So, you’ve picked a faction and made your first purchase. Congratulations! But when you open that box of sprues, it quickly becomes clear: this hobby is more than just miniatures. An often overlooked cost for a Warhammer beginner is the hobby tools. Glue. Paints. Brushes. Maybe a magnifying lamp?
But before you buy one of everything in your local store, let’s walk through what you truly need to get started and what can wait (or be skipped entirely).
The Bare Minimum Toolkit
This is our list of the absolute basics you’re going to need to get started in this hobby:
1. Plastic Clippers
A set of sharp cutters to snip models from their sprues cleanly and safely.
- Why they matter: Using a hobby knife or twisting parts off risks damaging the model.
- Budget options: A lot of brands offer affordable cutters, generally coming in about £10. Army Painter are known to offer good quality at this price point.
- Upgrade later: Premium options are machined with thinner blades and designed to meet flush to minimise clean up. Citadel offers a premium pair so do Redgrass.
2. Plastic Glue
Essential for construction of your miniatures good plastic glue prevents the heart break of seeing a prize model falling apart.
- Why plastic glue? It “melts” parts together, creating a strong bond with no residue.
- Avoid superglue for plastic: It doesn’t have the same formula that “melts” the plastic together to make a strong bond. Save superglue for resin or metal kits.
- Brand suggestions: Revell Contacta, Army Painter Plastic Glue, or Citadel Plastic Glue.
3. A Hobby Knife
Once you’ve clipped models off their sprues theres always rough edges or mould lines that need cleaning up. A sharp craft knife is essential for sorting these out and giving you a smooth surface to paint on.
- Go-to tool: AK Interactive or Citadel craft knives are good or Citadel even sell a specific mould line remover – though a knife is has more utility.
- Safety tip: Always cut away from yourself and keep fingers out of the blade path.
4. Basic Paints
You don’t need the entire paint range. Just take the time to plan your scheme and pick out what you need. Citadel, Army Painter and Vallejo are all popular options.
- Include: A primer, a few base colours (contrast paints are ideal), one or two shades, a metallic, and a highlight colour for each base colour.
- Starter sets: Keep and eye out for paints included in bundle offers, if they fit your scheme you can same some money.
5. A Few Brushes
Brushes are a personal choice as you need to find ones that suit your technique and are comfortable to use. They’re also challenging when putting together a set of beginner Warhammer hobby tools as the price rises rapidly. But you only need 2–3 general purpose brushes to get you started:
- A larger base brush
- A medium layer brush
- A detail brush
- Brands: Citadel, Army Painter or Artis Opus.
Your First “Nice to Have” Upgrades
Once you’ve built and painted your first unit, and decided you’re sticking to the hobby, it’s worth looking at a few upgrades. These are the products that aren’t strictly essential to build your army, but do improve comfort, speed, and quality. You can also often make versions of these products yourself.
1. Cutting Mat
Protects your table and keeps your knife blade sharp. If you’re careful with your craft knife and paints it’s not essential, but it does help keep everything clean and starts to give you a dedicated work space. Redgrass offer a great cutting mat with lots of bonus features, though there are cheaper options available.
2. Wet Palette
Using a palette allows you better control over the paint on your brush. It stops you overloading and ruining your brushes, allows you to thin your paint properly and lets you control how much paint goes on the model. A wet palette is an upgrade on a basic palette, keeping paints moist so you get more life out them.
- DIY one: There are plenty of tutorials online to make your own. Essentially, put a wet sponge in an airtight takeaway container, and lay a piece of baking paper over the top.
- Or buy: Redgrass and Army Painter both offer great ready-made palettes.
3. Paint Handle
Paint handles secure your model in place and allow you to turn and hold them in the right positions to get to those fiddly areas. They keep you, your work area and your paint job cleaner, though they aren’t ideal if you’re a batch painter or prefer to work in sub assemblies.
- DIY one: Bottle corks and a piece of blue tack will hold your model in place nicely, though they aren’t the most ergonomic option.
- Buy one: Both Citadel and Redgress offer great ergonomic paint handles.
4. Brush Cleaner
If you’ve spend good money on brushes, and found a set that work well for you, you should make sure you take care of them. For a beginner, a good set of Warhammer hobby tools should include products that extends brush life dramatically so you get your moneys worth from them. Green Stuff World offers a cheap, quality cleaner and brush conditioner to keep them in good condition.
What Can Wait (Or Be Skipped Entirely)?
Some Warhammer hobby tools are sold as “essentials” but aren’t necessary for a beginner kit. Let’s bust a few myths, and save you some money to spend on models.
Magnifying Lamps
- Only get one if you have vision issues or do extreme detail work.
Expensive Brushes
- Don’t start with £15+ sable brushes. Learn on mid-tier synthetics first.
Hobby Drills (Pin Vises)
- Handy for conversions or magnetising, but not needed for your first few kits.
Airbrushes
- Amazing tools – once you’ve got the basics down. Expensive and fiddly for beginners.
Texture Tools, Spray Booths, Gimmick Gadgets
- Fun later, but far from necessary early on.
Budget Breakdown – What It All Might Cost
Here’s a rough idea of what your first toolkit might cost:
| Item | Estimated Cost (GBP) |
| Plastic clippers | £10-£30 (definitely start at £10) |
| Plastic glue | £4–5 |
| Hobby knife | £3–17 |
| Basic Paints | £25–40 (£3-4 per paint, £15 for a rattle can) |
| 2–3 brushes | £15+ |
| Cutting mat | £5–30 (depending on size and extra features) |
| Wet palette | DIY (£5) / Branded (£20+) |
| Paint handle | £6–12 |
| Brush Cleaner | £3 |
Total: £75–£175 (more like £60 if you stick to just the essentials and look for deals)
This might seem like a lot, and some of these (like paints and glue) will be ongoing costs but other tools will last years – especially if you look after your brushes and blades.
Tips to Stretch Your Tools Further
- Thin your paints with medium or clean water – makes your paints go further whilst giving better control.
- Maintain your brushes carefully – avoid getting paint in the base of the hairs and clean them carefully after use.
- Keep brush tips sharp by shaping them while wet or using specialist gel – helps prolong their life and makes details easier to paint.
- Keep hold of old brushes – you can use them for drybrushing or terrain, or even just loading up your palette.
- There’s still life in dull clippers – once they stop being ideal for plastic save them for metal bits or terrain. If you really want the most out of them you could always look at sharpening options.
Tools Should Support, Not Overwhelm
It’s easy to fall into “hobby prep paralysis”, waiting until you have every tool under the sun. But you don’t need perfection to make progress. Start with the basics, put some models together, and expand when you .
The best toolkit is the one that keeps you painting.
Got any tips for how you went about buying your first hobby tools? Any advice for new players wanting to start building their first models? Let us know in the comments below!
Did you enjoy this article? You could always tip the author with a coffee (or something stronger). If you want to get yourself some new tools or models, then check out Element Games. They have great deals on a wide range of Warhammer and accessories. Finally, make sure you’re following us on Instagram to stay up to date and get involved in our community!
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