# Sticky  CHEAP Alternative Hobby Tools.



## Jezlad

So, having seen a thread earlier today I've decided to create this one (stickied) to post up cheaper alternatives to the GW/Army painter/GF9/whoeverelseyoucanthinkof overpriced variety.

If there's one thing that really riles me is companies charging stupidly inflated prices for tools and equipment thats either identical or inferior to alternatives in the industrial world.

Please feel free to post your alternatives so I can update the thread.



> *Sculpting Tools.
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> First up we have the sculpting tool.
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> Games Workshop sell a single tool for £4.10. http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod1095464
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> Alternatively, you can get a set of 12 from Amtech for around £6. I have this set and it's pretty much identical to the GW variety.
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Piece-Stainless-Steel-Wax-Carving/dp/B000V6MTDO/UTF8&qid=1308497486&sr=8-1
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> If you're in the US there's this option.
> http://www.amazon.com/Hawk-SE-Pick-Set-12Pc/dp/B001LJGMXI/UTF8&qid=1308497728&sr=8-28





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> Cutting Mats*
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> Games Workshop offer a cutting mat for £6.15 measuring 178 X 278mm.
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> A quick look round on Amazon UK and we find another offering from AmTech at just over £5. This is bigger _and_ cheaper. (I use this one - works a charm)
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> http://www.amazon.co.uk/300mm-450mm-SLIP-CUTTING-BOARD/dp/B001IOZUHK/ref=dp_cp_ob_diy_title_3
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> Those stateside will be pleased to see this one. 300 x 450mm for $10
> http://www.amazon.com/Darice-12-Inch---18-Inch-Green-Cutting/dp/B004GXBXVM





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> Cutters*
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> You can pay up to £8 for a pair of cutters... alternatively you can get 3 pairs for the same.
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> Our UK based readers can check out any of the following. I personally go for Draper or Rolson tools, we use Draper on multi million pound Powerstation Turbine renovations so I'm guessing they're a safe bet.
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAPER-DIAG...ef=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1308505482&sr=1-5
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> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-12543-Soft-Grip-Cutters/dp/B003BVDJDU/UTF8&qid=1308505697&sr=1-49


Please post and share your alternatives.


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## imm0rtal reaper

Craft knives: Head into any £shop/walmart/ diy store. And you're bound to find a craft knife that will do the job just as well as the GW one (I prefer them actually) 

Tape measure: We all need them, but we don't need to pay over £3 for them. You can pick up sets, with two or more in for a pound in most £shop/walmart/ diy type stores.


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## Azokazor

What are good paintbrushes that don't kill my wallet? I don't want to pay a fortune for five brushes. I just need something that works and will last a good while. Any suggestions?


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## Boc

Azokazor said:


> What are good paintbrushes that don't kill my wallet? I don't want to pay a fortune for five brushes. I just need something that works and will last a good while. Any suggestions?


If you're stateside, a lot of the big hobby stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc) have rotating sales. Just wait until the paintbrushes go on sale for 50% off and binge, that's what I normally do.


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## arumichic

I've found armypainter paint brushes can take a lot of use/abuse and still be good afterwards. If anything, invest in a brush cleaner (I have "The Masters (brand) Brush cleaner and preserver"). This will help out your brushes a lot and lengthen their life, no matter what brand you get.


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## Azokazor

arumichic said:


> I've found armypainter paint brushes can take a lot of use/abuse and still be good afterwards. If anything, invest in a brush cleaner (I have "The Masters (brand) Brush cleaner and preserver"). This will help out your brushes a lot and lengthen their life, no matter what brand you get.


I have The Masters Brush Cleaner, too, but it doesn't work on my brushes. I currently use some GW brand brushes and a few from MWG. It's fine on the MWG ones but not on my GW ones.


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## Carna

In Australia;

Bunnings has spray paint that is equal to GW spray paints but cheaper and more paint. It's called White Knight, the label has 'Quick Dry Flat Enamel", Flat Black colour or Flat White colour. Costs $9. GW spray costs $22. I believe there are other colours but not 100% sure.


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## Dawnstar

Carna said:


> In Australia;
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> Bunnings has spray paint that is equal to GW spray paints but cheaper and more paint. It's called White Knight, the label has 'Quick Dry Flat Enamel", Flat Black colour. Costs $9. GW black spray costs $22.


Wow cheers for that. Would they happen to have a White spray by any chance?


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## bitsandkits

those clippers are not really the correct ones , they are fine for wire but for models you should really be looking for flush cutting clippers, its a cleaner safer cut for delicate plastics and resin and metal bits.


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## arlins

Just a heads up 

was in a pound shop last week and bought a modeling knife set 
3 handles 12 diff blades .
2 handles broke while cutiing of sprues 
the 3rd one , the blades moves up to 15 degrees whilst in it .
very dodgy , so just be carefull , cheap aint always best ( or safe )


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## Carna

Dawnstar said:


> Wow cheers for that. Would they happen to have a White spray by any chance?


