as a miniature holder -Gatorade bottle caps work to hold water for waterslide transfers -Hollow plastic coffee stirrers work as paintbrush protectors
@@komsomoletz828 I haven't tried inks, but since it takes acrylic paint fine, I am not particularly worried about it. Should be able to mix ink in as well, although it will loosen it up a bit to do so
Had no clue this stuff came in a squeeze tube. Vince just saved me from buying another jar of Vallejo dark earth just to throw away a huge dried-up clump
8) You can use texture pastes from hobby/art stores that costs even cheaper than liquitex. Also, you can mix it with a drop of paint. I usually mix with dark brown, apply on miniature, drybrush with orange, and than small drybrush with metal. Quick rust done. 10) To fill gaps what you are talking about on 16:46, you have to add a little more goo than usual plastic glue, just a little tipsy for beginners as me. I ended up using sprue goo instead of plastic glue because of this auto-filling feature!
I think it was Guy at Midwinter Minis that suggested shooting a layer of primer over the dry palette from time to time. Spray it white and you can reuse it again and again.
Baking Soda mixed with water to form a paste, applied to the mini, and lightly scrubbed with a toothbrush works great for cleaning old and new models, plastic and metal. Then rinse well with water and lightly scrub again. I recently tested this on some old metal minis, Minifig, Superior, and Heritage. Form dingy dull to like new! :)
For cleaning bruses with IPA, I found it works well on sables IF they are brushes you'd toss anyway. Wash thoroughly, rinse thoroughly, then IMMEDIATELY use masters cleaner several times and then leave it in over night. Gets much more life put of a brush you thought you killed
For the 6 hole mini dry pallettes. On ebay and sometimes amazon there are silicone ones. Once the paint dries it just pops off and is ready to use again.
Hi there Vince, the Isopropyl Alcohol is also excellent for cleaning and oils and other substances from models and other items so that primers and paints adhere better without leaving any residue itself
Awesome video mate, totally agree on the vortex mixer (I think I have that exact one in fact) and the Isopropyl Alcohol - Synthetic Brushes, Airbrush, cleaning 3d Prints - very much an essential for me. Another thing I would highly recommend (and can be had very cheaply) are pipettes - so useful for when you just want a drop or two of something.
Nice summary of basic tools. I prefer Mr Cement SP over the Tamiya Extra Thin Cement; it's a little bit hotter. Talking of Tamiya cement you should have pointed out that it is cheaper to buy the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner which is basically the same formula. One of the newest things I've seen lately is to use a silcone stick for stirring paint; avoids using a brush which can be damaged over time.
15:30 one use case I find for sprue goo is to temp assemble resin models. It will tack fairly well and you can pop off the part and superglue to secure, much like using epoxy putty.
this is a great list. Just ordered the nail wipes. Since I've picked up so many of these hobby tools from non-hobby places from your videos, here are a couple things I've found useful in return: 1) shower head cleaning brushes - cheaper than detal picks, come with their own handle and cap, perfect size for cleaning the inside of an airbrush nozzle 2) gun cleaning swabs - cleaning guns requires swabs that won't shed, so these are essentially bigger and much cheaper versions of those stupidly expensive tamiya cotton buds. You can get like 400 of them for ~$10. These were a godsend when I got into playing Horus Heresy and had to learn all these weathering techniques. I like to buy the ones with a pointed end because they fit perfectly into your airbrush cup hole to get at any lingering paint in there without shooting anything uneccessarily thorugh your airbush (I took that lesson from you to heart and never get clogs). Hopefully you find one of those useful so I can give something back for everything I've learned from you. In any case, thank you again for what you do for us in the hobby.
8:55 I discovered how well 91% alcohol stripped paint off minis…in late February 2020. I had a bottle and started stripping my BFG minis and decided to strip my AT knights and a couple of space marines armies. Imagine my surprise when I went to Walmart to find every bottle of alcohol gone. That’s when I knew Covid was becoming a thing. 😅 Great video and I’m so jealous of people starting the hobby now. It’s so amazing compared to 20 years ago.
I remember when armature wire disappeared from shelves during covid. I was briefly baffled until I realized people were using it for the noses of homemade masks.
I had one of those cheap massage guns, and i use it for paint mixing. If you pull off the head/massage top, there’s a hole that’s the perfect size for most dropper bottles. Turn it on and let it fly for a bit
My additions to the list. If using the GW plastic glue container or similar get a needle & thread to clear a blockage. Blue tac poster putty with the 2 ounce plastic sauce containers (or jello shots) for acres of small painting handles or upside down to mix paints, stack them while not using it. Micron black pen for writing scrolls or books. Wooden toothpicks with curly plastic ends for painting small details like eyes or magic runes & use the curly plastic side to texture paint for a randomized tool. Also for some basing material like grass, fill a large enough container with PVA glue and then fill the glue container with water for a close to 50/50 ratio, then get a cheap brush from Dollar Tree (underrated craft aisle too) to put the glue mix down.
For the dry pallet’s instead of throwing it out when they get to dirty I usually just give it a quick spray of white paint when I’m finishing painting something white with the airbrush anyways. Then it’s good to go again.
The mounting tape (spongey tape) is brilliant. I've used it to stick a 1/24 scale spaceship to my painting handle and it didn't budge, even when turning it upside down, but is easy to get off when you need to! It's my go to for bulk priming mini's, too. Lay out a strip, stick the mini's to it and they aren't going anywhere!
What would you recommend for cutting pins and what would you use for cutting off metal slotta bases? I've just been using tin snips but they are a bit clunky.
