What we actually use.
Only the tools that sit on our desks and get used every week. No sponsored picks, no gear we tried once. If it's on this page, it's covered in paint or resin right now.
Paints
Pro-Acryl · Monument Hobbies
Our workhorse for basecoats and layering. Strong coverage, smooth matte layers, tough enough for daily use. We own the whole range except the metallics.
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Ionic Smart Colors · AMMO
Our other main range. They thin and glaze without fuss, blend smoothly, and have a creamy feel that's easy to control.
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AK Interactive
Second choice for colour, first choice for grime: the acrylic range (minus AFV and Air), plus the enamels and pigments behind every rust streak and muddy boot.
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Vallejo + Squidmar sets
The Nocturna Fantasy Pro range, a lot of Model Color and Game Color, and three Squidmar sets: Fantasy, Dark Future and Essential.
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Varnish
AK matt varnish, on the rare piece that gets handled a lot. We don't varnish most display work.
Product page ↗Brushes
Squidmar Deluxe Kolinsky MKII
Kolinsky sable. Holds a sharp point for highlights, eyes and fine lines.
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Da Vinci Maestro 35 (0, 2) and Miniature Maestro 70 (2, 3, 4)
The bigger bellies carry paint for longer, so layers stay smooth across a whole cloak.
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Monument Dauntless synthetic set
Synthetics for the jobs that kill sable: metallics, inks and mixing.
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AK Precision and Survival Weathering sets
Cheap, tough brushes for drybrushing, stippling and pigments.
Product page ↗Airbrushing
Harder & Steenbeck Infinity · Squidmar 2024
Fine work: zenithal, glazes and soft light.
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Harder & Steenbeck Evolution · Squidmar 2024 2-in-1
Wider jobs: basecoats, varnish and terrain.
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A cheap airbrush for primer and metallics
Primer and metallic flakes are hard on a needle; this one takes the abuse so the good ones don't.
Stands, holder and cleaning brushes
H&S display stands (Giraldez and Squidmar editions), a dual holder and a cleaning-brush set.
Product page ↗At the desk
Redgrass R9 and R9 Solo
Daylight-balanced, no flicker, so the colours we paint are the colours you see in photos.
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Redgrass Everlasting Palette V2 and XL V2
Paint stays workable for days. The XL holds a whole army's palette.
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Redgrass Painting Mat, A3 and A4
Self-healing and double-sided, with a ruler, dilution ratios and a colour wheel printed on it. Grey, so it never fights the colours on the mini.
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Modular Hobby Plate · Last Paint Drop
Holds paints, brushes and the mini in one layout we can rearrange.
Printed by Inkonit, our partner for apparel, engravings and handy prints.Product page ↗
Fanttik Slim V8 Apex
A small vacuum for sanding dust and filings, before they end up in the paint.
Product page ↗Prep and building
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement + sprue glue
Thin enough to run into a seam. With bits of sprue dissolved in it, it becomes sprue glue that fills gaps as it bonds.
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AK Extra Thin Cement
Our second bottle. We use it to soften the sprue glue so the seam blends in and disappears once primed.
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Tamiya Sharp Pointed Side Cutter (74123)
Only for small, careful cuts: no stress marks on the plastic.
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Cheap cutters
For sprue and anything that would dull the good ones.
Fanttik F2 Master mini rotary tool
Removing support marks and cleaning resin prints fast.
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Hot-wire foam cutter
Cutting foam for terrain and bases.
ZD-99 soldering station (48W)
Wiring and soldering the neon lights we build into dioramas, and the neon signs we make, like the one we're building for the studio.
Product page ↗Printers and resin
HeyGears UltraCraft Reflex RS + Pulsing Release Module
Resin. Our go-to for fine miniature detail.
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HeyGears PAS10 (pale purple)
Our resin on the HeyGears, for miniatures: sharp detail, and the colour shows every surface flaw before primer.
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Siraya Tech Fast ABS-like · Navy Grey
Our resin on the Elegoo: tougher, so bigger pieces and thin bits flex a little instead of snapping.
Product page ↗Software
Fusion 360
Parts that have to fit: bases, connectors and anything measured to the millimetre.
Product page ↗Photography and video
Canon EOS 700D
With an EF-S 18-135mm, every finished mini, focus-stacked so the whole model is sharp. Also an EF-S 18-55mm, EF-S 24mm pancake and Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8.
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OnePlus 15, OnePlus 12, OnePlus 7T, iPhone SE
Our older phones. Most of the reference library was shot on them.
Livestream
Three iPhones
iPhone 11 Pro for the top view, iPhone XS for the side view, iPhone SE for our faces. Old phones, second life.