Cleaning up itty bitty detail bits

LOL.

Your in the same boat as me. I remember doing 1.35 Tamiya figures back when I was about 14 years old (13 years ago). I dont remember them being so... plastic, for lack of a better word.

The mold lines on those figurs are painfully abvious. I use my utility knife (very carefully) and VERY fine sand paper. The Testers stuff you can find in a pack at just about any store that caries models.

Hope that helps.

Use the back of your hobby knife and just pull it along the seam. I use #11 blades for doing just this type of clean up.

Doswonk,
I use a multitude of different things to clean mold lines - just depends on where they are - scraping carefully with a no.11 blade, sandpaper of differing grits, sanding sticks and files are what I use.
Often a very light brush with liquid cement over the area of the part that's been "cleaned" will bring back a shiny surface that matches the un-sanded area, making the final painting easier and tidier.
I get my sandpaper from the auto parts store - they have some really seriously fine paper - up to 2000 grit wet or dry - and it's cheaper than the Tamiya or Testors hobby sandpaper
Cheers, Lee Tree

I found an item called a ceramic tool at Hobby Lobby and I use it to remove lines. It has two metal ends on a wooden shaft. One is a straight, triangular piece and the other is curved into a sort of hook shape. It is used to remove parting lines in ceramic craft pieces prior to painting. The hooked end makes it very easy to draw toward you. It has come in very handy, and at less than $5.00 I figure if I have to buy a new one every few models it is still worth it.

I use a combination of model knife, sandpaper, and files to get rid of the mold lines. How picky? How good is good? It depends upon your comfort level and tolerance. Kinda like painting the same models three times because it wasn't exactly right. Please note that the irrepressable urge to get rid of all the mold lines is a symptom of AMS (Advanced Modeler's Syndrom). I scrape and sand during commercials while watching TV.

Good luck.
Tom

AMS....who's got AMS couldn't be anyone here. Just be careful with the seam removal, don't get carried away and remove something that is actually supposed to be there. No...not me....I've never done something like that.

Patience is the key word when cleaning up small detail parts. That and a screen to protect from losing your parts because of tweezer launch.

Thanks for the skinny. Over the weekend I made the long drive to the real good hobby shop (Venture Hobbies, near Chicago) and picked up some goodies including a Flex-i-file and a set of Flex-pads. Tried the pads out last night and they worked pretty well. But they're pricy. One of these days maybe I'll get up the gumtion to go into the cosmetic section of the drug store and get one of those Kiss nail shiners. Another neat thing I found at the store was K&S mylar sanding sheets, which I hadn't seen for years. I like them a little better than the ones Testor sells. Maybe this also means I'll have to stop being so cheap and change the blades on my x-acto knife more often too.

Give you a tip on those flex-pads, make your own. Take a package of Testors Sanding Films and a stryo meat tray or plate. Using a can of spray adhesive apply one of the sheets to the tray. Allow it to dry and cut into strips 1/2" wide x 4" long. El cheapo flex-pads.

I like the k & s plstic sand paper the best. I usually back scrape with my scalpel (same thing s an xacto but I got a bag full of the stuff for free and am still using it) and then lightly sand. the seams show and your goal in modeling is to try to make each one better than your last. seam scrapping goes a long way though it is tedious.