I just invested in some silly putty & love it. I have the isopropyl for stripping models (but have airbrush cleaner I bought a couple of years ago). The vortex mixer I bought & use it every time I paint. The Liquitex I bought last year & just based all my Flames of war infantry. I should get some of the double sided sponge tape & dry pallet.
Great video, great to see a lot of the stuff i use in my military kit building is in Vince's collection, and yep I use them in my miniatures builds. I love my mini vortex mixer ,best tool ever.
I couldn't ever find the silly puddy, so I went with the AK camo puddy and it works great! Those nail pads though, that seems interesting.. I'll have to check that out! You'll have to give the wife a thank you from all us hobby nerds 😂 Always appreciate your videos!! Thanks for sharing!
For the double sided tape, I use the gray exterior version. It's still foamy, but more like a foam rubber. If you've ever had the white type separate in the middle and leave you two fuzzy sides (especially if you leave it in use for a really long time because you take forever to finish a mini like me), the exterior type won't do that.
Hey, I didn't know all of them. Thank you. I've noticed that large collection of unusual tools is a fine indicator of experience in the hobby. Vortex mixer may be expensive but it's a must if you use gel based paints like Scale 75 or their Fantasy & Games line. They'll kill you if you try to handshake them to proper consistency without Arnold's muscles in you arm.
Dollar tree has double sidded foam tape that is around 1/2 by3/4 receptacles. Work great because the low quality adhesive works to hold on just enough. They also have tiny squares as well. I keep 3-4 of each in my back stock
Tamiya airbrush thinner works in place of the plastic glue - same chemicals - while being a fraction of the price. Coincidentally plastic glue makes for an excellent airbrush cleaner. I mean, airbrush cleaner is good at cleaning airbrushes, nobody is surprised. Tamiya putty is also an excellent greenstuff material - so much softer and easier to use and sculpt with.
I have a recommendation for you, Vince. Soft chalk pastels. They make excellent pigment powder. I was frustrated by the lack of colour variety available in pre-made pots. Soft chalk pastels come in every colour, scrape a bit off with your hobby knife, and you're sorted. I use wall filler for my basing. I add a bit of water to it to get it a bit more runny, I add various materials depending on what surface I want (I'm using a lot of smashed up egg shell mixed into the filler at the moment; it gives a really nice looking base). It is a bit more effort, but far cheaper than anything ready made I've tried. It also has an extra benefit: if I make a model with a larger base, the base is usually a bit saggy. Wall filler the void on the underside of the base and the issue goes away. It also adds weight to the base.
9:33 some primers do not react well to isopropyl alcohol, especially Stynlrez. The remaining primer will turn into gunk. Resin 3d printer operators will often have gallons of the stuff.
Sensei Vince do you put those little balls into your droppers to make them work with the vortex mixer? I bought some of them, glass balls, is it good or useless?
Definitely agree with the vast majority of these. Adding sandpaper or sanding sticks to your mini cleanup is underrated, it'll give you a way smoother result than just a knife blade. Still, I wasn't even aware Liquitex did a coarse medium, could be worth looking into getting some. I feel like quite a few of these are more in the category of "Hobby Tools Games Workshop Doesn't Sell" than weird, hah. A lot of them are staples for more experienced hobbyists who aren't afraid of branching out beyond what's in a Warhammer store.
I've found the ak interactive putty leaves a black residue from the dye they use for a while, so of you get one knead it a bunch and roll it on some paper until it stops
Pop-it fidget toys are made out of silicone, that and chocolate balls molds. Both are great alternatives to dry palettes as they are easier to clean and thus last longer. As for files, metal files. They usually come in cheap kits with different shapes but they have a very fine grit. Lasts forever and they have as I said, shapes. Just adding to the list of good tools :)
I'd like to add. The Tamiya brand airbrush cleaner is the same formula as the Tamiya plastic glue. It's two ingredients, and if I recall, there's a 1% difference in the ratio from one to the other. Once you have two jars of the plastic glue, buying the airbrush cleaner will be your refill for years to come.
I would def reccomend lil sauce ceramic plates/bowls - reusable, easy to clean and if you get aesthetic ones they can even just lay on your desk (have a lil leaf one for mixing) - or artist ceramic pallteses - more expensive but have paint grooves.
I use the lil stainless steel variety. Cheap too. Either a quick wipe before it dries or trip to the sink. I’m fortunate that my loved ones do not sequester me and my hobby into the basement. I even get a window 😂.
I personally just use those plastic tops from chips in tubes - otherwise, it's just a waste, but I find it decent as dry palette for paints that do not like wet palette or as stand for multiple small miniatures during priming. It's essentially free and when it gets dirty, you can clean it or just dump it into bin for plastic recycling
I use 99% alcohol a lot as well. Where I live it costs 1/20 per ml compared to airbrush cleaner. Have used it to clean natural haired brushes, but they were already pretty far gone, so felt I had nothing to lose. It actually worked better than expected and would worry about using them on more expensive/newer natural haired brushes too.
thanks for the vid. Maybe i got one for you. harbor freight has the cotton swab assortment. the big one is great for cleaning model before paint with alcohol. And the have a super small one good for wiping a mistake.
I feel like a lot of folks in our hobby are sleeping on the texture medium, I've used it for years for my basing it's so fast and even if someone is just doing a cork or bark hero rock it helps complete the base. I also find tufts look a touch more real sprouting between gravely looking base.
Thanks for another great video Vince! I use the Golden brand texture paint for my bases and have found that it dries at a different rate than the crackle paint (Mordant Earth from GW) resulting in very large deep cracks that can be used to make glowy lava bases.
