After 9 or so builds now, I'm finally the proud owner of sprue cutters. Wow, what a difference! I had no idea how much easier they would make cutting parts off of the tree. I picked them up on a whim at Hobby Lobby because they were 1/3 off and I'm cursing myself for not getting them sooner. No more exacto knife nubs left on the piece for me : ) Just a simple snip, no more exacto sawing or brute force.
You know it's been a long day when you are euphoric over a pair of glorified scissors. Seriously though, every model builder should have them.