Hold and Fold

QUOTE: Originally posted by frostygirl Hello, folks ! i'm planning a foray into the exciting world of photo-etched parts 4 the Abrams group build & was wondering if anyone can tell me where i mite find the small Hold & Fold 4 sale... since i do mainly 1/72 & 1/76, the small one should b fine, rite ?

Do you really need it? Hold and Fold is mostly for ship-size PE, isn't it? Ship kits have some huge PE pieces. I usually just use my trusty needle nose plyers, or some other garden variety thing around the house, like tweezers.

greatmodels.com carries them. I'm not sure if there are any in stock at the moment. I'd consider the 2" model for those braille scale types you do, Frosty. I've got one and I love it. I also use a lot of tweezers and flat pliers, but do find the hold 'n fold a handy item.

I just checked greatmodels site. They do not have any hold 'n folds in. Mission Models doesn't carry them. (What a surprise, since they make the Etch-Mate.) Sorry.

Frosty, R&J Enterprises carries them. They're good people to deal with too.

http://www.rjproducts.com/

I'd call them and talk to Joy to see what the status is on them. Their number is on the website.

If they don't have one is stock they'll get it for you. They're in Washington St. right near the guy that makes them. I would think a 2 in Hold & Fold would be fine for your 1/72 stuff. The main thing it'll come in handy for is fenders. I don't think your fender sections would be more than 2 in's long.

I've also found the Xuron Tweezer Nose Pliars to be invaluble in my Tiger build. They have a flat ground nose and straight sides all percision ground. Great for doing the small stuff by hand. You can check them out here but see if you can find them cheaper somewhere.
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=80338

Looking forward to seeing more of your itty bitty tanks!

Eric

Or you can just get it straight from Kalama:

http://www.thesmallshop.com/products.htm

Click on ordering for more info.

Frosty, When you purchase one, could you let us know how it works.
mark956

I've got the 4" Hold and Fold. I use the heck out of it building 1/35 and 1/72 scale armor. I bought mine through the Small Shop listed above.

Mark, I've got a bunch of hand tools, a 2 inch hold 'n fold, and an etch-mate (still to be used). I like them all for different things. The think I really like about the 2" is that I can put the part in then lift it up to where I can see it up close to do the final positioning and bending. If I've got my magnifying head set on, I can't do that with it on the table, so it works out well. The big advantage I can see with the etch mate is the groove that's milled into the base which shows exactly where the bend will occur and give the blade a place to home when doing the bend.

I've also used pliers, tweezers, two razor blades, metal straight edges, home made jigs and combinations of them all. I'm sure glad I have the hold 'n fold. It's made things a lot easier.

Bill

Good luck on the braille pe Frosty.

Mark, I've got an 8 in and the 2 in Hold and Fold's and they are great for long bends. I needed the 8 in for the fenders on my 1/16th Tiger and I've used the 2 in for other not so big items and they both work great.

Eric

Been thinking about delving into using more PE in my builds. You guys have pretty much convinced me it's the way to go, especially Eric (erush) with his Tiger build subassemblies. Crazy stuff, Eric! :)

thanx 4 the replies, gang !
i do appreciate the info... my 'puter crashed on friday due 2 massive virus infected e-mails & spam & i'm just getting back on now !
so i hope no one thought i was being a rude lurker all weekend ...

yikes, 1/72 p/e is pretty tiny, 4 sure !

frosty

Here's a photo of an average 1/72 scale PE set. A US one cent coin (penny) is next to it for size reference.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Rob Gronovius Here's a photo of an average 1/72 scale PE set. A US one cent coin (penny) is next to it for size reference.

Yeah, that about looks like the set I got in one of my ACE kits! I don't think I breathed at any time during the cutting and application of any of thise parts!