I know for sure there was White as well as Black, and I'm not 100% but I think there are other colours too. Just shake it up ALOT before use.

I've been using it on SM and some WFB stuff and it's good, just used it on some Rhinos and the results are a little worse than GW spray, but still worth it.


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## Dawnstar

Carna said:


> I know for sure there was White as well as Black, and I'm not 100% but I think there are other colours too. Just shake it up ALOT before use.
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> I've been using it on SM and some WFB stuff and it's good, just used it on some Rhinos and the results are a little worse than GW spray, but still worth it.


Awesome thanks 

I just purchased some Eldar and am currently debating whether or not to spray them white or not. Either way, I could use another spray can


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## Black Legionare

Lol I use a boxcutter instead of an exacto knife


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## Marneus Calgar

http://www.maelstromgames.co.uk/index.php?act=pro&pre=tap_hob_mod_ess_111_000&sou=ess

I consider this pretty cheap, because of the quality of them, the blade is good the cutters are excellent and I can't moan about them. Yes it's army painter but I got it for £7 something from triple helix wargames


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## Azkaellon

You get what you pay for. Well in every case but GW tools =/ i bought a pair of swedish clippers and the things cut plastic like a knife through hot butter.


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## ChaosRedCorsairLord

I find a lot of the P3, army painter, vallejo, etc stuff to be equal or better quality than the GW stuff and usually cheaper. This is some of the stuff I buy:

*Examples (From Maelstrom Games):*

Citadel Chaos Black 400ml spray can = £8.55
The Army Painter Base Primer Matt Black 400ml spray can = £6.75
save 27%

1x Citadel Sculpting Tool = £3.69
3x The Army Painter Modelling Sculpting Tools = £5.39
pay 46% more for 3x more.

3x Citadel Modelling Files = £6.48
3x Formula P3 Files = £4.45
save 46%

1x Citadel Green Stuff = £5.53
*Whole block* of Milliput from _B&K_ = £2.50
save 121% for 4-5x more.



All this is just from Maelstrom. If you shopped around a bit more you could probably get even better discounts, I'm just a bit too lazy to bother.


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## InkedDnA

Very good ideas. I was looking(not very in-depth) for a cutting board. I'll definitely check out amazon. AmTech seems like that's where it's at  sculpting tools here I come!


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## Stephen_Newman

If looking for cheap paintbrushes. In the UK there is a hobby/book store called The Works. This store has a great variety of art tools ranging from brushes and mixing pads. Rather than paying £5 for a GW brush I bought a set of 4 brushes of different sizes that work on all paints for £1.99. Work great!

The ones I bought are found HERE


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## arumichic

dickblick.com is the way to go for some awesome sable brushes and even other higher quality brushes.


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## Bushido

I bought some GW hobby files awhile back, worked great for a few weeks then rust settled in the grooves making them useless, I wasn't pleased. Went to a hardware store and picked up a set of 10 files (and they have files on both ends) for cheaper, I've had those for awhile now and they are excellent.


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## andygorn

Maybe these aren't "the best value in the world", but here are some things I've found in the UK which (I feel) give good savings and which I use all the time:

Machine Mart (hardware store) =
Sells good quality hobby vices, hobby lamps, very good needlefiles and also HSS drill bits for pin vices/hobbydrills. They also sell airbrushes, but I've not bought these from them yet...I'd recommend finding out what you want before going in, though, as they mainly sell to car repairers, etc, and not to hobbyists.

Wilkinson's (homeware store) =
Sells larger scale files (3 for £5 I think?), cheap saws, much cheaper glues + filler, vast quantities of play sand + gravel + stones for basing (seasonal availability though), sideclippers/pliers, tweezers sets (from the make-up section), cheap paintbrushes + acrylic paints for boards (I've not used them on miniatures, but I wouldn't recommend trying this). They have their own brand Dremels + glue guns too and one of their A3 cutting mats is £5-£6.

B+Q (hardware store) =
Boards, door edging for hills/ridges, filler, glues, stones/sand/gravel/slate available pretty much all year 'round and in huge bags for cheap £.


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## facelessone

I buy GW kits and green stuff thats it,everything else is walmart-michaels..


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## Carna

Australia; again in Bunnings they sell small drill bits for around $2.50 each. The 2mm is perfect for magnetising, and the 1.5mm is perfect for gun barrel holes. I got the 3mm for magnetising tanks, but it doesn't fit in the hand drill.


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## Arli

facelessone said:


> I buy GW kits and green stuff thats it,everything else is walmart-michaels..


If you are buying the GW green stuff you are getting ripped off! I buy this:
http://web.inetba.com/anyinc/item330642.ctlg
I usually get about 4-6 months of normal use out of this. $20 for about 10 times the amount that GW gives for a little over double the price.