Vortex mixers. For mixing or more usually reconstituting things. EG you separate out dna from a sample, centrefuge it to pull the dna to the bottom in a pellet, remove the remaining gunk leaving the pellet of dna, then you add a solution and mix it to dissolve it back into solution
Vortex mixers are used in chemistry for the same reason we use them in paints! You get something that doesn't want to dissolve, but you shouldn't heat it up, so you vortex it for a bit and see if that helps. In biology, I use it more for resuspending bacterial pellets or making sure a solution is mixed well after its been pulled out of the freezer.
Instead of a dry palette i use a silicon pop-it fidget and highly recommend it. Acrylics dont appear to bond to silicon so after it dries you simply "pop" the dried paint out.
Good alternative are “bon bon” silicone sheets for baking, deeper wells (paint dries slower), bigger spaces in between wells to mix and blend. Just as easy to clean.
Budget airbrush case = best wet palette I ever had. It come with thin sponge "backing" and sturdy hinged lid, just add white parchment (and maybe kitchen towel/rag on roll underneath), squirt in some water and it's 100% ready to go. Acrylic caulk, best "temporary glue" is you need to assemble model, but on later stage you plan to disassemble it. It dries for a while (day or two) but it's basically very strong robber bond (far stronegr than blu-tac). Oh and it also is super useful for terrain making, because you can paint it with acrylic paints. If only they made small tubes of that stuff in black... I may refill smaller tube from larger squirt cylinder. I also cut wooden curtain rods (about 32 mm thick?) into 4-5 inch pieces, painted (dipped) ends with some throwaway leftover oil paint and now I have about 80 miniature handles for airbrushing (I attach bases with blu-tac). Also printed some larger (90mm) tops that attach on those rods with bit of a friction if I need to "hold" larger models.
As recommended by Marco Frisani…butyl rubber sealant tape in place of blue tac. A 1/4” x 3/16” x 40’ costs about $10.00 at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Usually found in gray, sometimes black and handles like Blu tac. Cabral is the name I found in the roofing section.
Also per Marco, I use milliput and IPA for gaps now. Live in a small apartment so the less heavy smell solvents the better. Having to open windows when it's 120 degrees out sucks
Check out the "Fenorkey" Synthetic brush set Vince listed here. I've been using these same brushes for quite awhile now. Amazing for the price 12 for $9 (size 1-12). Great for base coats, terrain even pva glue. Sometimes the ferrules are a little off center but they still hold up and still hold the point fairly well.
It is worth mentioning the vortex mixers can cause nerve damage to your fingers from the vibrations if you use it too much -- i.e. if you are a professional painter using it a lot. Look up nail polish shakers as they have a spring-loaded holder that shakes them in an up-down-rotary motion. Yes the up-down motion is not great, but if your paint is already at the point where it needs a heavy duty mix-up, the bubbles are not a large concern (at least to me). The nail polish shaker I use (Nail Shaker pro 2) doesn't fit large bottles well as it will bottom out on the table during the downstroke. I solved it by placing it on the edge of my table/desk so it can freely move. I also just realized I can put the bottles in upside down which may mitigate the bottoming-out..
Oh man, sanding sticks. Love the little guys, although I tend to have numerous sizes on hand - the small ones, DSPIAE ones (so 75x25mm more or less), and Infini. I have them mainly because I do a lot of gunpla kits, but they're so handy to have for models as well. Okay, the Infini ones aren't as useful on a Space Marine as the DSPIAE sized ones, but still. Definitely second the vortex mixer. I love my Typhoon, it mixes your paints. Just don't use it on an Ikea table unless you want to shake the entire table as well ^_^
I also throw some rubbing alcohol into my water bottle for my wet pallet it helps keep it fresh for longer. What grits do you find yourself using the most often with your sanding sticks?
Another great material for glue/filler is something I saw on Paul Budzik's Scale Model Workshop RUclips channel. He uses dental acrylic resin powder mixed with ZAP-A-GAP super glue as a seam/gap filler. IT WORKS **GREAT**. I substitute Mia nail acrylic powder for the dental acrylic because it's much easier to find, much cheaper and can be purchased in small quantities. A 2 oz jar of powder will last a long time and I use it every day when I work on models. Once it hardens it is permanent and is the same density as the surrounding plastic or resin. Trust me, this trick is amazing...
Good suggestions. Here are others that some might find useful: Drill the feet of your work pieces (if necessary), securely insert a pin, and use a pin vice to hold the pin. You get a nice long handle to hold, and you can screw the chuck really tight to hold your model very securely. I have a block of wood with holes drilled into it that I stand the pin vice up in during work breaks. (I'd never trust double-sided tape for anything). Blue Tack, plasticine, "popsicle sticks" and card have a thousand "hobby" uses. Sanding sticks that are marketed at modellers are a rip-off. Buy really cheap nail files, soak the rough paper off, and glue your preferred grit sizes on. "Popsicle" sticks are also useful for making homemade sanding sticks. If you want flexible ones, buy a cheap mouse mat, rip the top off (if necessary), glue your preferred grit sizes on, then cut to your preferred shapes. I pick up any jar that needs shaking, grip it securely, and move my hand up and down really fast; 100% reliable, carbon zero, and costs nothing. Shaking speed and duration are also infinitely variable. 😊
This week I've started using a massage gun I've already got to shake my paints, probably not quite as efficient as the lab mixers, but it does a good job.
I didn't love my little lab shaker shaped like that. I just picked up a new one, that straps the bottle into a little V shaped holder and functions a little more like a big paint shaker, and then I can push the button and walk away for a bit. It was about $30 and I think my hands appreciate not having to hold it.
