Part Two: Tools and Materials

I use a wide variety of tools for my ships but that is not necessarily the only or even the best tools for the task. Some you can do without if you like, or can’t afford them. I generally improvise and occasionally I whip out the Dremel when I feel lazy…

Materials

Plasticard 

The majority of my ships are built almost entirely out of styrene plastics. It is very easy to work with and it is available in many forms and profiles as you can see from the picture below.

The basic variety of styrene is the sheets which come in varying thicknesses from paper thin to 2-3 mm. The hull of my ships f ex are a sandwich construction of bits of styrene sheet. This way I can build the hull up to the exact height I want for my ship.  

Various types of styrene plastic

Above you see a few other variants of styrene products such as rods, tubes and an i-beam profile. These are from Evergreen’s product line are primarily geared towards model railroads and larger scale models.

You should be able to find styrene sheets in stores that cater to modellers or tabele top gamers.

Gale Force nine

Evergreen

Metal

I use a bit of brass rod or wire for masts and gun barells. It’s very good for these things since styrene is very soft and bendy. It might also break if not handled carefully. So brass is better if you’re worried about strength. You can usually find brass rods in several gauges at the same stores that carry plasticard.

Glue

When it comes to glue it is worth your money and peace of mind to buy a good plastic glue. Make sure it has a very fine nozzle like the one below. It should also flow easily and not be too sticky when applied. Getting large globs of glue and spiderwebs of stringy glue on your model will ruin your day and maybe even your new ship.

Revell plastic glue

You may want to invest in a superglue of some type as well if you intend to use other materials other than styrene, such as brass or other metals. I recommend that you find one with a fine nozzle, maybe one with with a fine flexible tube. They are very handy for getting at minute parts in tricky spots and they don’t slobber glue all over the place.

Green stuff

Green stuff is an epoxy putty that you mix together before use and which sets very slowly so you have plenty of time to work with it. It’s called green stuff because the two components of the putty are yellow and blue. When mixed properly the putty becomes green. When it has hardened it can be filed and sanded if needed.

Green stuff is available from several suppliers, f ex Gale Force Nine and Citadel.

Tools

Scalpel

A good scalpel is absolutely necessary for working with styrene. Get a good surgical scalpel with exchangable blades. Also invest in a self healing cutting mat to protect your work bench. Exacto has good blades and mats and are easy enough to find.

Files

Jeweller's files

A set of jewellers files is one other thing you should invest in, they are cheap enough and are available in sets with different shapes. 

Sandpaper

Sandpaper and sanding block

Coarse sandpaper is great for rough shaping hulls quickly. Follow this up with a finer grain paper to smooth the surface off. A sanding block is useful, but not strictly necessary. Pictured above is a very coarse grained sandpaper on a sanding block.

Tweezers

Tweezers are useful when placing fiddly bits on your models. I bought a set together with my files, cheap stuff. You don’t need anything fancy, just make sure that they have fine pointed tips.

Calipers

Calipers are useful for getting measurements that are very accurate, f ex if you’re unsure what gauge a bit of sheet is or what diameter rod would be suitable for a funnel or gun barrell.

Steel ruler

A good steel ruler is great for when you need to cut a straight line with your scalpel. The benefit of a steel ruler over a plastic one is that you’re less likely to ruin a steel ruler by cutting into it, which will happen sooner or later with a plastic one.

Pin vice

A pin vice is a small hand held drill. They are great for drilling holes for masts and such like.

Pin vices

Summary

Well, these are my basic tools and some not so basic tools. You will see more of how I use them to build my next project in the next part of this series. In that part we will look at applying the blueprint to the styrene in order to shape a hull.

Cheers for now!

//The Dude

Read part one 

Read part three