I'm new to the hobby and wondering how to convert some elves.

Which tools are required for certain things?

Thanks,

LordElrond

A hobby knife will work fine for cutting plastics but for cutting metals a razor saw is better.

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A hobby drill is very handy for weapon swaps and pinning things.

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

How is the gw drill powered?

It's a manual drill.
Here's a link: hobby drill

_________________
'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

What elves are you converting. If they're Last Alliance ones, beware. I converted some when I was new to the model... or tried to. In the end it was me, some plastic shavings, and what looked like some mangled corpses, with arms sticking out at bizarre angles... murder... never again I tell you. Be wise, use a good set of tools. An operating table could be useful...maybe some anesthetic to!

I found high elf swordsmen fine. You just need to really make sure that you get the shoulders right

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

I'm going to convert some swordsmen and archers into spearmen
See my thread on high elf conversions (in help with miniatures).

Hmm.. actually I'm working on some of these at the moment... I'd be interested Sid, how did you do it... do you have any pictures? Your work really impresses me, your progress is amazing. I need too start a WIP of my own...Oh yeah what was I saying... High Elves, what did you do with their shoulders? I find with mine the arms turn out so weird, like their disjointed.

Thanks I dont have any work in progress pictures but I'm planning to do an article on it when i find the time

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'Though my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior'
-John Newton

I would so very read that one!

You will need putty and a sculpting tool. You can get all of that from GW. Those are the main things. You will also need a small pair of sprue cutters (the ones from GW) for cutting stuff.

That's what I have in my basic kit. You may also want a hobby knife for finer cuts.

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My old WIP thread - http://www.one-ring.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16246&start=0

I would advise getting "off-brand" tools rather than GW ones. I can pick up a hobby knife at my local gaming store for $5-10, versus GW's $18. Sprue cutters are also $5-6 cheaper than GW, but I myself use good old fashioned nail clippers. They cost a dollar.

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Gondor: 2339pts
Rohan: 1318pts
Dwarves: 2482pts
Elves: 1091pts
Mordor: 2305pts
Isengard: 1762pts
Moria: 1463pts
Evil Men: 381pts

Ordered 0.3-6mm hand drill and helping hands from Amazon.

Have I done the right thing?

I find the best cutters are actually "flush cuts". They are small hand cutters that have a perfectly flat cutting side (no bevel) and are super sharp. You can find them at most specialty electronic stores.

Depending on the brand, they will run you 20 bucks and up.

Are they really 20 times better? I've never had any issue with my nail clippers, but wire cutters would do just as well and cost much less than $20 a pair.

_________________
Gondor: 2339pts
Rohan: 1318pts
Dwarves: 2482pts
Elves: 1091pts
Mordor: 2305pts
Isengard: 1762pts
Moria: 1463pts
Evil Men: 381pts

Honestly it is hard to say since I already own them. They really do make nice smooth cuts, that being said, no matter what you have to clean up the area with a razor (or file). I have never used regular wire cutters so I couldn't say how much the difference in clean up would be.

I own multiple pairs for work so I never have to think of it as a hobby cost.

I will do a test on the next spuce I do. Cutters, flush cuts and nail clippers and see what does the nicer job. I have never used nail clippers, but I could see them being good. Sharp edge, smoother face.

Ah, I see. Makes sense if you already had them or needed them for another task.

_________________
Gondor: 2339pts
Rohan: 1318pts
Dwarves: 2482pts
Elves: 1091pts
Mordor: 2305pts
Isengard: 1762pts
Moria: 1463pts
Evil Men: 381pts

I use them for work. I have extremely small ones all the way up to larger ones (which would be about the size of a regular set of wire cutters.) The smallest ones are actually around 60 dollars)

I am curious to do the test though, mainly between flush cuts and nail clippers. I will do it this weekend on one of my many un-built Brettonnia sprues.

My hobby tool kit is full of random assorted items.

For starters I would recommend what others have already suggested so far.

1) A nice set of sprue cutters. I have a few different pairs I use depending on the project for clipping off parts from sprues or hands/arms/heads, etc.
2) A small pin vise with assorted drill bits. Great for pinning difficult bits together.
3) A hobby knife. Used for cutting, cleaning flash and mold lines.
4) Epoxy putty. Whether you use green stuff, milliput, or any other two part epoxy putty, get some and experiment. Don't be too afraid to mess up a model because I assure you over time practice will definitely help.
5) Sculpting Tools. I use an assortment of related products from dentist picks for fine detail work to larger wooden clay sculpting tools.

Those 5 basic tools/ingredients can be used in a variety of ways and in my opinion would be a great way to start.

Non GW products will save you money. Just hit up your local home improvement store and you would be surprised and what you could find that would work.

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"Rohirrim! TO THE KING!"
See my WIP