I have a set of silicone shapers, but my set doesn't include the wide tip shaper shown on the far right at 13:52. That looks incredibly useful. I was unable to find such a tool in the shaper sets my Amazon search provided. Does anyone have a link to a set that includes such a wide tip?
Have you ever used alcohol prep-pads? They're great for cleaning smaller things like the outside of your airbrush, or those dry palettes, and you can buy a box of 200 for a couple bucks.
Two things on the alcohol thing: 1) You can also use it with inks to make it so they flow into recesses better with a liner brush, so you can make "panel liner". 2) This is more an availability thing, but for our purposes, if you can't find 99% alcohol, then 91% will work just as well (the 70% stuff doesn't work as well).
I’ve been using clear uv resin and and blue stuff from green stuff world to make realistic ice you take a rock and put it in blue stuff to make a mold and then use the uv resin in the mold and it makes realistic looking ice for snow bases
I use the thicker and softer nail wipes to clean my FEP in my resin printer. They work great and you get a ton for a couple dollars. I also stole them initially from my wife... lol
I started alcohol with my good sable brushes some months ago. The accumulated pigment damages my brushes far more than the alcohol. Sometimes I can't believe how much pigment the alcohol cleans from a 'clean' brush. After the alcohol I use brush soap and then Vallejo brush restorer. My brushes now last longer than before. Just one or two drops of alcohol on a flat surface are enough.
On top of everything that Vince has said about the vortex mixer, it is also a benefit for those who are susceptible to pain from rigorous shaking of paints. Sure, a bit of elbow grease is usually enough to get the paint mixed up in their bottle, but some paints have thicker mediums/larger pigments that makes it difficult for your simple shakes to mix the medium and pigments together.
I got a vortex mixer last week, and it has made my paints look a lot better for use. Now I can rest easy knowing that my paints can be revived if they aren't used for a long time.
I disagree with the vortex mixer they are overly priced and require me to sit there and hold the paint bottle and if the paint is overly thick and needs a lot of mixing (scale color). It's of bad value.
I bought a nail polish shaker for 20 bucks that has a strap that lets me strap the bottles down. I can leave the bottle on that thing for as long as I want to and even walk away. For 20 bucks it's cheaper and it's better. Only thing it has problem shaking is significantly larger bottles so in our cases depending on the size of your primer bottle... However one solution you could do there if you're not finding it's shaking satisfactory... Shake that bottle up by hand and then pour it into little bottles that would normally be used to contain other paints.
Cheaper and better functionality
Great video, had to drop a comment because the "full credit to my wife" bit put a smile on my face! Supportive partners are the best and you love to see it in the hobby. Cheers from a new viewer!
Absolutely! Glad to have you along on the hobby journey!
I'll swear by a vortex mixer as a game changer for me. Since I have tourettes syndrome, which involves persistent physical tics that have given give me regular joint pain, having a mixer has made mixing paint pots immeasurably more bearable.
I have joint issues too. I have both a vortex mixer and one of those 'cradle & strap' style "nail polish shaker". I use the shaker for paints that have sat for a while and settled or are particularly thick. I can leave it to run for minutes at a time without having to hold the bottle in place (like on the vortex, which numbs my fingers and triggers aches).
7:25 I've been using the double sided tape and pill bottle for a while now. Pro-tip from a non-pro: fill the bottle with small rocks, marbles or sand to stabilize it. Cool vid, Vincy V!
Dry beans also work as ballast in pill bottles. Loctite makes Fun Tak that is great for holding figures to the lid. I learned about it from Game Envy when I picked up one of their handles
@@terrencemiltner1005 Seconded on the loctite I ended up ordering like a pound of it by accident 😅 but its really useful so Im not to man haha
I also use FunTak. For weight, I use metal balls that double as mixer balls when I buy new paint.
Guess this is the message I needed to get some silicone shapers lol....but to add on to #1. You can save even more money, either going the fidget popper route or the old school Duncan tip of getting a bathroom tile from the hardware store. Been using a small tile for years now, it cost all of $0.10 maybe, and comes perfectly clean every time.
I wouldn't be able to paint without a vortex mixer, buying one got me back into painting. I have nerve damage in my spine and shoulders, and shaking paint bottles was extremely painful. Now I just pop it onto the mixer for a few seconds and I'm good to go!
I'm always happy to see a cameo from Larry the Ogor!
embarrassed to say I did a little cheer when he appeared too 😄
I've actually bought a surprising amount of make up products to do things in mini painting. Like a little mascara brush for doing blood spatter because the bristles are pretty firm
Buying those nail pads has been a huge game changer getting a solid tip on my brush. Seriously, they are an outstanding buy.
An extension of the isopropyl alcohol, I really like keeping a box of the medical alcohol wipes on hand at my airbrush station. Great for any quick cleanup as im working
Sprue goo - had it fail on me because i used the wrong jar - i used an old jam jar, which turns out to make it airtight has some sort of very small seal. The vapours from the liquid, erroded this, and then the jar was no longer airtight, and the good went hard. Basically reusing an old cement bottle is ideal, as it'll seal correctly!
If you add acetone to your dried out sprue goo it should bring it back to workable
-Left over Ring Pop rings with foam tape work as a miniature holder
-Gatorade bottle caps work to hold water for waterslide transfers
-Hollow plastic coffee stirrers work as paintbrush protectors
I use 25mm and 32mm bases upside down for impromptu palettes and water cups
12:25 I keep texture medium around all the time and always recommend it. Takes paint directly or you can mix paint with it.
Does it take acrylic inks as well?
@@komsomoletz828 Yep, I've been using the golden texture medium for a really long time, my go to lazy base is some texture medium with brown ink.
