1. Tamiya got their name from the founder Yoshio Tamiya. 2. Humbrol got their name from Humber Oil. 3. Chinese Amazon tool sets get their names by making their cats walk on their keyboard.
Interestingly, the reason a lot of the Chinese brands on Amazon have wacky names like that is because it's easier and quicker to get a trademark and begin selling products in the US. If they pick a name with an actual English word in it, it require more effort to make sure they aren't infringing on too similar to another brand's name.
I am buying tools and/or models when im on vacations. Works nice both as a souvenir and a real thing. Other tools are bought when i understand that i need them.
I still have several of the tools in an Xacto set purchased around 50 years ago and still use a few. Good quality tools will last a long time with care. I have of course supplemented these with many more over the years and of late discoved the joys of single blade nippers and really good tweezers. If your serious, money spent for high quality tools is money well spent.
The key here is that when you're a starter, you might not be sure - so spending a lot on high-quality tools could just mean wasting a lot more money - which is why starter tool sets exist (I think!). My problem with most of them is that they don't really help anyone get into the hobby, they're more just making profit for companies short-term.
Saw an AK Interactive set in local hobby shop a few days ago, thought its a crap, but i changed my mind after this video and will come back and buy it soon. Thank you!
I have an x-acto set that belonged to my dad. He probably got it in the 60s. I just gave it to my daughter and bought a new one for myself. Knowing that the 3 piece knife set came from her grandfather makes it far more valuable than any new deluxe kit I could buy.
Never bought a set. I mixed and matched my tools from the start, mostly because sets were not available when I started. As time went on, some tools were replaced by better made or better performing ones. The newest is the Dspiae side cutters - like you said, these are awesome.
A very useful and informative video. I didn’t buy a starter set. Some of the tools here I already had due to my love of motorcycle restoration. So, in this respect I am quite lucky. Thanx for sharing with us. Cheers Neil
I’ve got the same size cutting mat as the smallest included in these kits. It was from the dollar store. I was the perfect size for a PE sheet for a Tamiya 1-350 Fletcher. I use it for some other stuff and cutting decals. It’s useful… but I need a bigger on. I plan on getting one of the large ones when I set up a dedicated work zone.
Listened to the podcast and then watched this vid. Great recommendations. I got the Italeri set and some Revell spring clamps for basically free with a second hand kit I picked up. I can't believe what they charge for it retail. It's better than a kick in the balls, but not by much.
I bought a kit identical toy the 8-peice gundam set when I started 6 months ago. The sanders disintegrated after a few months but they served their purpose well in getting me started. Considering the kit cost less than most basic individual tools from modelling brands, it's a steal
Hi. I agree with just about everything you say especially the bit about a modellers collection will be based on "what you need/is useful" experience. I would add that you might consider (what I call) locking tweesers (such as from Rolson) which are tweesers that you squeese to let go rather than squeee to hold. Less likely to drop the part and less sustained finger pressure (rsi). I remember ny first kit (not all at once was a nail file and scalpel. I managed with that for years. We always used to break the parts off the sprues without much trouble. Is the nippers because everyone else says its right? Do you find that the diamond files clog? I've never tried it for plastic but it looks like they should. You have forgotten drills for clearing the holes for optional parts I see in some kits. These tools are well suitable for kit building. Approriate as beginners are likely to build kits "out of the box". Once you have built a few and get tired of the production line then a few more tools like drills for instance become usefull. Next upgrade for me would be a mini drill (like a dremmel, but rather a Lidl special) with burrs, sanding drumms etc.
