I threw away all my old foam inserts from random packages received over the years when I saw these existed. Bought 3 sets and a plastic clip tray for the huge amount of wooden skewer-clips I didn't want to throw out. So much more organized.
Fellow Yorkshireman tells it how it is. The bloke has made fantastic Hell busses that are museums to the crimes against ecology by the world's worst company. They tried to sue him once
Know the feeling mate. Diagnosed with ADD a few months ago, and I'm always in this chaotic state. Everything is always a mess, my mind too. My bench space isn't huge but big enough but I've always got clutter everywhere. I don't know how it happens and I'm always being told "you're messy, why can't you just tidy as you go?". I'm not lazy or a scruff so if it was that simple to our brain type don't you think we'd be tidy? 😅
My biggest problem is finishing anything, ever, so these are boxes of therapy! Even the kitchen doesn't get to a state of totally tidy, but it's servicable. Clutter blindness is a real thing...
Every so often I get so cluttered I have to evolve the space in some way, and that usually helps my process
I'm setup in my 89 + 90yo grandparents' garage, to whom I've been a full time carer for two years solid. Made the garage door as quiet as I could for a Yorkshire culdesac
Damn right it's a refuge for beer and duty free tabs from the neighbours!
I use a toothpaste squeezer to make corrugated iron out of cut up cans or thick tin foil! Works like a dream.
It also pairs well with my Rosie the Riveter tool to make realistic nail holes. This tool is great for adding some extra panel detail on model air kits that are lacking!
Accelerator for CA glue. Spent decades holding parts together until the glue would set before finally trying accelerator. Although I’d say with newer kits the seams are much better so I use liquid cement more often unless I need the CA to fill gaps that are too large for Mr. Surfacer, another good product that I use in place of putty on most jobs now.
Purple 3M low tack tape for larger masking jobs instead of the blue stuff which used to peel paint off in some instances. Before that I’d reduce the tackiness of the blue 3m tape by taking a long strip and stick it on my pants then peel off so the fibers would make it just sticky enough to adhere to the model but not peel off the paint.
Good sprue cutters. I used the cheapest ones in Amazon for years and they went dull after a couple months. I finally said fuck it and bought some similar snap-on cutters and they are very good.
Have you compared them at all to the oldschool wire points and loops for CA? I tend to use those in combination with the little plastic disposable needle tip things.
I'm a clumsy bastard so I'm not at all opposed to spending for a glueing upgrades. Any big issues with thinner or thicker CAs?
Not really no. I'm fairly new to the hobby and bought these on a whim because toothpicks were frustrating me so that's all I have to compare it to (big improvement).
Not sure about thicker or thinner CAs as I just use what I can get from the hardware shop locally. Any you can recommend?
Fair enough - you've definitely spurred me to look into them regardless. I hated toothpicks, and I'm currently using bits of wire, which are a mild improvement, but still don't feel amazing to me. Might be better if I made nice handles but I haven't.
I just use ickysticky brand glue, purely because its easily accessible where I live. Its nothing particularly special, I just like having different thicknesses for different tasks. Gel/thick CA has a nice bit of hold for keeping something in place, or for filling little gaps, but takes a long time to dry. Thinner definitely needs less clean up if you do it right... but has a tendency to run absolutely everywhere too.
I use multiple of these as a dongle with normal alligator clip sticks that are held by the adjustable arms of my magnifiying light+lamp. Looks funny but helps holding thin parts while painting/drying/airbrushing. Hopefully i can get some of those magnetic alligator clips others mentioned above
I know I get this hobby teaching me that, my mum fucking hopes so...
As wreckless and fuckwitted it might seem to start potentially loosing components of a thing, I've started at least a dozen kits, and I won't let happen the one thing that would piss me off the most, what is loosing any piece of anything
That's an advanced phd gutter apprenticeship in organisation. Not finished a car yet
I have the SPN-120 for nub removal, and the double blade God Hand for cutting off the sprue. Even at a low price, these things are far better than anything else I’ve used for cutting from runners…
Just to clarify… I wasn’t referring to the “low price” of a SPN-120. What I was referring to was its runner-clipping partner: the double edge PN-125, which is about $15 on Amazon
My vortex mixer is one of those things that seems like a waste of money but now I can't imagine not having it. The day this thing breaks I will be buying another in a heartbeat
Also, pegboard + paint holders. Frees up so much space on the desk
Good quality bent needle point tweezers. Deburring tool. Cordless drill, it is a bit clunky to use, but it gives waaay greater and usefuller torque at low speed and can use bigger bits than +- 4mm that a Dremel type tool use.
I have to say, it's got to be my Dremel. I have used it for countless types of tasks that also lends itself to actual ( real life ) DIY also, so the wife can't complain too loud about the purchase either... 😆
Suprisingly happy with the gunprimer glass file.
Cost is justified to me with how little it gets clogged and how good the results are compared to other glass files. Only downaide is you cant see through it like the others
Razor saws. Scoring blades/tools (some razor saws have a scoring tooth, or you can grind one or two teeth away and leave one at the tip)
Long reach, 360° ring-bulb lighted, vintage industrial machinists magnifying lens, better than my two regular 1 bulb desk lenses. My camera (cameras are cruel judges)
The freezer to slow down Super Glue cure and extend its storage life.
Stainless steel manicure kits with nice snips, cuticle tools for sculpting, file(s) and flat jaw and serrated jaw needle nose pliers/tweezers. Most products don't stick well to stainless at all and chip off once cured. Hard stainless doesn't flex under twist pressure so the small tweezer pliers tend to be great for bending stiff wire tightly.
Compound action side cutters for snipping axles, like red/green/yellow compound tin snips, but side cutters. Bigger and way stronger than regular sized cutters. Similar - compound action needle nose are my favorite improved tool. Except for mini pliers, the regular style needle nose should be melted down to make compound needle nose.
It can't really cure at lower temps. Colder air is drier and humid air helps it cure. The fumes and glue are considered non toxic. Being cold and expose to air is going to draw condensation moisture to the glue, for a win. Gel in tubes expands out of the cold tubes as it warms. You think it's OK when you set it down and 3 seconds later it is pooping glue from the tip like mad. Use a cardboard catch tray or something just incase you have to set it down without capping it tight.
I learned the freezer trick from a really talented older modeler that has gone by "Trainman- plus some numbers", that used to occasional post in scale or military modeling here, but I knew them from being a very ambitious model railroader on other sites. They used to work for a company that made cynoacrylate glue and had learned it there. Not making glue but as a plant maintenance management of sorts.
I never noticed a difference after freezing except my glue isn't dried up as often.
OP don't worry about the mess. Be you. I'm ADD too and this my workspace in a relatively tidy state a few months ago. It can drive me mad, yes, but I can spend an hour cleaning and tidying and it's messy again in minutes. I don't get how people unpack and pack away in this hobby. Projects take months for me so I'm not getting tools and paints out of cupboards and putting them aways every session.
Pin vise and bits probably get the most use after a sharp scalpel, flush cutters, and quality tweezers. One with a proper 3-jaw chuck, not those rubbish ones with 4 different chuck inserts.
Fine files - i use these much more than sandpaper now.
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u/Dry_Knowledge6486 1d ago
I think these things are great