@@komsomoletz828 I haven't tried inks, but since it takes acrylic paint fine, I am not particularly worried about it. Should be able to mix ink in as well, although it will loosen it up a bit to do so
Had no clue this stuff came in a squeeze tube. Vince just saved me from buying another jar of Vallejo dark earth just to throw away a huge dried-up clump
8) You can use texture pastes from hobby/art stores that costs even cheaper than liquitex. Also, you can mix it with a drop of paint. I usually mix with dark brown, apply on miniature, drybrush with orange, and than small drybrush with metal. Quick rust done.
10) To fill gaps what you are talking about on 16:46, you have to add a little more goo than usual plastic glue, just a little tipsy for beginners as me. I ended up using sprue goo instead of plastic glue because of this auto-filling feature!
I actually bought a pretty large tub of crackle paste from an art store recently for this reason.
@@rickkiller2000 yeah, all our citadel magical pots its just a overpriced art store tubes...
I think it was Guy at Midwinter Minis that suggested shooting a layer of primer over the dry palette from time to time. Spray it white and you can reuse it again and again.
He usually primes his whatever colour he is going to use to prime the model, so he can see what the paint will look like
8:24 +1 for pill bottles (or anything similar) to use as painting handles. Search for ones that fit you hand just right.
Baking Soda mixed with water to form a paste, applied to the mini, and lightly scrubbed with a toothbrush works great for cleaning old and new models, plastic and metal. Then rinse well with water and lightly scrub again.
I recently tested this on some old metal minis, Minifig, Superior, and Heritage. Form dingy dull to like new! :)
Great tip!
For cleaning bruses with IPA, I found it works well on sables IF they are brushes you'd toss anyway. Wash thoroughly, rinse thoroughly, then IMMEDIATELY use masters cleaner several times and then leave it in over night. Gets much more life put of a brush you thought you killed
For the 6 hole mini dry pallettes. On ebay and sometimes amazon there are silicone ones. Once the paint dries it just pops off and is ready to use again.
Hi there Vince, the Isopropyl Alcohol is also excellent for cleaning and oils and other substances from models and other items so that primers and paints adhere better without leaving any residue itself
Awesome video mate, totally agree on the vortex mixer (I think I have that exact one in fact) and the Isopropyl Alcohol - Synthetic Brushes, Airbrush, cleaning 3d Prints - very much an essential for me. Another thing I would highly recommend (and can be had very cheaply) are pipettes - so useful for when you just want a drop or two of something.
Nice summary of basic tools. I prefer Mr Cement SP over the Tamiya Extra Thin Cement; it's a little bit hotter. Talking of Tamiya cement you should have pointed out that it is cheaper to buy the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner which is basically the same formula. One of the newest things I've seen lately is to use a silcone stick for stirring paint; avoids using a brush which can be damaged over time.
I use the airbrush cleaner as cement. The whole 2 percent difference seems to result in a better product. It seems quicker setting and i can use less.
15:30 one use case I find for sprue goo is to temp assemble resin models. It will tack fairly well and you can pop off the part and superglue to secure, much like using epoxy putty.
this is a great list. Just ordered the nail wipes. Since I've picked up so many of these hobby tools from non-hobby places from your videos, here are a couple things I've found useful in return: 1) shower head cleaning brushes - cheaper than detal picks, come with their own handle and cap, perfect size for cleaning the inside of an airbrush nozzle 2) gun cleaning swabs - cleaning guns requires swabs that won't shed, so these are essentially bigger and much cheaper versions of those stupidly expensive tamiya cotton buds. You can get like 400 of them for ~$10. These were a godsend when I got into playing Horus Heresy and had to learn all these weathering techniques. I like to buy the ones with a pointed end because they fit perfectly into your airbrush cup hole to get at any lingering paint in there without shooting anything uneccessarily thorugh your airbush (I took that lesson from you to heart and never get clogs). Hopefully you find one of those useful so I can give something back for everything I've learned from you. In any case, thank you again for what you do for us in the hobby.
8:55 I discovered how well 91% alcohol stripped paint off minis…in late February 2020. I had a bottle and started stripping my BFG minis and decided to strip my AT knights and a couple of space marines armies.
Imagine my surprise when I went to Walmart to find every bottle of alcohol gone. That’s when I knew Covid was becoming a thing. 😅
Great video and I’m so jealous of people starting the hobby now. It’s so amazing compared to 20 years ago.
I remember when armature wire disappeared from shelves during covid. I was briefly baffled until I realized people were using it for the noses of homemade masks.
I had one of those cheap massage guns, and i use it for paint mixing. If you pull off the head/massage top, there’s a hole that’s the perfect size for most dropper bottles. Turn it on and let it fly for a bit
My additions to the list. If using the GW plastic glue container or similar get a needle & thread to clear a blockage. Blue tac poster putty with the 2 ounce plastic sauce containers (or jello shots) for acres of small painting handles or upside down to mix paints, stack them while not using it. Micron black pen for writing scrolls or books. Wooden toothpicks with curly plastic ends for painting small details like eyes or magic runes & use the curly plastic side to texture paint for a randomized tool. Also for some basing material like grass, fill a large enough container with PVA glue and then fill the glue container with water for a close to 50/50 ratio, then get a cheap brush from Dollar Tree (underrated craft aisle too) to put the glue mix down.
For the dry pallet’s instead of throwing it out when they get to dirty I usually just give it a quick spray of white paint when I’m finishing painting something white with the airbrush anyways. Then it’s good to go again.
I just drop mine in my tub of Purple Power that I use to strip paint.
Let it float in there for a couple hours and the paint just washes right off.
Once the paint is thick, I've found it just peels off as a sheet pretty easily.
