Sculpting tools

When I first started out I only ever used toothpicks and a paintbrush. I was using Milliput (white mostly) and would use the brush with water for rounded features and smoothing, and the pick for fine detail and hard edges. That was it. Then I went for an interview for a sculpting job, and saw all these dental tools and other things I'd never heard of and was blown away.

So I immediately had to go out and buy some, and have been amassing them ever since. I only ever use a tiny fraction of them, and I still think my work was better when I was only using a brush and dental pick, but there you go.

I didn't get the job - they give me a block of wax to carve up and I'd never even seen this stuff before. I spent a week pulling my hair out, bashing my head against the wall and swearing (in that order.)

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I've got a box full of improvised bits and pieces I have used for various jobs, so here's some cheap ideas if you can't find any pucker sculpting tools:

Paint brushes with the bristles removed. The ferule can be used to press circles, and is soft enough to be easily bent into ovals or other shapes. A notch can be cut out of it to sculpt chainmail. If it's smooth enough, you can burnish with edge. The wooden ended can be carved to any shape you like. Get a pack of those little plastic brushes with the hard bristles. The plastic handles can be filed smooth of any flash, and reshaped if needed. The bristles are stiff enough to push textures in to putty. (and you could always use them for brushing PVA on your bases.)

The $2 shop sells manicure tools. One end has a soft rubber tip, the other a sort of twin smooth tipped fork thingy. $2! I've also got one with with the same metal tip, and a fat rounded spatula on the other end.

Also from the best shop in the world, a pack of a dozen mechanical pencils. Get the ones with metal tips, they can be used to press small rounds, buttons et cetera. The tube of the pencil can be used for rolling out sheets of putty.

Darts. Normal regular pub type darts.

Tweezers. Get a mixed pack from you-know-where. They are cheapo imports obviously, so you might have to file or sand paper the edges smooth, but it's worth it for the variety of tools you can make. The springy press-to-open types I leave as they are for holding small parts, the other types I break in two and mount on handles made from old toothbrushes. In a pack you will normally get three types; straight, dog-leg and spatula, so straight away you've got three tools. The other half of each pair can be filed into other shapes. Dont forget about the other end of the tweezers, where they are joined, they are sometimes useful shapes too. I've also got a pair used for fly tying. They have tiny jaws that are flat on one side, rounded on the other, and the squeezey bit has all kinds of useful smooth curves and a textured area.

Pack of wire and plastic bristle brushes. (Not saying where you buy these, but they're three for $2) Good for rough textures on large surfaces, such as figure bases.

Old needle files with the ends smoothed.

Old videos and stereos and stuff often have a few stainless steel drive shafts in them. These are good for smoothing, and all the other parts can be used in making terrain and scratchbuilding.

Hairclips, paperclips, lolly sticks, pins, needles, needles with half the eye cut off, crochet tools. Just about anything really. Look out for any interesting shaped wood, plastic or metal things. Use your imagination, think outside the box.

You could still buy some of mine of course