Tiny Pieces

I believe it happens to everyone.  Broken parts can be replicated from scratch, lost parts are infuriating.  I build in one tightly-defined space and it's unbelievable how many tiny parts have just vanished into that small space.  Where do they go? 

One tip I've read is to remove small parts from the sprue while the sprue is in a plastic bag.  They can only fly so far then and maybe will be found.

Gary

Ken:

I find that parts get lost mostly either during construction, when I might drop one and it's never seen again, or, between the time I detach them from the sprue and the time I paint and assemble.

In the first case, I have no real solutions, except to tell myself not to be so ham-fisted and clumsy.

But in the second, I store parts until needed in plastic boxes that originally contained lunch meat.  I don't remember what brands, but some thin-sliced lunch meat comes in clear plastic boxes with snap on lids.

Over the past year or two, I've saved them, and now have enough to devote one box to the parts for each construction step for most kits.  It keeps them all together, and since the lids snap on, even if you knock one over, the parts stay inside.

Plus, they are FREE!!!!  [after you pay for the meat]

Here's a photo of one, with a Hurricane sitting on it, to give you an idea of what to look for.  The lid is not attached.

Since the boxes are clear, you can also see what you got pretty easily.

Sort of along Gary's line of thinking, I've sometimes stored the tiny parts in small sandwich bags with the zip lock strip.

Of course, if any cats are involved in mysterious disappearances of parts, I don't have suggestions to help that, either--at least, no suggestions that the ASPCA would approve of.

No matter how careful I am, I lose and break tiny parts. I once lost an assembled wheel of a 1/35 Puma. That's big. I had no choice but to buy an after-market resin wheel set for $25 to finish the model. A few month later, I found it in one of my hard shell guitar cases. I have absolutely no idea how the wheel got in there.  

Tape, I used to put  a piece of tape on the tiny part before snipping them off the sprue. Helps if you take the section the tiny piece is attached to. Worked for me.

Second the tape suggestion, it works great when cutting little buggers off sprue or PE frets. A couple of other ideas work for me.

Instead of a hard work surface I use closed sell poly foam, the kind that is sometimes used for packaging/wrapping objects for shipment. It's only 1/4" or so in thickness and has enough "tooth" to prevent things from traveling too far. It's also a good surface to use to cushion and protect your model while you work.

For storage, I like the small plastic containers and lids that restaurants use for takeout condiments.

The lids close tight and keep the little ones organized and secure. You can get them at any food service supply store for under $5/100. Self adhesive labels are handy to identify the contents.

Mike

A little while ago, I was getting the antenea for the P 47. I was being real careful then it slipped, after a few minutes cursing myself, I saw it on the floor, So I get my really pointed tweezers and picked it up When it was about even with the desk top it slipped and went flying. It looked like it went on the desk, but I can't find it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I have a big towel that I drape over my lap, but I didn't use it tonight. I've had quite a few pieces caught this way. Duuuhhh

Thanks guys

I made a cloth "lap" apron to fasten to the front of my desk.  Trouble is, each time I set down at the bench I forget to pull the apron over my lap until I drop the first piece on the floor. I have had this thing on the bench for a couple of years yet and still cannot get into the habit of draping over thighs!

My other bad habit is that while I have a pair of higher power reading glasses hanging on the back of my bench, I keep, by reflex, reaching for my regular bi-focals in my shirt pocket, instead of the "modeling" glasses!  Sometimes when I am having trouble seeing what I am looking at, it dawns on me I am wearing the wrong glasses, but it sure is hard remembering to put the right ones on when I sit down at the bench!

I use a coffee table for a modeling bench as I sit on the couch.    I ended up installing a wooden "dam" between the floor and the bottom of the couch because of Murphy's law which states that anything dropped will automatically roll to the exact center under the object most difficult to retrieve it.  It happened EVERY time I dropped a fidly little part, i had to get down on my knees with a yard stick and a flashlight to retrieve it along with the dust bunnies and that lost sock.

My dropped parts now bounce off the dam and amazingly far into the center of the room somewhere.  Now I can find the parts by simply walking around barefoot.  Ouch

Yea, I guess there is no real answer to this. Like Don, I forget to drape the towel over my lap.

I think tape is the answer.

Like others have said, lay some tape across the part whilst on the sprue tree and then cut it.

cml

I think tape is the answer.

Like others have said, lay some tape across the part whilst on the sprue tree and then cut it.

That does work with PE- I have done it that way. Of course, I have lost pieces after I take them off of the tape, when tweezer points slipped!  Had less success with styrene parts because part and sprue are not on same plane.  Sprue stilcks down too far.

Don, I normally tape it both sides of the sprue and then use a razor saw to cut it off.

Generally, anything small enough to tape is something to saw off, rather than cut in my opinion.