Tools & Jigs
Airbrush bottle seal
The seal in the airbrush bottle lids can harden over time. You
can buy new seals or make you own from cork. I bought a package of
different automotive gasket material from Canadian Tire and there is
enough gasket material to make a few dozen seals. Just use your
original seal as a template for making more.
Clothes pins
Excellent for use as clamps. However, they may be too strong
to be used on some parts.
Circle Cutter
May 17, 2002
has
nice a compact circle cutter (Model
CMP-1) that can be very useful to the motorcycle modeller. The
cutter can
cut circles from 1cm to 15cm in diameter and has a replaceable blade.
I've used
the cutter to create painting masks when a circle template is too
awkward to
use. Very handy for cutting disks for masking the centers of wheels and
brake
discs. Thanks to André
Boucheré for suggesting I add this tool to my collection.
Film Canisters
I find 35mm film canister are great for pedestals for mounting
car and motorcycle body parts for painting. I tape the canister to a
small piece of cardboard so its has a steady base. Then tape the part
to the top of the canisters. The canisters can be cleaned with lacquer
thinner without harming the plastic. Drop by your local film developer
and you should be able to get an armload for free.
Flex-I-File™ sanding strips
Here is a tip from André Bouchere.
I find the available sanding strips far too coarse for plastic modelling purposes. André showed me how to make strips easily from wet/dry sandpaper and some CA glue. Cut the strips 15cm long x 0.7cm wide. Fold over 1.5cm at each each end of the strip. Then use a drop of CA to glue the ends making a 'loop' for the Flex-I-File studs to go through. I've made 400, 600, 1000 and 1500 grit sanding strips.
Also, when using the Flex-I-File on curved surfaces, lightly squeeze the file so the strip isn't so tight. This will allow the sanding strip to conform to the part giving a far better result.
LockJaw™ Clamps
December 7, 2001
Great
clamps that can be used to holding parts gently or tightly while cement
cures.
The pads are rubber and will not harm what is being clamped. They work
with a
ratcheting action and have a quick release on the grip. I bought these
at
Canadian Tire.
Photo etch Bender
April 22, 2002
Sometimes
you need some help holding photo etched parts firmly so you can get a
nice
uniform bend in the PE parts. You can make a 'vise' using a simple door
hinge
and some carriage bolts with wing nuts. If you have a hacksaw and
files, you can
modify the hinge with notches to make bending complex shapes much
easier.
Photo etch Bender V2.0
November 9, 2002
I just thought of another ideal, and simpler, tool
that you can find at the office supply store. My clipboard has an
ACCOGRIP clamp. You know, that spring loaded clamp that can hold a
couple dozen sheets of paper. I was inserting some sheets
into my clipboard and EUREKA!!! "How would it clamp PE?" I
thought. I tried it out and it works beautifully! Clamps the PE so
tight its not going anywhere.
Note: my ACCOGRIP clipboard is several years old now and I understand the clamping surface of the latest models are different to help grip the paper better. Look for a ACCOGRIP with flat clamping surfaces.
Clamp 'n Bend 
June 10, 2004
There
are a couple commercial photo etch (PE) benders on the market these
days (Hold
and Fold and Etch
Mate). When the original PE bender, the Hold and Fold, was
released I
thought the 4" size was too small for my needs. So, on a visit home, I
scrounged
up some scrap aluminium plate, aluminium angle, bolts, and wing nuts
and created
my own PE bender, which I affectionately call the Clamp 'n
Bend.
Punches
I made circular punches from brass tubing for
punching out disks from sheet styrene. I filed the outside edge down so
it can easily cut through thin sheet styrene. The edge is fragile so I
lay the styrene on a cloth so the tubing has some protection once it
penetrates through the styrene. I use the punches for cutting
instrument 'glass' and covers for swingarm screws, etc.
Watch Maker's Vise
A
great tool for holding parts when drilling of CA-ing detail parts to
the kit part. Especially for holding discs that are being drilled with
a pinvise.
Micro Tap and Die Set
A
great tool for making your own 1/12 scale fasteners from 1.0mm to 2.5mm
(12mm-30mm). The set I bought included two of each tapin case one gets
damaged. The set cost $50Cdn at Princess Auto.
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