Vince, Try Dawn Powerwash to clean those pallets. That stuff strips acrylic paint right off of them.
I think it contains an alcohol similar to IPA, so you can try mixing a little IPA and dish soap to clean it. I typically just go straight for the IPA.
The mounting tape (spongey tape) is brilliant. I've used it to stick a 1/24 scale spaceship to my painting handle and it didn't budge, even when turning it upside down, but is easy to get off when you need to! It's my go to for bulk priming mini's, too. Lay out a strip, stick the mini's to it and they aren't going anywhere!
What would you recommend for cutting pins and what would you use for cutting off metal slotta bases? I've just been using tin snips but they are a bit clunky.
I use tin snips as well, something more heavy-duty.
Thanks for all you do! You completely changed my painting in such a good way!
I just invested in some silly putty & love it. I have the isopropyl for stripping models (but have airbrush cleaner I bought a couple of years ago). The vortex mixer I bought & use it every time I paint. The Liquitex I bought last year & just based all my Flames of war infantry. I should get some of the double sided sponge tape & dry pallet.
Great video, great to see a lot of the stuff i use in my military kit building is in Vince's collection, and yep I use them in my miniatures builds. I love my mini vortex mixer ,best tool ever.
Great video. Those pads and course medium are new to me. Thanks for the reminder to pick up some glue and start a bottle of spru goo.
Happy to help!
I couldn't ever find the silly puddy, so I went with the AK camo puddy and it works great! Those nail pads though, that seems interesting.. I'll have to check that out! You'll have to give the wife a thank you from all us hobby nerds 😂 Always appreciate your videos!! Thanks for sharing!
For the double sided tape, I use the gray exterior version. It's still foamy, but more like a foam rubber. If you've ever had the white type separate in the middle and leave you two fuzzy sides (especially if you leave it in use for a really long time because you take forever to finish a mini like me), the exterior type won't do that.
Hey, I didn't know all of them. Thank you. I've noticed that large collection of unusual tools is a fine indicator of experience in the hobby.
Vortex mixer may be expensive but it's a must if you use gel based paints like Scale 75 or their Fantasy & Games line. They'll kill you if you try to handshake them to proper consistency without Arnold's muscles in you arm.
Actually silly question - sprue goo & silicone tools - would they work together? Or potentially eat the silicone? Thanks!
They absolutely do. I use this combo all the time.
Must try that, Ty!
Excellent video from a beginner's point of view as well as for more seasoned hobbyists. I am going to be grabbing some of this coarse texture ASAP.
Glad it was helpful!
Dollar tree has double sidded foam tape that is around 1/2 by3/4 receptacles. Work great because the low quality adhesive works to hold on just enough. They also have tiny squares as well. I keep 3-4 of each in my back stock
I use most already, but I'm definitely picking up some course medium. Thanks for the ideas!
Tamiya airbrush thinner works in place of the plastic glue - same chemicals - while being a fraction of the price. Coincidentally plastic glue makes for an excellent airbrush cleaner. I mean, airbrush cleaner is good at cleaning airbrushes, nobody is surprised.
Tamiya putty is also an excellent greenstuff material - so much softer and easier to use and sculpt with.
I have a recommendation for you, Vince.
Soft chalk pastels. They make excellent pigment powder. I was frustrated by the lack of colour variety available in pre-made pots. Soft chalk pastels come in every colour, scrape a bit off with your hobby knife, and you're sorted.
I use wall filler for my basing. I add a bit of water to it to get it a bit more runny, I add various materials depending on what surface I want (I'm using a lot of smashed up egg shell mixed into the filler at the moment; it gives a really nice looking base). It is a bit more effort, but far cheaper than anything ready made I've tried. It also has an extra benefit: if I make a model with a larger base, the base is usually a bit saggy. Wall filler the void on the underside of the base and the issue goes away. It also adds weight to the base.
9:33 some primers do not react well to isopropyl alcohol, especially Stynlrez. The remaining primer will turn into gunk.
Resin 3d printer operators will often have gallons of the stuff.
Sensei Vince do you put those little balls into your droppers to make them work with the vortex mixer? I bought some of them, glass balls, is it good or useless?
No, most of the paints I use already have agitators, but nothing wrong with them.
@@VinceVenturella alright thx! 😊
Definitely agree with the vast majority of these. Adding sandpaper or sanding sticks to your mini cleanup is underrated, it'll give you a way smoother result than just a knife blade. Still, I wasn't even aware Liquitex did a coarse medium, could be worth looking into getting some.
I feel like quite a few of these are more in the category of "Hobby Tools Games Workshop Doesn't Sell" than weird, hah. A lot of them are staples for more experienced hobbyists who aren't afraid of branching out beyond what's in a Warhammer store.
I've found the ak interactive putty leaves a black residue from the dye they use for a while, so of you get one knead it a bunch and roll it on some paper until it stops
Pop-it fidget toys are made out of silicone, that and chocolate balls molds. Both are great alternatives to dry palettes as they are easier to clean and thus last longer.
As for files, metal files. They usually come in cheap kits with different shapes but they have a very fine grit. Lasts forever and they have as I said, shapes.
Just adding to the list of good tools :)
Thank you for the video ! I had never heard of the coarse medium.
When assembly of miniature, my favorite tool is reverse tweezers as an extra hand
I'd like to add. The Tamiya brand airbrush cleaner is the same formula as the Tamiya plastic glue. It's two ingredients, and if I recall, there's a 1% difference in the ratio from one to the other. Once you have two jars of the plastic glue, buying the airbrush cleaner will be your refill for years to come.
This. The cleaner costs a 1/5 the price of the cement.
