Tradeoffs with new kit technology

Like you, I'm amazed by the refinements in modern tooling. The detail is incredible!

What works for me is my UMM micro saw, one of the best modelling tools I've purchased. It cuts fine enough to trim those itty-bitty parts from the sprue with very little cleanup required and much less chance of breaking or distorting them. The blades are brittle, but I get a secondary use (thanks to chuckw for the tip) by super glueing the "snap-offs" into a wooden dowel.

I've pretty much given up on tweezers, except for the reverse kind. Most of the time I just use a wet swab or finger to handle the little guys. The only other tweezers I use came from a high school dissection kit. They have a guide pin to keep the tips aligned so the dreaded "ping" seldom occurs.

If you want to look at the saw, it's a JLC brand from www.umm-usa.com.

Best regards!

Mike

Thanks for the link. Quite a few interesting tools there. I'm especially interested in the little table saw attachment for rotary tools: http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?products_id=7107 . Looks like it would be a godsend for wood ship modeling, and it only costs $50. That compares to over $300 for table saws that have built in motors.

Yes interesting. The standard though is always whether or not the saw can make the same part exactly the same over and over.

It's a lot like when PE first came into wide usage. In particular for airplanes, where the parts are universally pretty small. I came to realize that many of the parts are completely unusable unless you have the eyes of a falcon and the hands of Ozzie Smith.

Just because it can be made...

Don, aren't you the guy who fastens the foot of his modeling apron along the front edge of his bench? A very good idea.

I absolutely model with my optivisor on at all times. My glasses aren't enough alone any more.

Some of my model railroad friends swear by P-B-L de-sprueing nippers. Discontinued, but Micromark has a very poor substitute. I don't think mine will cut through a wet noodle.

Similar tools are sold as wire strippers. That kind of figures with the above, though. Sharp enough to cut insulation, but not sharp enough to nick the wire. Useless!

These tools look a lot like simplified nail clippers. I suggest them (nail clippers) for times the Xuron (or clone) sprue shears are too big.

I also find good tweezers in the nail care section of Walgreens (and other pharmacies that stock such things). Don't be afraid to take the tweezers to a bench grinder to reshape them.

I still like single edge razor blades. Call me old-fashioned. Dirt cheap, and I think that because I hold the blade closer to the cut, it's a bit more precise than a #11 blade in an Exacto #1 handle. This might also be of interest:

https://youtu.be/Y6ZzU7udLZo

Don - 

I fully agree with your points, the kits are becoming much better due to the advancements in manufacturing. I've tried a couple of the new Airfix kits in 1:72, Tiger Moth and Typhoon, very nice to work with and great details. Many of the parts are quite small and delicate, more care is needed, but still the end product is nicer.

The Revell Germany B-17G is really of fine quality, overall perfectly kitted, the parts fit is terrific. The only difficulty was the belly turret, the support struts from the upper portion to the turret mounts are finely done, but EASILY broken even with careful handling. Solved the problem with fine Evergreen strip stock, heated to bend around the attach points and cemented in place like a weld bead. It cannot be seen as it's deep in the fuselage, should have thought about it earlier.

The saw mentioned is great, as are the Xuron's. Many times I have found the little flat bladed stamp handling tweezers to be helpful, particularly for decals. The tweezers with tiny cups at the ends are helpful for holding small bits, I think they might be used by folks that do jewelry and beading.

What I'm especially appreciating is the finer external details, such as panel lines and air inlets. Thankfully the golf ball rivets are gone. Restoring panel lines after sanding is a bit more demanding, with my tired old eyes and shaky fingers, but certainly do-able, just takes more time, I have lot's of that.

You said it right, going backward isn't the right direction. Good post subject, thanks.

Patrick 

For super-delicate parts removal, my weapon of choice is an old X-Acto #11 blade heated over a candle!  It also works on those caveman-primitive gigantic sprue connections on some kits.  A hot knife would do the same thing, but I don't have one.  I'm not good with a razor saw, as I keep snagging the blade, risking damage to the part.

After the part is removed from the tree, I follow up with good cutters and a sharp #11 blade to remove the stub that remains on the part.

That's a great tip Real G, using the hot knife for sprue cutting. i happen to have one because it's the first tool i bought when re-entering the hobby but I never thought of using it for that purpose.   As a kid, I always wanted one so it's the first thing I grabbed when out on a tool-buying spree.

I have trouble with some of the saws in trying to cut parts away from sprues, if the parts are very close together.  The saws will not get between the closely spaced parts.  The #11 blade works here because if its long taper.

I do have a pair of very sharp pointed tweezers, but the long taper here is counter-productive for placing fine parts.  The long tapered points flex too easily, limiting the force I can use to squeeze parts, so the slightest little touch of another part knocks the tiny part askew.  What would be nice is a tweezer with sharp points, but not so much taper, being heftier before it nears point.

I find too many of those nippers/sheers for cutting sprues displace the part as they cut.  Material builds up and displaces the part .  This sometimes breaks the part if the part is on the flatter side of the cut.  I think a cutter with a shallower angle on the angle side might be better.

For the kind of modeling I usually do, I couldn't get along without several pairs of tweezers.

Here's a set I particularly like, at a decent price: http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=TWZ70012 . I initially had reservations; they seemed too cheap. But when ModelExpo had one of its 50% off sales, I figured I'd give them a try. They're excellent tweezers, made of good steel, grabbing firmly and accurately. I admit I don't quite see whay all those shapes are included (some of them are, to all intents and purposes, identical), but I keep the little plastic envelope on my bench and am constantly takeing different tweezers out of it. Highly recommended - even at full price.