In this video I break down the ONLY miniature painting tools you actually need in 2025—so you know exactly where to save money and where it’s worth spending. I’m keeping it as objective as possible based on my own experience as a professional miniature painter, and I’m deliberately not turning this into a “best paint brand” debate. We start at the very beginning: what kind of miniature you’re working with (plastic, resin, hollow 3D prints) and how that changes prep, cleanup, and assembly. I walk you through the core prep tools: a good cutter (and why you don’t need the expensive one), a sharp retractable knife for mold lines and support nubs, and sandpaper from rough to very fine grits. I also show a simple satin varnish trick for smoothing tiny surface imperfections and even filling small air bubbles in resin. From there it’s assembly: dry fitting, push-fit tweaks, plastic cement vs super glue, and gap filling with Milliput (sometimes mixed with green stuff). I also cover beginner-friendly pinning and drilling. Finally we get into the painting essentials: aerosol primer (because I’m not spending my life cleaning an airbrush), a wet palette (the paper matters more than the tray), and a small, reliable brush setup. I wrap with the most overlooked “tool” of all—ergonomics—because this hobby is a marathon, not a sprint.