I did the same and it works, however I find the Cleaner's fumes/smell much stronger compared to the cement
Awesome content as always! If you can, you should make a video assembling plastic miniatures with all the different tools you use.😊👍🏽
Noted!
I would def reccomend lil sauce ceramic plates/bowls - reusable, easy to clean and if you get aesthetic ones they can even just lay on your desk (have a lil leaf one for mixing) - or artist ceramic pallteses - more expensive but have paint grooves.
Ceramic is alright but cheap plastic ones are always easier.
I use the lil stainless steel variety. Cheap too. Either a quick wipe before it dries or trip to the sink. I’m fortunate that my loved ones do not sequester me and my hobby into the basement. I even get a window 😂.
I personally just use those plastic tops from chips in tubes - otherwise, it's just a waste, but I find it decent as dry palette for paints that do not like wet palette or as stand for multiple small miniatures during priming. It's essentially free and when it gets dirty, you can clean it or just dump it into bin for plastic recycling
@@Jfk2Mr oh yesssss I love them too! Always have a few lying here and there, great to reuse what would be trash 8D
I use the double sided foam tape also.
I use 99% alcohol a lot as well. Where I live it costs 1/20 per ml compared to airbrush cleaner. Have used it to clean natural haired brushes, but they were already pretty far gone, so felt I had nothing to lose. It actually worked better than expected and would worry about using them on more expensive/newer natural haired brushes too.
Thanks Vince, good information.
Any time!
thanks for the vid. Maybe i got one for you. harbor freight has the cotton swab assortment. the big one is great for cleaning model before paint with alcohol. And the have a super small one good for wiping a mistake.
I feel like a lot of folks in our hobby are sleeping on the texture medium, I've used it for years for my basing it's so fast and even if someone is just doing a cork or bark hero rock it helps complete the base. I also find tufts look a touch more real sprouting between gravely looking base.
Thanks for another great video Vince! I use the Golden brand texture paint for my bases and have found that it dries at a different rate than the crackle paint (Mordant Earth from GW) resulting in very large deep cracks that can be used to make glowy lava bases.
Yep, it's a great trick, I show it off in a few basing videos! Great minds think alike. :)
Vortex mixers. For mixing or more usually reconstituting things. EG you separate out dna from a sample, centrefuge it to pull the dna to the bottom in a pellet, remove the remaining gunk leaving the pellet of dna, then you add a solution and mix it to dissolve it back into solution
Vortex mixers are used in chemistry for the same reason we use them in paints! You get something that doesn't want to dissolve, but you shouldn't heat it up, so you vortex it for a bit and see if that helps.
In biology, I use it more for resuspending bacterial pellets or making sure a solution is mixed well after its been pulled out of the freezer.
Nail pads. Also use them to take off streaking grime whilst doing proper grim dark stuff. Works perfectly.
Instead of a dry palette i use a silicon pop-it fidget and highly recommend it. Acrylics dont appear to bond to silicon so after it dries you simply "pop" the dried paint out.
Good alternative are “bon bon” silicone sheets for baking, deeper wells (paint dries slower), bigger spaces in between wells to mix and blend. Just as easy to clean.
Just got one of these myself off Amazon. Wish I’d had it earlier NGL.
Budget airbrush case = best wet palette I ever had. It come with thin sponge "backing" and sturdy hinged lid, just add white parchment (and maybe kitchen towel/rag on roll underneath), squirt in some water and it's 100% ready to go.
Acrylic caulk, best "temporary glue" is you need to assemble model, but on later stage you plan to disassemble it. It dries for a while (day or two) but it's basically very strong robber bond (far stronegr than blu-tac). Oh and it also is super useful for terrain making, because you can paint it with acrylic paints. If only they made small tubes of that stuff in black... I may refill smaller tube from larger squirt cylinder.
I also cut wooden curtain rods (about 32 mm thick?) into 4-5 inch pieces, painted (dipped) ends with some throwaway leftover oil paint and now I have about 80 miniature handles for airbrushing (I attach bases with blu-tac). Also printed some larger (90mm) tops that attach on those rods with bit of a friction if I need to "hold" larger models.
As recommended by Marco Frisani…butyl rubber sealant tape in place of blue tac. A 1/4” x 3/16” x 40’ costs about $10.00 at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Usually found in gray, sometimes black and handles like Blu tac. Cabral is the name I found in the roofing section.
Also per Marco, I use milliput and IPA for gaps now. Live in a small apartment so the less heavy smell solvents the better. Having to open windows when it's 120 degrees out sucks
Check out the "Fenorkey" Synthetic brush set Vince listed here. I've been using these same brushes for quite awhile now. Amazing for the price 12 for $9 (size 1-12). Great for base coats, terrain even pva glue. Sometimes the ferrules are a little off center but they still hold up and still hold the point fairly well.
It is worth mentioning the vortex mixers can cause nerve damage to your fingers from the vibrations if you use it too much -- i.e. if you are a professional painter using it a lot. Look up nail polish shakers as they have a spring-loaded holder that shakes them in an up-down-rotary motion. Yes the up-down motion is not great, but if your paint is already at the point where it needs a heavy duty mix-up, the bubbles are not a large concern (at least to me). The nail polish shaker I use (Nail Shaker pro 2) doesn't fit large bottles well as it will bottom out on the table during the downstroke. I solved it by placing it on the edge of my table/desk so it can freely move. I also just realized I can put the bottles in upside down which may mitigate the bottoming-out..
Oh man, sanding sticks. Love the little guys, although I tend to have numerous sizes on hand - the small ones, DSPIAE ones (so 75x25mm more or less), and Infini. I have them mainly because I do a lot of gunpla kits, but they're so handy to have for models as well. Okay, the Infini ones aren't as useful on a Space Marine as the DSPIAE sized ones, but still.
