5 Essential Gadgets For Model Building

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Planes, trains, automobiles, mini figurines, spaceships, you can build a model of just about anything, and it's a lot of fun, too. While some easy kits claim you don't need tools, the more advanced ones will require you to have, at the very least, a craft knife. From there, you may need a sander, painting brushes and supplies, glue or adhesive, and a few other small gadgets. Believe it or not, if you're 3D printing the model parts yourself, you'll still need a lot of those tools – 3D prints don't come out perfect. If you really want to keep the force strong with those Star Wars-inspired 3D printing projects, with clean lines and sci-fi-esque designs, pro-grade tools are a must.

The tools you need are going to depend on the task at hand, of course. If you're painting mini-figurines that are already assembled, that's going to be a very different process than putting together a model car. Regardless of what you're building, there are some essential gadgets that can help. Though it may be obvious to some, you don't necessarily need these gadgets to get the work done.

The basics, including a precision craft knife, some paint and fine brushes, sandpaper or metal files, and a solid workstation, are really the only true requirements. The following tools are essential because they will significantly speed up the experience and help eliminate a lot of minor frustrations.

Hands down, the first and most important tool in any model builder's arsenal is a precision crafting knife, which you might recognize as an X-acto knife. If you prefer simple designs, there are plenty of precision craft sets out there. But if you want ultra-precise, ultra-smooth cuts that are remarkably accessible, meaning anyone of any skill level can achieve them, Hozo's NeoBlade is the knife to splurge on for $149. It's a sleek, electric portable cutter that uses ultrasonic vibrations to slice through various materials like leather, resin, and carbon fiber.

You may notice some of those materials are thick and troublesome to cut through with your average craft knife, but the Hozo NeoBlade makes short work of them. The NeoBlade delivers ultrasonic vibrations at 40,000Hz, so it basically makes super-fast saw blade-style motion cuts. It also employs a unique airflow cooling system to prevent all the internals from overheating, no matter how difficult the cutting task. It's wireless and comes with two hot-swappable batteries.

There are also six types of blades for different cutting styles and optional accessories, like storage cases, charging docks, and self-healing cutting mats for the surface of your workstation. You'll be doing a lot of cutting, whether it's removing individual plastic or wood model parts from their frames or trimming pieces from your 3D prints. The Hozo NeoBlade makes that fast, easy, and precise.

Another Hozo gadget is a unique tool called the NeoSander. It's an electric, portable reciprocating detail sander with a huge amount of modularity. To keep it simple, it's a precise sanding and finishing tool that uses a linear back-and-forth motion, versus rotary tools, without spinning or wobbling. That allows it to stay consistent during use, is easier to control, and results in incredibly detailed and polished pieces or surfaces. The tips of the tool can be swapped out like drill bits for a drill, and there's even a saw-like attachment, so it could stand in as a wood, resin, or plastic cutter if you didn't want a separate knife.

The premium combo is $169 and includes the tool, a charging dock, additional accessories, and a 64-piece multicolored sanding attachment kit. This will be especially useful for 3D prints that come out with rough edges, nubs, or bits and bobs that need to be sanded down or polished away. It can also smooth out surfaces after you do a cut with a knife. Alternatively, you could go with the basic set if you're on a budget, which costs around $70. This wouldn't be a bad tool to use for 3D projects that take your Raspberry Pi builds to the next level, polishing or finishing 3D printed cases and other modular shells.

Painting requires a steady hand, a keen eye, and some solid linework, but in the case of mini figurines or small pieces, as you'd make for Warhammer or a tabletop D&D session, you need a much closer peek at where those brush strokes are going. The Micro-Mark BrushCam is ideal for that. It's a custom-made battery-powered and USB-rechargeable brush camera that attaches to any paintbrush, thanks to a specially-designed adapter. It delivers 10x magnification and broadcasts video to your phone or tablet, via an app available for Android and iOS devices.

The camera helps magnify the tip of the paint brush so you can see where it's going and what parts of the model it's coloring. That makes it infinitely easier to add more details to bland models. You can do things like color faces on resin figures or add minor accoutrements to bigger models, and so on. The fact that you can supply your own brush is a huge boon; you're not locked into a proprietary design or model. The Micro-Mark BrushCam is $90 at full price.

The Revopoint Inspire 2 is a 3D hand scanner with built-in Wi-Fi that lets you scan virtually any item of any shape and any surface to create a digital model. You can then take that model and modify it to create 3D printer blueprints or digital pieces — like prefabrications for video games or 3D modeling software. It's primarily useful to anyone with a 3D printer, as it won't do much for regular models or toy figures, but that doesn't make it any less valuable for those who can leverage it. Some of the coolest 3D printing projects you should try at some point are essentially models or miniature recreations. All things you could easily scan and recreate with a gadget like the Inspire 2.

It creates highly detailed and accurate models with relatively simple scanning techniques. You don't necessarily have to have experience working with models or 3D modeling tools, though it certainly helps. It's battery-operated, comes with USB-charging gear, and includes a tripod for stable setups. It's small enough to fit in a backpack, day bag, or purse, too, so you can take it with you everywhere and scan things you encounter in the world, within reason.

Some protected items or designs may not be legally scannable. That said, you can use it to scan and print architecture and fantasy-related models, arts and sculpture, and most anything you see or can imagine. The Revopoint Inspire 2 standard model is $549 at full price, while the premium package for $629 includes a mobile-mounting kit that works similarly to a selfie stick or handheld camera mount.

Chances are, you have some kind of workspace — you always need a reliable area to build your models — but whether it's in a dimly lit room or there's bright overhead lighting, you're still going to need a lighting source that's adjustable and capable of getting in real close. Enter Neatfi's excellent hobbyist-style desk lamps. The XL 2200 Lumens lamp, for example, comes with a built-in clamp that allows you to secure it to the surface of any tabletop, desk, or makeshift workbench, even if you have plywood resting atop some sawhorses.

That clamp, the adjustable arm, and the four levels of dimming allow you to completely fine-tune the lighting angles and brightness. That may not seem like much, but when you're in the thick of sanding, finishing, painting, or admiring your figurines and models, it's going to make all the difference. It's also designed to be glare-free, won't flicker during use, and is easier on your eyes.

It's not "smart" as there are no app controls, there's no built-in Wi-Fi, or anything connected. But even so, it's an incredibly invaluable tool to have at your work desk or station that gives you a lot of light to see and focus on whatever task you're doing. The company also offers a variety of other similar desk lamps with varying styles and brightness levels. Adding more than one could also be an option for better lighting all-around.