Scale model making can be done quite well with just some basic tools, especially when just starting out. When I first began as a kid, I had a hobby knife (X-acto No. 11), tweezers, styrene glue in a tube, a few bottles of enamel paint and a few brushes. Those kits were fine and were nice plastic models, mostly airplanes and ships.
As an adult modeler the big change is the attention to more accurate scale and more detail. A plastic model becomes a scale model, looking as much as an exact miniature of the real thing as possible. To accomplish that, more tools and specific aids are necessary. For example, putting an aircraft fuselage or ship hull together normally makes a seam. Special putty and sanding sticks hides them. An airplane cockpit can show off instruments and seat harnesses, a ship can have railings, ladders, wooden decks and detailed guns. To put it all together scale models are painted in flat colors with special paints and using an airbrush (more on paints and their application later).
Basic Tools- Hobby Knives (Generically X-acto or equivalent. The basic blade is No.11 but other blade types are useful for cutting or scraping. Having 2 or 3 handles is helpful and plenty of spare blades, as they get dull quickly.
- Set of Tweezers These are needed to hold small parts and help place them as well. Get good ones from a hobby supplier. Get fine point and curved point types as well as one or more reverse (you squeeze to open) type.
- Hobby Files Also best from a hobby supplier, they are useful to file down the nubs from the sprue attachments and any other smoothing needed
- Sanding Sticks These are very fine grits on small flexible sticks needed for smoothing and finishing
- Sprue Cutter This tool has one purpose: Cutting all the numbered parts away from the frames (sprues) they are molded with. This tool helps avoid damaging a part (especially small ones) when freeing them.
- Hobby Masking Tape Hobby suppliers offer several widths of special tape used for masking when painting. They make a fine edge but come off easily, usually not sticking to previous paint or leaving any residue. These tapes are also used to keep big sub assemblies like an aircraft fuselage tight while the cement is drying.
- Model Styrene Cement When I was a kid this was just model airplane glue in a tube. Now they come in small jars using a brush or a narrow applicator tube. They also come in regular and thin thickness. I will usually build an entire model just with the brush type and regular thickness. With a little practice you can join parts together with no mess from excess cement.
- Acrylic Flat Paints and Brushes Hobby suppliers provide special model paints from many manufacturers and with all the military colors needed. While enamel (spirit based) paints are still used, almost all scale modelers use acrylic (water based) paints. You should have a set of good brushes to apply them, from very fine point to flat sizes. I will discuss more about paints in the next section.
Advanced Tools- Clamps Occasionally you need to hold two parts tightly together to get a good and complete bond. Small clamps can really help here, usually better than clothes pins!
- Pin Vise A very small hand held twist drill is needed to drill out portholes on a ship hull or place a small hole to better fit a special part. The vise use very small (mm) bits the size of pins.
- Filler Putty As mentioned earlier, the putty is applied in small amounts along a seam or small joint crack, then carefully sanded down to a smooth surface ready for painting.
- PE Bending Tools When you have to bend the Photo-Etch metal parts to make angles etc. a flat surface pliers and a special jig makes it much easier.
- CA Glue Get this from a hobby supplier. Cyanoacrylate (CA) or Super Glue is used occasionally to attach small parts instantly. They have setup times in 10 seconds or less and can be very messy if not applied carefully. I almost use a toothpick to apply a tiny amount to the part. Model warship builders use CA glue the most. CA is necessary to assemble and attach the PE (metal) railings etc. to their models as Styrene cement doesn't work.
- Pulpdent Sticks These plastic sticks are like a Q-Tip with a sticky end. You can touch a small part with the sticky end, pick it up and cement it exactly in a tight space and then with a little twist the stick comes free.
- Decal Fix Decals make a model come to life, especially aircraft. The kits today provide excellent decals compared to decades ago and they are easy to apply. Decal Fix is a thinned solvent that is brushed onto the decal and when it sets and dries it snugs the decal onto the surface making it look like it was painted on.
- Dull Coat Lacquer Spray One of the last things you do with a finished model is apply a light coat of dull (matte) lacquer. This can be done with an airbrush or with a small spray can (only from a hobby supplier). This application reduces edges between colors and generally flattens the overall appearance. It also helps protect the model and makes it easier when you later have to brush off dust.