Do NOT be put off by this list – tools can be acquired over a long period – they just make things easier.
A lot of them are just DIY stuff – most serious modellers will probably have a lot of this stuff anyway.
Some say only buy the best. Sadly price is not always a guarantee of quality.
A lot of the more common items below can be bought cheaply on ebay - whilst not always the best quality, they are often good enough.
My most used set of 6 screwdrivers (short ones fitting into a fat handle) were bought for £1 in Woolworths 30 years ago - still in daily use. Tools for G1 etched railway model construction
| Primarily soldered | Primarily glued | |||||
| Soldering | ||||||
| Gas torches | ||||||
| large – DIY store type | essential | optional | ||||
| medium | preferable | optional | ||||
| small needle torch | rarely used | optional | ||||
| Soldering iron | 50W | essential | essential – there are still some things you need to solder | |||
| a temperature display is nice, just so you can see when it is hot enough | ||||||
| Resistance solderer | essential | optional | ||||
| Pencil sharpener for sharpening resistance electrodes | ||||||
| box cutter knife (throw away blade type) for trimming back the copper sheath on the resistance electrodes before sharpening them | ||||||
| lighter for gas torches | ||||||
| gas for torches | ||||||
| Drilling out etches | ||||||
| Pin vises | useful | |||||
| Small drill set | essential | |||||
| Tapping size drills | essential | |||||
| countersink | essential | |||||
| Broaches | essential | easier to use than small drills, harder to lose or break | ||||
| hand drill | essential | |||||
| A pin vise is a good alternative for holes in etches that need to be cleared out. Broaches are better still for this. | ||||||
| power drill – various types can be used | optional | |||||
| Taper reamer | essential | useful for opening up holes in etches – use BEFORE cutting the part out of the fret | ||||
| Cutting parts out of fret | ||||||
| small chisel | essential | see Xuron cutter | ||||
| small hammer | essential | |||||
| assorted files (needle and larger) | essential | |||||
| box cutter knife (throw away blade type) | essential | see Xuron cutter | ||||
| Xuron 170-II Micro-shear flush cutter | essential | Excellent – replaces all except files for cutting parts out of fret (and even the file use is minimised) | ||||
| That was what I originally thought, but the blades rapidly wore out – far too soft. | ||||||
| Now I mostly use a pair of scissors I bought on eBay at a cheaper price than the Xuron cutters, but had to grind the blades shorter to give enough leverage to cut the etch. I ended up with 3/4″ blades & 4″ handles. You may be able to find something better than does not require modifications – try searching for “medical scissors” on eBay (or Google shopping) – look for something with short blades and long handles – long blades are unsuitable as they require too much leverage | ||||||
| Rolling sheet metal | ||||||
| Extended jaws vise | essential | |||||
| small portable vise | essential | |||||
| various sizes of rod or large drills | essential | |||||
| Bending strips and wire | ||||||
| round nosed pliers | very useful | |||||
| needle nosed pliers | essential | |||||
| standard pliers | very useful | |||||
| mole grips | very useful | |||||
| wire cutters | essential | |||||
| Cutting wire | ||||||
| Brass or Nickel silver | Side cutters | essential | ||||
| Piano wire | Side cutters | essential | Tough and disposable (HSS if you can get it) Piano wire will wreck (dent) most cutters | |||
| Carborundum or diamond disc in a rotary tool | ||||||
| Tapping holes in etches | ||||||
| 8BA tap | essential | |||||
| 10BA tap | essential | |||||
| tap wrench (or tapping stand, or pin vises) | essential | |||||
| Gripping etches | ||||||
| Vises – various – see above | essential | |||||
| Pliers – various – see above | essential | |||||
| Clamps – various | essential | strong clothes pegs are useful – plastic (not for soldering) or wood | ||||
