Good (i.e. FAST) way to remove molded-in detail
While building my custom 1965 Corvair, I had to remove some detail (and I use that term loosely) that existed in the interior tub. The foot controls (accelerator, brake and clutch) were crude and just wouldn't do, since the interior was going to be fully exposed due to the convertible conversion it's undergoing. So, I have to build controls from sheet styrene to increase the detail inside. Here's how it looked before:
I was dreading trying to get rid of those pedals, but decided to start on it last night. Well, in the process I tried scraping with my xacto, too awkward. I remembered a pair of cuticle clippers the wife and I had purchased from a local Wally World for my modeling. Well, these things now have a purpose! Here's what they look like:
They cost about $6 or 8 USD, and worked without any effort whatsoever. One word of caution, please wear eye protection when cutting out parts. I forgot to close my eyes and lived up to my screen name. Oops, cue stream of profanities as a small chunk pegs me right in the right eye. LOL. I remember telling myself "Close your eyes Jon, this could hurt if something goes wrong..."
Here's the end results (2 of 3 removed):
Worth every penny I spent, just for this one model! It left almost no trace of the original plastic I was removing. I'm sure they'll last for quite a while. Hope this helps anyone else that may need it!