Reddit mentions of Stanley 1-83-069 MaxSteel Multi Angle Hobby Vice, Yellow/Black

Depends on your budget matey, in the UK you can pick up a semi-decent vice from Lidl - they crop up occassionally so you would need to keep an eye out, always well under £10.

In lieu of that a C Clamp - about £7, I'm sure you can get that cheaper in a hardware store or Spring Clamp - about £2 - MAY do the job when attached to the right furniture - right height, thickness - a chair back has worked for me before.

Maplin offers a really decent multi angle offering for the relatively cheap proice of £6.95.

You want either - Suction / Very Heavy base or something like the Stanley which really is super flexible - roughly £16 - so yes, third thing is FLEXIBLE head, multi-tilt etc. 4th thing - width:

All that being said, most of those don't 'extend' past 4 inches, which is fine for 99% of locks but if you need more:

If US and you have a bit of cash panavise - They do a model for about... $90 I think which extends to 12" or so. Can't link directly as their site seems to be down for me now, sorry. They also do models at £60 but again, I'm sure Lowes or Home Depot can provide something for under $15

So:

• Price
  
• Weight
  
• Stability
  
• Flexibility
  
• Portability
  
• Quality - Don't buy Chinese! Anecdotally heard they all seem to fail very quickly at the 'head joint'.
  
  Hope that helps!
  
  Cheers
  
  J
  
  EDIT - Added prices and fixed typos.

I've said this a few times when these threads crop up. I'm building a beginner model ship by Constructo, called the Albatross. It's a good starter kit, and has pretty decent instructions in various languages and with pictures. Always read a couple of steps ahead and do some research before you take the plunge as the instructions aren't 100% and some terms don't go between languages well.

I have quite a collection of hobby type tools about after many years as a kid in the hobby, but the kit comes with a decent knife, blades, sanding block, tweezers and pliers. Constructo also do other, smaller, cheaper kits too, but I thought if I'm making a ship, I want a half decent square rigger, since I work on a real one so it's a bit closer to my heart.

Since you're a newbie, let me elaborate on what might make your life a little easier when making the kit.

A few things I would suggest additionally you may need, would be definitely some dress making pins, maybe a vice that's bolted to your desk, just so it's easier to hold, and some decent wood glue. I also use the odd mini cramp. A small razor saw is a good plan too, as it makes chopping wood a little easier than just using the supplied craft knife, especially when the planking is on the model and you can't press down with a knife. I wouldn't bother with using the metal tacks in the kit, use the dress making pins instead, the tacks are shite and leave big holes, they also bend horribly. When you need to bend any wood, soaking it is a good idea, makes it a lot more malleable, there is a lot of resource online to help you with these techniques.

You can view a finished Albatross by /u/Sun_Searcher here.

For the money, I think it's a good one to have a crack at as a starter. I'm after building HMS Surprise, but she's a bit big and advanced for a newbie to contemplate, so when this one is done, perhaps Surprise shall be next, much to my Mrs's consternation.

Here's my last picture, I've gotten a bit further but life seems to be getting in the way at the moment.

Angle vice

Capos do have their uses.

I went out and bought one of these. It has removable rubber covers on the jaws, so it's really good at gripping cylindrical slippy things like quarter inch jack plugs; and it has a ball joint in it so you can manoeuvre whatever you're working on to wherever you need it. It's also great for holding 540 motors (or any other size of motor as long as it's not too big, I guess) steady when soldering new leads onto them.

One of my best purchases ever.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/STANLEY-MAXSTEEL-Multi-Angle-Vice/dp/B001HBS0I0