This is a great video, Alex - thank you for all the hard work that certainly went into it ❣I do have a question for you: three years ago, when I returned to modeling, I bought a Gundam set off of Amazon, which was very similar to the one you've featured here. It included a small yellow plastic board with some sort of guard rails - now, what the hell is it for? Since I don't really now about it's proper usage, I solely use it for cutting PE parts off the fret. Is it intended to be used for anything else? Cheers, Mike
Another question: do you have any tips on how to properly clean a cutting mat without destroying the printed-on grid? I tried isopropyl alcohol and now the white lines are gone 😈
@@MikeUSA67 the yellow wedge is (I believe) a parts separator - so if you've glued two halves of an aircraft fuselage together and they misalign, for example. This is supposed to help you split them along the join line without the plastic tearing
Hi Alex.. Taking onboard your reply to another comment I made about tool sets, and if you don't use one it's a waste of money, I took the prices of these sets and reordered them priced by number of tools in the set, so you get an average per tool. I counted multiples as one tool, so a knife handle and spare blades, or several files, etc I counted as one tool each. If I excluded tools a plastic modeller would never use, like screwdrivers the numbers of tools would be even lower. The point being how much money would be wasted per tool not used. With that I ended up: Name Price (£) # Tools £ per tool Aussel 19.99 18 1.11 BQINLENX 8.99 7 1.28 Wimas 20.79 15 1.39 Mann’s Set 18.95 9 2.11 Humbrol 10.99 5 2.20 Meng 16.99 6 2.83 Tamiya 20.49 6 3.42 Revell 14.99 4 3.75 Italeri 15.75 4 3.94 AK Interactive 17.99 4 4.50 Modelcraft basic 17.99 4 4.50 Modelcraft pro 27.99 5 5.60 By that logic the Aussel set is per tool cheapest. The BQINLENX second. Yours came in fourth, however your tools may last longer. Broadly though, even though your review was much more in depth we both had roughly the same result.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
1. Tamiya got their name from the founder Yoshio Tamiya.
2. Humbrol got their name from Humber Oil.
3. Chinese Amazon tool sets get their names by making their cats walk on their keyboard.
It does seem so!
Interestingly, the reason a lot of the Chinese brands on Amazon have wacky names like that is because it's easier and quicker to get a trademark and begin selling products in the US. If they pick a name with an actual English word in it, it require more effort to make sure they aren't infringing on too similar to another brand's name.
I am buying tools and/or models when im on vacations. Works nice both as a souvenir and a real thing.
Other tools are bought when i understand that i need them.
I still have several of the tools in an Xacto set purchased around 50 years ago and still use a few. Good quality tools will last a long time with care. I have of course supplemented these with many more over the years and of late discoved the joys of single blade nippers and really good tweezers. If your serious, money spent for high quality tools is money well spent.
It's "you're, " not "your." Very embarrassing.
@@johndillon8051 Don't be embarrassed - just edit your comment 😁
The key here is that when you're a starter, you might not be sure - so spending a lot on high-quality tools could just mean wasting a lot more money - which is why starter tool sets exist (I think!). My problem with most of them is that they don't really help anyone get into the hobby, they're more just making profit for companies short-term.
Saw an AK Interactive set in local hobby shop a few days ago, thought its a crap, but i changed my mind after this video and will come back and buy it soon. Thank you!
I have an x-acto set that belonged to my dad. He probably got it in the 60s. I just gave it to my daughter and bought a new one for myself. Knowing that the 3 piece knife set came from her grandfather makes it far more valuable than any new deluxe kit I could buy.
That's great!
My "tools" are some nail clippers, a sharp tatey peeling knife, our lasses nail file and most importantly,koppaberg cider
Excellent and informative video! Thanks Mr Mann.
Thank you!
Currently preparing for my first kit build and bought the 8 peace gundam set last week before I watched this video today. Feeling nervously confident.
Good stuff!
Never bought a set. I mixed and matched my tools from the start, mostly because sets were not available when I started. As time went on, some tools were replaced by better made or better performing ones. The newest is the Dspiae side cutters - like you said, these are awesome.
A very useful and informative video.
I didn’t buy a starter set. Some of the tools here I already had due to my love of motorcycle restoration.
So, in this respect I am quite lucky.
Thanx for sharing with us.
Cheers
Neil
You're welcome!
Thank you. Best comparison I have seen.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve got the same size cutting mat as the smallest included in these kits. It was from the dollar store. I was the perfect size for a PE sheet for a Tamiya 1-350 Fletcher. I use it for some other stuff and cutting decals. It’s useful… but I need a bigger on. I plan on getting one of the large ones when I set up a dedicated work zone.
