Equidistance Scribed Line Knife

The U-STAR scriber for lines at an equal spacing

This is a modeling tool from the scribing and panel line branch. The name says that the tool serves to scribe lines at the same distance from each other, that is for work where it is not a single line that matters but a regular pattern. Check the construction of the guide, the range of the adjustable spacing and the material on the packaging.

Where a regular spacing comes in useful

Most often where the surface has a repeating division: deck planks, sheet metal strips on a superstructure, ribbing, grilles and hatches with a regular pitch. Measuring out every line separately is slow work, and an error of a few tenths of a millimeter shows at once on a finished model, because the eye picks up irregularity sooner than the depth of the scribing. A tool with a guide solves that by resting against a line that has already been scribed or against the edge of the part.

Use

• Scribing regularly spaced lines on a deck, a body or a superstructure.
• Adding missing divisions after a surface has been sanded down.
• Work on conversions, where the surface is created anew.
• Deepening shallow lines so that a coat of paint does not fill them in.

Who the tool is for

For more advanced modelers who rework the surfaces of parts and build ships, vehicles or models with pronounced sheet metal divisions. For an ordinary build from the box it is a specialized tool that pays off only with more demanding work.

Try the tool on a piece of scrap plastic or on a test plate before working on the model. The scribing is done in light repeated strokes, because a line that has run off has to be repaired by filling and sanding, after which the surrounding panel lines have to be restored.