Modeling Tool Set 17 In 1

Seventeen items for a start and for the workbench

The set covers most of the jobs that building a plastic model involves. In it you will find two screwdrivers, one flat and one cross-head, and then five files in flat, round, half-round, triangular and square profiles. There are two pairs of tweezers, straight and bent, and one pair of sprue cutters. For cutting there is a knife with fifteen replacement blades, a second knife for fine work, a small saw with two blades of different length and a parting tool for releasing parts from the sprue.

What the individual pieces are for

The sprue cutters part a piece from the sprue, and the parting tool releases a piece the cutters cannot reach. The files level off the remains of sprue gates and uneven mold seams, and the bent tweezers hold a small part in a place your fingers will not fit. The saw will help with work on thicker material, where a knife would slip.

Tips on handling

Change the blades before they stop cutting: a blunt edge slips and is more dangerous than a sharp one. After work, tap the files out or clean them with a brush, otherwise clogged teeth tend to score the surface instead. The set offers a rounded basis around which the workbench can be built up further according to what you take up.

What you will not find in the set

There are no abrasive papers, glues or paints; those are bought separately according to the kind of build. Nor are there clamps to hold larger assemblies while they dry, or drill bits for the smallest hole diameters. What the set does cover is everything needed to part a piece from the sprue, clean it up and fit it together. For a first kit that is more than enough, and the rest of the workbench can be added step by step according to what you take up.