Photo etch

goldhammer

I have a set of small pliers I got at HL for about $14.  Has flat nose and nylon jaw in it.  Was in the beading section.

I also use a couple of single edge razor blades.

I will hold the piece in the flat nose and run a sanding stick over the slight nub left after cutting it loose.

Tweezers can tend to launch some PE into never land.

 

I have found several neat tools in the beading section, as well as very fine wire.  I have used some of the small beads for blocks on very small scale ships.

I also have launched pe parts to never-never land with tweezers.  I have started using toothpicks with a tiny blob of poster tack on the tips to put pe parts in place.

My Optivisor is probably the most important tool I own. I wear glasses, so having it flip up and down is great.

I bought the full on expensive model about 25 years ago and it's been used probably 3-4 times a week since then.

bill

Yup.  Better light and being able to see the object you're working on larger than actual size helps tremendously with steady hands.  I use cheap magnifying reader glasses and a headlamp.  The glasses give you a nice, wide field-of-view so you don't have the tunnel vision of a visor.

Gets a Optivisor or something similar. I believe you can find inexpensive one at Harbor Freight or Amazon.

Really makes working with small parts so much easier.

Patience I have... A steady hand is another story.. Infact I looked at some of the little pins... Well when I say looked I mean I went... Is there something in that bag... I coukd hardly see them let alone have steady enough hands to set them in place lol

EdGrune

PE on a budget - without going to a model branded product

Cut your PE on a piece of bathroom tile    I had leftovers when we built the house, but 4x4 tile is available cheaply at the box store  Cutting mats are soft and will allow the PE to deform before cutting 

Cut your PE with a #10 round xacto blade   Cut in a rocking motion   Useing a #11 blade, the point will snap first use   Bespoke PE cutting shears are $$

Get a couple of single edge razor blades to use to bend the parts.  Hold the part down at the bend with one blade.  Slide the other under the part so the blades oppose each other.  Raise the lower blade in a hinge motion.  

Scraper blades 4x0.5 from box store will be similar, but longer.   Longer yet are stainless rules

Once again go to the box store and pick up a set of drill bits.  Wrap the PE around the drill shank to form round bends.  You may have to go a size or two smaller to account for spring-back.  

Instead of using a PE-specific PVA glue brand named for a certain swamp reptile, pick up a bottle of Aleenes Tacky Glue at the local craft store.  It grabs quick, yet allows time to reposition the part.   Cleans up with water.  

 

Pick up a coarse foam fingernail sanding stick at CVS.

Hold the part in your smooth jawed pliers and stroke the little nibs left where you chopped off the part, stroking parallel to the edge of the part, not perpendicular to it.

Bill

PE has multiple uses. Some parts replace plastic parts. Sometimes it adds detail not there or corrects inaccurate detail. For instance, a molded on mesh grill might be required to be shaved off so a PE grill can be added in its place.

PE seatbelts normally are added since many seatbelts are not included in car kits. Or a thick fan blade is replaced by a thinner PE one.

Sometimes the PE part is more inaccurate than the kit's plastic parts. For instance on many tank models, round grab handles are "supposed" to be replaced by a flat PE part which is not accurate. Most grab handles are bent iron rods welded in place and the PE part would be akin to a flat piece of metal and not a round iron bar.

So do not feel obligated to use each and every PE part.

Thank you for the replies and such a detailed run down much appreciated guys.. It helps ease the fear of the unknown... 

JJust a couple of questions... Told you I'm a complete novice lol... I'm assuming PE parts replace the originals in this case the brake discs? See pic... Also could someone explain what the marks mean that I have circled in the pic... Also on the far right pic top line it says replace 82 with PE parts 32...now it only shows 2 but I have 8 I'm assuming I use them all?... Sorry for the dumb sounding questions... Any other help or how to do on anything in this pic would be appreciated... 

PE on a budget - without going to a model branded product

Cut your PE on a piece of bathroom tile    I had leftovers when we built the house, but 4x4 tile is available cheaply at the box store  Cutting mats are soft and will allow the PE to deform before cutting 

Cut your PE with a #10 round xacto blade   Cut in a rocking motion   Useing a #11 blade, the point will snap first use   Bespoke PE cutting shears are $$

Get a couple of single edge razor blades to use to bend the parts.  Hold the part down at the bend with one blade.  Slide the other under the part so the blades oppose each other.  Raise the lower blade in a hinge motion.  

Scraper blades 4x0.5 from box store will be similar, but longer.   Longer yet are stainless rules

Once again go to the box store and pick up a set of drill bits.  Wrap the PE around the drill shank to form round bends.  You may have to go a size or two smaller to account for spring-back.  

Instead of using a PE-specific PVA glue brand named for a certain swamp reptile, pick up a bottle of Aleenes Tacky Glue at the local craft store.  It grabs quick, yet allows time to reposition the part.   Cleans up with water.  

Don Stauffer

I sometimes use two hobby knives- one to hold down PE part at bend line and the other to get under the bend portion and pull it up.

I use the same technique, except with the flat end of a metal rule and a single-edge razor blade.

I find two pairs of good-quality cross-lock needle-nose tweezers an absolute necessity for working with PE. Make sure the tips are 'squarely' aligned...if they're 'off,' you're likely to only hear your part as it pings off into the void, never to be seen again!

I have a set of small pliers I got at HL for about $14.  Has flat nose and nylon jaw in it.  Was in the beading section.

I also use a couple of single edge razor blades.

I will hold the piece in the flat nose and run a sanding stick over the slight nub left after cutting it loose.

Tweezers can tend to launch some PE into never land.

I used tweezers for years. I have a bender for specialty work but the tweezers work just fine

I just use pliers and tweezers.  I have several long nose tweezers.  A special type is the flat nose plier, which is like a small nose plier with about a 1/4 inch wide tip, and no or shallow seration.  That is great for bending PE.  Another great tool is a chisel style blade for your hobby knife.

I sometimes use two hobby knives- one to hold down PE part at bend line and the other to get under the bend portion and pull it up.

I use a pair of smooth long nosed pliers. I bought a bending tool but hardly ever use it. For very small parts, my tweezers are enough.