Definitely second the vortex mixer. I love my Typhoon, it mixes your paints. Just don't use it on an Ikea table unless you want to shake the entire table as well ^_^
I also throw some rubbing alcohol into my water bottle for my wet pallet it helps keep it fresh for longer.
What grits do you find yourself using the most often with your sanding sticks?
Usually 120, 200 and 400.
@@VinceVenturella Thank you.
Another great material for glue/filler is something I saw on Paul Budzik's Scale Model Workshop RUclips channel. He uses dental acrylic resin powder mixed with ZAP-A-GAP super glue as a seam/gap filler. IT WORKS **GREAT**. I substitute Mia nail acrylic powder for the dental acrylic because it's much easier to find, much cheaper and can be purchased in small quantities. A 2 oz jar of powder will last a long time and I use it every day when I work on models. Once it hardens it is permanent and is the same density as the surrounding plastic or resin. Trust me, this trick is amazing...
Good suggestions. Here are others that some might find useful:
Drill the feet of your work pieces (if necessary), securely insert a pin, and use a pin vice to hold the pin. You get a nice long handle to hold, and you can screw the chuck really tight to hold your model very securely. I have a block of wood with holes drilled into it that I stand the pin vice up in during work breaks. (I'd never trust double-sided tape for anything).
Blue Tack, plasticine, "popsicle sticks" and card have a thousand "hobby" uses.
Sanding sticks that are marketed at modellers are a rip-off. Buy really cheap nail files, soak the rough paper off, and glue your preferred grit sizes on. "Popsicle" sticks are also useful for making homemade sanding sticks. If you want flexible ones, buy a cheap mouse mat, rip the top off (if necessary), glue your preferred grit sizes on, then cut to your preferred shapes.
I pick up any jar that needs shaking, grip it securely, and move my hand up and down really fast; 100% reliable, carbon zero, and costs nothing. Shaking speed and duration are also infinitely variable. 😊
This week I've started using a massage gun I've already got to shake my paints, probably not quite as efficient as the lab mixers, but it does a good job.
I found out that you can make Sprue goo with Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner (or just acetone). Its much cheaper and make the same job.
Excellent suggestions!
Glad it was helpful!
I love your videos, just wanted to comment on the silly putty, I have infact on more than one occasion have them pull up speed paints
Good to know!
love the vortexmixer just as much as you,(thou I might be biased, in misty past I worked in a lab as a student ;))
I love all Vince Venturella videos 👏👍🤙
Thanks Vince very helpful
I didn't love my little lab shaker shaped like that. I just picked up a new one, that straps the bottle into a little V shaped holder and functions a little more like a big paint shaker, and then I can push the button and walk away for a bit. It was about $30 and I think my hands appreciate not having to hold it.
Larry! Always finding his in videos!
I have a set of silicone shapers, but my set doesn't include the wide tip shaper shown on the far right at 13:52. That looks incredibly useful. I was unable to find such a tool in the shaper sets my Amazon search provided. Does anyone have a link to a set that includes such a wide tip?
Here is that set in particular - amzn.to/4azd4nY
@@VinceVenturella Thank you kindly
Have you ever used alcohol prep-pads? They're great for cleaning smaller things like the outside of your airbrush, or those dry palettes, and you can buy a box of 200 for a couple bucks.
Two things on the alcohol thing: 1) You can also use it with inks to make it so they flow into recesses better with a liner brush, so you can make "panel liner". 2) This is more an availability thing, but for our purposes, if you can't find 99% alcohol, then 91% will work just as well (the 70% stuff doesn't work as well).
I swear (and please understand, I mean this as a HUGE compliment) mini painting can claim many fathers, but only one dad, and it's you ❤
Have you ever tried rubber cement for masking?
Never tried it.
Please make a video showing tips on organising and setting up your hobby space
Great video, thanks Vince!
My pleasure!
I’ve been using clear uv resin and and blue stuff from green stuff world to make realistic ice you take a rock and put it in blue stuff to make a mold and then use the uv resin in the mold and it makes realistic looking ice for snow bases
Id love an even more obscure tools video for less common but handy techniques and what not!
Just subscribed. Really like your channel. Super helpful and i really like your delivery and presentation.
Welcome aboard! Glad to have you along on the hobby journey!
actually have had some issues with silly putty were it gave some oily surface over the model after using it
I've had that too previously, it'd be interesting to know what possibly causes that to happen.
Interesting, never had that happen. I'll have to experiment.
I use the thicker and softer nail wipes to clean my FEP in my resin printer. They work great and you get a ton for a couple dollars. I also stole them initially from my wife... lol
Useful advice thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Do you use a specific grit range for sandpaper sticks?
No, just stuff from amazon. Its linked in the description.
Don't forget to hit that like button. Buttons are fun.
The weirdest hobby tool of them all.
"Buttons aren't toys"
I hit the like button twice cause i like it that much!
@@needfoolthings if you like it that much, you should hit it three times 😁
What kind of dropper bottles do you use for your isopropyl alcohol and where do you get them, thanks in advance
Just generic dropper bottles from amazon or similar.
Thanks Vince, some useful ideas! Gonna try the coarse texture medium. Sprue goo doesnt help with resin prints right?
You can still gap fill, but it won't really attach the pieces.
Where did you get that silicone shaper set? Please and thanks
I like this set - amzn.to/3WbJE9D
and this set
amzn.to/3WrLXqr
@@VinceVenturella thanks, you saved my bacon with magnitizing tyranids