| masking tape | very useful for temporarily holding things together – or use “hot tape” near soldering | |||||
| metal strips for clamping whilst gas soldering | essential | |||||
| heat proof fingers would be good, failing that try an old thin leather glove or long finger nails. | ||||||
| Inserting & tightening nuts & bolts | ||||||
| Spanners | box | useful | ||||
| nut spinners | essential | 6, 8, 10BA | ||||
| flat | essential | |||||
| small adjustable | useful | |||||
| Screwdrivers | jewellers – various | essential | ||||
| larger ones | essential | |||||
| pearl grips | very useful for getting screws into awkward positions | |||||
| Cleaning etches | ||||||
| Fibre glass pen | essential | great for cleaning up surfaces | ||||
| ditto – wire | very useful | |||||
| ultrasonic cleaner | very useful | needs to be big to get a loco side in | ||||
| citric acid crystals | very useful | great for removing oxides after gas soldering or brazing | ||||
| Scrapers – small chisel, jewelers screwdrivers – see above | ||||||
| Pushing the newly exposed end of freshly snapped box cutter knife blade is very effective | ||||||
| 400 grit wet & dry paper | essential | Gives etch primer something to grip | ||||
| Rivet punching | ||||||
| Rivet punch or pillar drill | essential | A proper rivet punch works best | ||||
| assorted punches and matching anvils | essential | |||||
| Miscellaneous and consumables | ||||||
| digital calipers | essential | |||||
| small square | essential | |||||
| Loctite – various | essential | You will need a threadlocker grade for most screws/nuts and possibly a retainer grade for greater holding power | ||||
| solder – various | essential | |||||
| flux – various | essential | |||||
| masking tape | very useful | |||||
| spare carbon electrodes for resistance solderer | essential | |||||
| Loctite AA 326 adhesive & 649 activator | For gluing joints – activator not normally needed | |||||
| Loctite 7081 or 7063 cleaner | For removing excess Loctite AA 326 – BUT keep away from paint – makes a great paint stripper | |||||
| Painting (and clean up after soldering/before gluing) | ||||||
| Clean metal surface with water/washing-up liquid (weak) – best done in ultrasound cleaner | ||||||
| Repeat above with water only – or clean with weak citric acid (TRY THIS) – Ikea do a suitable plastic box for aciid etch tank – “Samla” 29 x 28 x 14cms NOTE:- citric acid appears to tarnish nickel silver – best avoided | ||||||
| Final wipe over (or soak) with IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol) or Acetone to remove any residues | ||||||
| Fill all seams with plastic filler – just about to try Vallejo Plastic putty (alternatives?) – only 17ml | ||||||
| Prime with acid etch primer – apply with aerosol or airbrush – NOTE:- acid etch primer needs something to grip (designed for steel) so abrade the surface first (400 grit paper) or sandblast. Abrading with sandpaper is best done BEFORE cutting any parts out of the etch. | ||||||
| Paint black **- apply with aerosol or airbrush | ||||||
| ** except where main background colour is different – e.g. Boiler cladding, inside & outside frames etc, in which case use the appropriate colour | ||||||
| Apply gloss varnish so transfers will stick | ||||||
| Apply transfers | ||||||
| Spray satin varnish to protect transfers (or whatever varnish you want) | ||||||
| Note – make sure that all paints are compatible before applying | ||||||
| Applying transfers | ||||||
| MicroSol | Not really needed on flat surfaces | |||||
| MicroSet (or cheap white vinegar) | ||||||
| See separate instructions for applying transfers (Applying transfers – MicroSol and MicroSet usage) | ||||||
| Recommended reading | ||||||
| Larger Scale Model Railway Etched Kit Building | Peter Smith | |||||
| The Finishing Touch | Robert Shephard | |||||
| Air Brushing and spray painting manual | Ian Peacock | |||||
| How (not) to paint a locomotive | Christopher Vine | |||||
| Screw threads and twist drills | Ian Bradley | |||||
| Carr’s Soldering Handbook | ||||||
| Soldering and Brazing | Tubal Cain | |||||