What tools would you recommend for someone that is new to the hobby? I am just getting started in HO, and I’d like to starting setting up a work area. I have some basic power tools (jigsaw, circular saw, drill) but really have nothing as far as tools for modeling, painting, or detailing. Do you have some tools that are absolutely essential? If anyone has a list of some sort, that would be great.
And if I was to get an airbrush, what brands would you recommend?
Xacto has several kits that are good for basic modeling (knifes, razor saws, etc). I got along with that for 15 years. Lowes has several package kits with mini screwdrivers, small pliers, nippers, etc that are perfect for modeling. My wife just gave me for Christmas a Lowes set that included multiple hobby knifes and small screw driver bits. Unless you get into some pretty sophisticated detail model building, you don’t need a huge selection of jewelers tools. I’d estimate 70% of the model building I do is with an Xacto knife, razor saw, nippers, and needle nose pliers.
I’ve been using a pretty basic Badger entry level airbrush (forget the model number) for 25 years. Only know getting to the point where I’m thinking of upgrading it, Unless you get into a lot of model painting, probably don’t need the super artists quality airbrush.
One other tool to get is a rail nipper. You’ll use it all the time for cutting track to fit and it works much better than wire cutters.
Your jig saw, circ saw, and drill will do most of the work you’ll need for building benchwork, unless you decide to get into cabinet making, but that’s a whole 'nother hobby itself. You didn’t say if your drill is a cordless or not, but if not, one of the best investment I made was a cordless drill/driver. Makes putting in benchwork screws a piece of cake.
Because I like to do wood buildings I made a razor blade based cutting tool
I also made a vacum cleaner attachment to lay ballast. I saw one at our Division meeting and it worked well. The one I made also works well and I have finally ballasted some track…
dremel with plenty of extras. I have the cordless 8.5 which works great and you can recharge it and take it anywhere.
kadee pin adjustment pliers
kadee drill bit and tap set for mounting kadee’s to your cars. Glue never lasts long or holds up well enough for long term service.
a nice selection of Athearn screws in various lengths for the coupler mounting projects.
a scale rule
rail nippers
a good cordless drill
a jig for mounting your cordless drill to use it as a drill press
a bench mounted vice
an organizer to keep all of your small parts and extra parts in
a miter box
a lazy susan to put your work on so you can spin it around to get to it without having to pick it up all the time. Plus tis works well when you are painting your equipment too.
as far as air brushes go, look around and read up on different ones to see which one is the best choice for what you want to do.
Safety glasses, and the willpower to use them every time you use a rail nipper or dremel, at least.
I use a plain old utility knife a lot when working on the layout. It also seems like a good handsaw is handier for me than a circular saw or jigsaw unless I am doing a lot of cutting, less mess as well.
Most important thing about a work bench, is that it be yours, and yours alone. You want to be able to leave a project spread out on the bench with some assurance that it will still be there tomorrow. Sharing with the laundry, or the kitchen table, can be very frustrating, and lead to strained relations with your significant other. Good strong lighting can make the difference between an enjoyable hobby and eyestrain. Model railroading parts are molded from dead black plastic and fit into dead black assemblies. Those magnifying lights on booms and an optivisor are well worth their cost. Small parts will fall off the bench to the floor. A clean, smooth, light colored floor makes recovery possible. A rough unpainted concrete floor awash in wood shavings and sawdust and your part is gone for good. Vises are very important tools. I have a wood workers vise, a machinist’s vise, a Pantronics vise and a drill press vise, and I use them all. I do a lot of modeling work with ordinary carpenter’s tools. I do have an Xacto knife set, needle files, jewelers screwdrivers, and a pin vise and drill bits, and a Dremel. I don’t buy a tool until I start a job that needs that tool. This keeps my tool collection down to a reasonable size.