Great vid. Just what a starter to the hobby needs, sound advice and options.
Thank you
Listened to the podcast and then watched this vid. Great recommendations. I got the Italeri set and some Revell spring clamps for basically free with a second hand kit I picked up. I can't believe what they charge for it retail. It's better than a kick in the balls, but not by much.
Thanks for listening, and you're 100% right
I bought a kit identical toy the 8-peice gundam set when I started 6 months ago. The sanders disintegrated after a few months but they served their purpose well in getting me started. Considering the kit cost less than most basic individual tools from modelling brands, it's a steal
A few months of service for sanding sticks is pretty good!
I am a bit of tightarse though so I probably could've done with replacing them sooner...
Meng set I own and is my favorite.
Hi. I agree with just about everything you say especially the bit about a modellers collection will be based on "what you need/is useful" experience. I would add that you might consider (what I call) locking tweesers (such as from Rolson) which are tweesers that you squeese to let go rather than squeee to hold. Less likely to drop the part and less sustained finger pressure (rsi).
I remember ny first kit (not all at once was a nail file and scalpel. I managed with that for years.
We always used to break the parts off the sprues without much trouble. Is the nippers because everyone else says its right?
Do you find that the diamond files clog? I've never tried it for plastic but it looks like they should.
You have forgotten drills for clearing the holes for optional parts I see in some kits.
These tools are well suitable for kit building. Approriate as beginners are likely to build kits "out of the box". Once you have built a few and get tired of the production line then a few more tools like drills for instance become usefull. Next upgrade for me would be a mini drill (like a dremmel, but rather a Lidl special) with burrs, sanding drumms etc.
I've covered essential and intermediate tools in other videos, this was purely to compare commercially available starter tool sets
@@MannsModelMoments Fair comment.
I have that Gundam set, i usebit all the time!
Have you ever bought a starter tool set? What was it and did you feel it was worthwhile? Let me know below
This is a great video, Alex - thank you for all the hard work that certainly went into it ❣I do have a question for you: three years ago, when I returned to modeling, I bought a Gundam set off of Amazon, which was very similar to the one you've featured here. It included a small yellow plastic board with some sort of guard rails - now, what the hell is it for? Since I don't really now about it's proper usage, I solely use it for cutting PE parts off the fret. Is it intended to be used for anything else? Cheers, Mike
Another question: do you have any tips on how to properly clean a cutting mat without destroying the printed-on grid? I tried isopropyl alcohol and now the white lines are gone 😈
@@MikeUSA67 the yellow wedge is (I believe) a parts separator - so if you've glued two halves of an aircraft fuselage together and they misalign, for example. This is supposed to help you split them along the join line without the plastic tearing
@@MannsModelMoments OK, thanks!
Hi Alex.. Taking onboard your reply to another comment I made about tool sets, and if you don't use one it's a waste of money, I took the prices of these sets and reordered them priced by number of tools in the set, so you get an average per tool. I counted multiples as one tool, so a knife handle and spare blades, or several files, etc I counted as one tool each. If I excluded tools a plastic modeller would never use, like screwdrivers the numbers of tools would be even lower. The point being how much money would be wasted per tool not used. With that I ended up:
Name Price (£) # Tools £ per tool
Aussel 19.99 18 1.11
BQINLENX 8.99 7 1.28
Wimas 20.79 15 1.39
Mann’s Set 18.95 9 2.11
Humbrol 10.99 5 2.20
Meng 16.99 6 2.83
Tamiya 20.49 6 3.42
Revell 14.99 4 3.75
Italeri 15.75 4 3.94
AK Interactive 17.99 4 4.50
Modelcraft basic 17.99 4 4.50
Modelcraft pro 27.99 5 5.60
By that logic the Aussel set is per tool cheapest. The BQINLENX second. Yours came in fourth, however your tools may last longer. Broadly though, even though your review was much more in depth we both had roughly the same result.