WELL, OKAY...ON NEEDLE FILES:
Actually I'll say one thing about needle files: Go to your hardware store and ask for a 'file card'. This is a weird brush of uber-fine wires which is used to 'clean' all the filings out of a file's teeth so you can continue using it even after it's getting choked with lead, pewter, etc. You draw it down the file in the opposite direction you normally file, to get all the crud out. This will make your files cut cleaner and longer.

Okay, two things about needle files: If you use a needle file to cut something soft (like polystyrene) and then use it on something harder (like brass wire or pewter) it will dull the teeth, and the next time you go to cut polystyrene with it, you'll find it doesn't cut as well, so it's a good idea to have one set of files just for working on polystyrene and another set for pewter, and a third set for brass or aluminum or steel rod (assuming you ever use the latter, I do.). When a set of files becomes too dull to cut polystyrene clean and neat, move it up a level and use it on pewters, and so on and so forth.

Darn it, three things about needle files! Go to the hardware store again and look for wood dowel that you can cut into four-inch or so lengths, then carefully drill into the end of each one and epoxy the bases of your needle files into these handles. They'll give you a LOT more control, and at this scale control becomes essential.

I will say nothing more about needle files. Honest. Truly.

SHAPING BLUEFOAM BY SANDING:
An often overlooked tool for use in shaping insulation pink or blue foam is drywall sanding mesh. It is flexible, allowing you to very quickly smooth slopes and hills. The dust is noxious, however and I recommend a dust-mask when using it. It also doesn't clog up like sandpaper, as the dust falls through the mesh as you keep sanding. You can use heavy pressure to rip large and deep, or light fingertip pressure to 'polish' the bluefoam to a nicely smoothed surface.

FLASHING MINIS:
The most useful tool I have for removing flash from miniatures is actually made for cleaning ceramics and shaping clay. It has a small, sharp tip that's curved along both its length and width...Almost as if someone sawed a thin sliver out of a spoon and sharpened the edges and point. This makes a wonderful scraper and can get into tiny nooks and crannies to gouge out flash within. I'll see if I can't find a few web pages for such things to refer you to.

THE ART OF...THE PIN-VISE?:
A good pin-vise is a must, with an array of bits that fit the wire you will use...And several of each size, as you will find that the smaller ones snap very, very easily.

Long ago I owned a pin-vise that had a tiny swivel at one end so it could be easily held in place while being rotated by the fingers of the other hand. I haven't seen it in years, nor have I been able to find another. So in the meantime I have taken a double-ended pin-vice and made a small 'T' using a wire with the end rounded and polished by spinning it in my drill press against sandpaper, then the other end inserted into a small block of square wood dowel. This allows me to gently bear down. If I were doing it all over again, I might go to the hardware store and get a wooden cabinet-knob, but I had the square dowel just sitting there.

I've never seen instructions for using a pin vise, and you can break a -lot- of bits learning, so I'm going to provide some tips here:

1. Always use gentlest possible pressure. If you're holding the bit against soft metal it should bite on its own. The weight of your finger alone is often enough with the smaller bits...More than that and they will break constantly, and you don't know what agony is until not only have you busted four or five dollar-fifty bits trying to drill antennae into a bunch of GEVs, but had the last one break off locked firmly into the GEV's metal, and break right flush with its surface so you can't pull it out, nor drill in the appropriate spot again.
2. Keep the pin vise as straight as you can. Drilling at off angles will give you an inaccurate hole in which your wire will rattle around and again it will increase the odds of your bit breaking.
3. Watch as you drill, especially into 'gooey' soft metals like pewter. As you see the strands of metal slowly rising up the spiral of the bit, pay attention to them. If at any point they begin to bulge outward, then begin to lift the pin vise away from the miniature while continuing to rotate it (gently!) in the drilling direction. Once you've got the bit out of the metal, clean off the fragments. Otherwise they will choke the tiny grooves of the drill bit, causing it to stick. Better still, withdraw and clean the bit out every time you see more than a millimeter or two of metal strand rising up from where you're drilling.
4. If you feel any increase in resistance as you try to turn the drill, don't force it. Pull it out gently, rotating forward if possible, but backward if you must. If you try to force it you'll break the bit deep in the miniature and probably won't be able to get it out again. If the antennae is supposed to go in that exact spot, you're stuck, then, because you can't drill into a drill bit with another drill bit...At least not on this scale.
5. It's a good idea to find several sizes of drill bits which can be used with 'common' wire sizes in your work. I tend to use three sizes: One is the standard for the wire that used to be inclused with OGRE miniatures (Mr. Jackson? Why don't they come with antennae anymore?!), the next size up is a standard sewing pin's width, and the next size up from there that I use is paper-clip wire. I'll look up the exact widths next time I go shopping and add them to the page. (BTW, that ultra-thin tempered wire can be usually found in the R/C model airplane section of a hobby shop that caters to such things.)

THE TIM POWERS SECTION:
I use some power tools. These are a bit expensive, but worthwhile and can be used to do all sorts of things. If you're not an adult yourself, you should surely have adult supervision when using such a thing, and even if you are an adult, always check your power tools and go over safety rules in your head before using them...And focus on what you're doing! When you're working on a mini that's only an inch long, you have to pay attention, sure...But when you're using a blade that's spinning at a few 1000 rpm, the miniature becomes secondary to making sure you keep all of your fingers. This means no gloves (they get caught and drag your fingers in, they do NOT protect them!), no long sleeves near power tools...Oh, and remember that all the little metal shavings coming off of a drill-press are usually razor-sharp.

Specifically, I use a variable-speed Dremel (clones are fine) with a flex-tool extender that allows me to use a hand-held pencil-like wand with the bit at the tip rather than the big clunky tool itself. I hang the Dremel motor from a light (good lighting is mandatory for mini work!) and can move the flex-tool around as I like without worry about the motor. I also use a small drill-press. If you're using a bit that's too small for the press to hold, sometimes you can chock your pin-vise into the drill-press...but be VERY careful of pressure and set the speed as slow as you can if you're using itty-bitty bits like the ones normally used in a pin-vise. On rare occasions I use a table-saw to get nice straight edges.

It's a good idea to buy a foot-pedal cut-off switch for these items so that they stop as soon as you take your foot off. Most drill-presses, dremels, etc., have an off-switch which isn't located in the most convenient place possible, and most problems that occur around power tools will occur in situations where both your hands are busy.

That's all I've got on tools right now, there might be more later.

Neither myself nor Steve Jackson Games Incorporated may be held liable for any damages suffered to self, pets, miniatures, or major metropolitan areas by the appropriate or inappropriate use of powered or non-powered tools, solvents, adhesives, paints, or chihuahuas. These items are inherently hazardous and should not be used without appropriate precautions and adult supervision.