first time photoetched parts

welcome to the forums, rex !

use CA , its the best (CA is basically superglue, ask your LHS for some hobby grade stuff) anyway, when working with PE, a little CA accelerator is invaluable, it sets the CA instantaneously.
when handling the parts and cutting them off the sprue, work inside a big plastic bag and use tweezers. work inside the plastic bag because you are bound to shoot pieces off and lose them, working in the plastic bag stops em from flying across the room.

happy modelling, and show us some progres pics !

Don't drop the parts on the carpet. Thats what I've learnt the hard way, but I still drop them. Try working in aplastic bag as reggie suggests, some people have a bowl of water and cut the parts from the frets under the water. Cut the parts from the fret with a sharp No. 11 blade.

CA is the best glue to use, but for parts that you need to move around to get them in the right position, try some white glue (Micro Kristal Klear also works). It sets pretty solidly and allows you time to move the parts around before it sets. I've also heard ov people using a little bit of future.

Hope this helps.

oh yes, if you use a bowl of water, please use a metal bowl, or else you will soon have an empty bowl after the #11 blade makes a nice spout in the bottom of the soft plastic............

thanks for the support guy's