Whether you’re a relatively new model railroader or have been enjoying the hobby for years, there’s nothing like customizing your trains, carriages, or other parts of your model train layout.

As anyone who has tried customizing or self-maintaining their model trains collection knows, you can’t just use any old tools to get the job done. Thankfully, and as all you regular Model Train Stuff customers will already know, there is a wealth of specialist kit and tools available to help you keep your modeling collection in fantastic condition. Best of all, you often don’t have to spend a massive sack of dollars to get hold of them. As such, model train tools make an excellent investment that can save you from ending up with an enormous repair bill or even shelling out for totally new locomotives or carriages. And who wants to have model trains missing from their collection and in the repair shop for any time at all?

Today, we’re turning our focus to one of the leading providers of model train tools, Excel.

Here are seven of our favorite Excel tools and supplies, all of which are suitable for any model railroad scale.

1.     Self-Healing Cutting Mat

Whether you’re cutting out stickers and decals for your model locomotives and carriages, buildings, or even other parts of your landscape, it’s always going to be a precision job.

What’s more, you don’t want to ruin your worktops at home or blunt your craft knives while going about it.

That’s where this excellent self-healing cutting mat comes into play.

Not only does it make it easy to work on your collection while protecting your surfaces, the one-inch grid pattern and angles mean you can cut whatever you need with precision for a detailed model train layout.

If you need a smaller cutting mat, try this one instead.

2.     5 Sharp Edge Blades

There’s nothing worse than model tools breaking right as you’re halfway through a project.

Breakages happen, and blades need replacing, but with this pack of blades that fit various handles, you’ll always have a backup for your tools and never need to put your maintenance or customization projects on ice.

3.     6” Steel Square

A must-have alongside your cutting mat and blades!

The steel square makes it easy for you to work precisely and safely on your modeling, and its size means you’ll always have enough to cut stickers for your carriages down to size.

Alternative options include this reference ruler or Excel’s 2” machine square.

4.     Sprue Cutter

When you really get advanced with your model train layouts, you’ll often spend just as much time on the finer detail of your railroad scenes as you do on the locomotives and cars themselves.

That’s where this excellent sprue cutter comes into play.

It’s designed for trimming parts from plastic trees and other model scenery, but in truth, you can use it to cut down anything around your toy train’s layout where you’re looking for a clean and precise finish. Best of all, it gives an incredibly close cut, so there’ll be minimal extra work, if any, needed to do the job to an excellent standard.

Not only is this a great model kit for doing the job, but its soft-grip handles mean your hands won’t hurt after longer building and maintenance projects for your train’s layout.

5.     Soldering Iron Kit

As you get into more complex layouts – or larger scenes with several toy trains running at once plus sounds and other effects – you might find yourself needing to manage circuit boards or other pieces of electronic kit.

When it comes to model railroading, there won’t be much that you’re not able to safely do yourself, which is where this soldering iron kit comes in handy.

Use it for building or repairing circuit boards, fixing radio-controlled elements, railroad lighting, fixing or connecting micro components on your trains, or low-voltage wiring projects.

6.     20 Piece Drill Set with Case

Whether building your own locomotives and carriages or doing some work elsewhere on your model train layout, sometimes the only option is to turn to the drill.

Many DIY enthusiasts will tell you that you can have the best drill in the world, but if you’re working with sub-standard drill pieces and bits, you won’t do anything close to a quality job.

Excel’s 20 piece drill set takes that possibility out of the equation. It even comes with a handy metal case so it can sit neatly in your tool bag, well organized, and ready to use whenever you need your model train tools.

7.     Mushroom Pin Vise

You don’t need us to tell you how vital it is to work accurately, especially when it comes to your model locomotives and carriages. A millimeter or two out can have disastrous (and expensive!) consequences, so you must be able to work with precision.

This mushroom head pin vise makes that much easier to do, sitting comfortably in the palm of your hand so you can carry out the necessary and detailed work.

Ensure you’ve got the tools to do the job with Model Train Stuff

If you’re venturing into doing running repairs, maintenance, or customizations on your model railroad for the very first time, it’s vital you ensure you’re equipped for the job!

What’s great about most model railroading tools is that if you have other craft hobbies, the tools you’ll buy for maintaining your model trains will often be useful for loads of other things, too. Also, as the tools aren’t that costly anyway, you get even more value for your money!

Check out the full range of Excel supplies and tools or our collection from all suppliers to help you do the best job possible.