best obscure tips

[thegoodsgt]

A friend of mine uses a desk that's been raised about 6-9 inches so that he doesn't have to hunch over it to work on models. He swears by it.

Another desk option, albeit expensive, is a jewelers workbench, like these:

http://www.kassoy.com/benchtools01.htm
http://shorinternational.com/benches.htm

 

[JohnLea]

Mine is elevated as well on (2)2x6s. Works nicely in combination with an adjustable height chair

 

[John Long]

I cut sections of freezer paper into 5x7 sheets. I clip them onto a clipboard and tape down the other end for my pallette. It's easy to place in the freezer at the end of a session.

I coveted one of those watchmaker's benches for a long time and would have broke down and bought one if we hadn't moved to a house with a perfectly set up hobby room. I made a work surface with an old solid core door and covered it with 1/4" particle board for a smooth surface.

I don't know how obscure of a tip this is, because it's a variation on the shaped toothpick sculpting tool. I use wooden handled cotton swabs. This yields a tool that is easier on the fingers and hands as I find toothpicks too short. I have about eight of these and many are double ended. They're easy to customize and replace.

 

[JohnLea]

A glob of blue tack on the end of a toothpick makes a handy pick up tools for tiny parts.

 

[olly_usafsoc]

Use de-ionised / de-chlorinated water instead of that from a tap. I only started using it about a week ago & boy! what a hell of a difference it makes! Smoother transitions for paint, and i am more able to control how diluted it is!

 

[Joe Hudson]

I had forgotten about something I used, so I hope this helps. Sometimes you must paint something and add it later, for instance my Bat Masterson's right arm. I could not paint all the detail with it on so I had to add it later. By doing this I had a joint to fill, so I used my putty(AVES) and what I used to smooth it was the base color of paint! It works just like using water.

Another thing that I was told I could have done, after the fact, was to use Elmer's glue to fill in the small crack/seam.

Joe

 

[turcao]

Masking faces:

I use Teflon tape ( used by plumbers to seal threaded pipes and hoses ).
It's cheaper than liquid mask and covers/molds to all surfaces. It doesn't stick to dried paint too.

Regards,
Arthur from Brasil

 

[Luis R.]

I store my Vallejo paint bottles in a box, so when i open it i only see a lot of white caps :lol: . To make color identification easier, i paint the cap top with the paint inside the bottle.