The Model Boatyard

Tools can often spark great debate amongst ship modelers. On one end of the spectrum, are the minimalists who eschew the use of anything much more sophisticated than a pocket knife. On the other end are those who have a love affair with tools and buy anything that seems like it might be even remotely useful. I probably tend toward the latter end of the specturm although, like many of us, I'm limited by budget.

I don't think newcomers to the hobby should jump in quite so deeply, however. Although I feel they need more than a pocket knife, they don't need every tool known to man. If you're a newcomer, please check out my suggestions for tools that I think you'll want for getting started.

If you've got several kits under your belt and have a desire to start scratch building and milling your own lumber, you're likely going to want/need more tools such as a miniature table saw, thickness sander, bandsaw, disk sander, etc. Obviously, this can get expensive in a hurry!