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## Oakley

Hobby Knives - Games workshop and other modelling companies will wittle your money away just with simple things like the overpriced hobby knife. A quick drop into your local $2 shop will hold the answer, just ask for a hobby knife, and if they don't speak very good english, ask for a clay knife. I got a 20-piece set, with 3 different handles and 17 blades for $5, what a bargain!

Hope that helped you, good luck bargain-hunting!


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## Carna

Oakley said:


> Hobby Knives - Games workshop and other modelling companies will wittle your money away just with simple things like the overpriced hobby knife. A quick drop into your local $2 shop will hold the answer, just ask for a hobby knife, and if they don't speak very good english, ask for a clay knife. I got a 20-piece set, with 3 different handles and 17 blades for $5, what a bargain!
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> Hope that helped you, good luck bargain-hunting!


If it came in a small red box, beware! They break very easily.


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## Silens

There are some good eBay sources for modelling materials!

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/thetrolltrader

This guy sells Green stuff (£3ish for 6inches or £8 for 36!!!), Army Painter spray for £6 - £8, £4 for 50 dice, £12 for instant-mold ect ect... Quite possibly my favourite eBayer ever.


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## Moetle

For things in the U.S.
the green stuff i go here most the time: http://www.thewarstore.com/product18832.html
Never had a problem with these guys and they do sales often if you keep an eye out.

For brushes i go to dickblick.com or HobbyLobby. Hobbylobby has sales every once in a while and you can really go hog wild on some really nice brushes without spending alot of cash.

Never Under estimate wal-mart to have something you can use in the hobby either, they have cheap drill bits, foam board, paper clips and other things that you can find useful and cheap. 

In the 30 some odd years of doing this on and off the thing that irks me the most is spray primers. Back when i started primer was around 3$ for the really expensive. Now they are from 15 to 20, so i have been checking alternatives. Going back to mentioning Wal-Mart, i noticed Krylon now has "colored primers" with colors oddly enough to the army painters range (though not as many varieties). I bought a few cans of different colors and have tried a few experiments with them. So far so good especially for only 5$ a can.


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## Mortarman178

so i got a late christmas gift of brushes. now my inlaws are not teh smartest when it comes to hobby paint brushes so i got some crayola brushes. now at first i was a bit iffy on them but after some uses of them they work great. and for only like $2 it wasnt a bad deal eather.


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## JelloSea

Man I came in here for the topic, which has great ideas, but I feel like this thread alone could shut down a "does GW overcharge for models" topic.


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## Corporal Punishment 69

I using the Swann Morton brass knife handle, not so cheap but will last forever, into it can be put any scalpel sharp bit you want. I using tools for stuffing dead animals for sculpture, the same with the files and special snow effect for diorama...


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## Diatribe1974

I'm done with GW's shitty paint pots. I need to get some decent dropper bottles to replace all my Citadel paints in. Anyone have any recommendations for dropper bottles that'll stay nice and air tight once sealed back up after use? What I'm looking for are ones big enough for me to put probably 2 Citadel paint pots worth into & (as I mentioned a sec ago) sealed nice enough to help maintain the paint inside so they don't dry out fast.


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## Rik_Biel

Not sure if it's been mentioned;

Idea for paint stand;

For a painting stand - I made a Lego base using lots of hole slotted Technic beams - I then use the Technic axles and joiners as paint stands - blob of Blue tac on top and that's how I separate detail paint all parts


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## artofresin

Hey, I 'm not sure, if we are talking about alternative tools you can buy, only, or something that we can customly make, should be added here. If so, I could share, how I made my air-compressor to suit my needs in airbrushing and in casting resin. Just tell me if this is the right spot, and I could give you the details on how to make one.


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## scscofield

You could do it here but that honestly sounds like something that could use a tutorial thread itself.


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## artofresin

Ok, I 'll do it on, modelling and painting board, as a new thread, but I won't make a tutorial, as from the last time I tried to do so, on this forum, I couldn't follow the instructions correctly so it was a waste of time both for me and for that poor mod trying to correct my thread..


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## vulcan539

Super glue.
I use a dollar shop brand of super glue called tikey extra strong. 
it's prices varies depending on where you get it, but so far it's cost me about $2-$3 for about 2g of the stuff and I'v stuck most my imperial guard together with it.

Now it's not going to give the best results, as it's not the best superglue out there, but if you're treating your models with a bit of respect it works fine.

Cutting Mats.
Bunnings warehouse, Miter 10/MEGA, Countdown supermarket, dollar stores all sell them from GW size up at much cheaper prices.
The proper hardware stores sometimes have large matts for covering enter workbenches.

Misc items
Geoff's Emporium is great for this, as the stores buy up stock from business going under they have a lot of random iteams from clothing/fabric to power tools and art supplies at less the manufacturing costs sometimes.


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