Fine Point Tweezer

Fine point tweezers (Academy)

This is not a kit nor an accessory for a model, but a working tool for the modeling workshop. The straight tweezers with tapered points serve to grip parts that cannot be held with fingers: small accessories, photo-etched parts that have been cut out, drops of glue carried on a wire, and moistened decals as well. With decals and etched parts in particular, the width of the point decides the matter, because broad tweezers will smear the motif or crumple the sheet.

Use

• fitting small parts, antennas, grab handles and steps
• handling photo-etched parts while bending and gluing them
• carrying soaked decals from a dish to the model
• holding a part while sanding or brush painting
• taking parts out of the box and sorting small pieces

Who it is for

It suits anyone who builds models in smaller scales or works with accessory sets. For a beginner it is one of the first tools worth buying right after a cutter and a file; a more experienced modeler will appreciate that a fine point does away with improvising with a toothpick. In a workshop it pays to have several kinds of tweezers, straight ones for ordinary work and curved ones for places you cannot reach directly.

Practical advice on care

Keep the points of the tweezers clean and free of grease, remove dried glue from them carefully and do not use them as a pry bar, because they easily splay apart and stop meeting. Do not store the tweezers loose among the other tools, so that the points do not bend. Hold them lightly while working; a strong squeeze will shoot a small part away. Working over a tray with a raised edge works well.

The tool has sharp points, keep it out of reach of children and do not use it for anything other than modeling purposes.