What is your favourite tool and why ?

[AndyFettes]

Just to beef up the section a bit,...

Whats your favourite tool ,...one that you could never live without ?

Mine is like a scriber but set into a metal handle Ive had it for for years so I dont know who its made by,..I use it for everything

Scribing, picking up, little bits, painting small stuff, attatching small parts, you name it I use it with it

Ive packed it away so cant photo it for you

 

[Jeeves]

Hard to pick one...but my go to is a mini-Swiss Army knife I got as a gift for being in a wedding party. Has a small toothpick for placing decals and the like, small tweezers, small scissors to use to cut Sprue, a small knife, and a nail file for sanding.

 

[moon puppy]

hmmm...Hammer, no...Micro Torch...well it lacks finesse. I'll have to get back to ya.

 

[Iron Mike]

My Tweezerman tweezers for PE, my Zacto knives and my El Cheapo diamond files for cleaning up mould marks and seams.

 

[Dusan]

Tamiya sharp pointed side cutter is my favorite, only a minimal amount of waste meterial to clean up. Also i love Tamiya paint stirrer .

All the best!
Dusan.

 

[mlp]

for gluing its my self made glue applicator - a cut needle and like you Andy, I'm using a scriber like tool. Mine is one leg of a compasses. This I'm using for almost anything

 

[Ken Abrams]

My optivisors.

Without them, all my other tools are absolutely useless.

 

[Sharkmouth]

My optivisors.

Without them, all my other tools are absolutely useless.

I will state the same about my opposable thumbs!

Regards,

 

[moon puppy]

I've tried to use those things but can't get the hang of it. Maybe better optics would be..well better.

 

[Ken Abrams]

Maybe better optics would be..well better.

Maybe but I have the El-cheapo's so I don't think that's the case. The trick IMO, is to NOT wear them like you see in that picture. I wear them more like a baseball hat, with the optics like the brim/bill of the hat.

I can look at you, the TV, or anything else when I hold my head normally, then I just tilt my head down ever so slightly while looking up a little, bringing the optics into my field of vision, allowing me to see the work.

 

[JSteinman]

Would have to be the American Beauty Resistance Soldering unit. Very kewl, and it allows me to solder adjacent items without a heat sink.

 

[Sharkmouth]

I am soooooo ashamed. I have the same unit, you saw it John, and have yet to use it.

Regards,

 

[Paul-H]

Hi Guys

So many tools, so difficult to pick just one

Like Ken my Optivisor must be up there but for me it has to be my Trumpeter Sprue Cutters, because of the realy shallow cutting angle they can even chop through clear sprue without and damage to the clear part

Paul

 

[Leopard2]

Definitely my good ole small blade box cutters. Using one for 30+ years now. And not to forget my Tamiya stirring tool. Stirs paint and applies putty. And third I say tooth picks.

Joe

 

[Old Dog]

I'm afraid the optivisor has to be at the top of my list as well, first thing I pick up when I sit down at the modeling bench.

 

[Paulw]

The waxed paper from a sheet of decals. Drop some CA on it and it wont dry out as quickly and will be workable so you can pick it up with
with a tooth pick. The side cutting fingetnail clippers fo $8.00 works as well as a $12.00 set of sprue cutters.

 

[kryptosdaddy]

My friggin' reading glasses! My eyes are great- but recently my close up vision began to blur so i use a cheap set of 1.5 reading glasses. Doc says my eyes are fine though, so NO scrips for me, yet...


As far as a real tool, there are three that are indispensable. my #11 x-acto blades, my pin vice and my mini miter box for my razor saw.

 

[cwobeaman]

My optivisors.

Without them, all my other tools are absolutely useless.

I will state the same about my opposable thumbs!

Regards,

I would have to agree with thumbs, optivisor, and often times reading glasses under my optivisor when working on photo etch.

My 2 cents: I'm in love with my HP-C+ and ole tried and true Paasche H

Remember though that I'm a Bloke from the US who's always been into modeling cars. I'm lurking here because I want to learn armor and aircraft; some of the gentlemen here are the best there are, so I'll do my apprenticeship here.

V/R, Shannon
CWO3 Beaman
NYC, USA