Scratch-building: Tools
Specialty tools, The Chopper, Miter sander, punch sets, Olfa circle cutter
Specialty Tools
One of the biggest problems with scratch-building is finding the right tools for the jobs that you have. Unfortunately, there aren't many "catch-all" tools; rather there are several specialized tools that each have specific uses. So I think it would be helpful to list the tools I use, what I use them for, and any tips/tricks I've found that might be useful.
- The Chopper
- Now replaced with Modified Chopper (see below). It cuts styrene strips to make duplicates of various pieces.
- The stop-guides come in 90, 30, 60, and 45-degree angles.
- Uses regular razor blades that can be changed as needed
- I like the version 1 for the size. Version 2 has better construction but is smaller. And version 3 is a wider V1.
- CON - it only works for pieces a few millimeters thick
- CON - the aluminum horizontal bar will eventually begin to bow up. Northwest Short Line sells replacement bases when this happens.
- Miter Sander
- From Fourmost Products, this sands styrene pieces at almost any angle you need
- Perfect for getting the "exact" angle you want
- Also great for shortening pieces/parts
- When the sandpaper wears down, peel it off and use wood glue to adhere any sandpaper to the block
- Fourmost also makes an angled block as well
- Use big black paperclips to create guides
- Miter Saw
- From Fourmost Products, this allows you to saw larger styrene pieces at nearly any angle
- Comes with its own saw, but will fit any Zona saw
- Great for anything The Chopper cannot cut
- Use big black paperclips to create guides
- Miter Cut
- From Fourmost Products, allows cutting styrene at nearly any angle
- Similar to The Chopper, but with more angles available
- Uses standard razor blades
- Use big black paperclips to create guides (see picture)
- Not a necessity, but I do sometimes find uses
- My Modified Chopper
- Built with a wooden base, stainless ruler, glass square, and parts from The Chopper
- The glass cutting board prevents thin styrene from simply bending into the groove that happens to the basic Chopper over time.
- The blade comes down right at the 15cm mark allowing for easy measurements.
- Paper cutters
- Extremely useful for slicing the super-thin .13mm styrene sheets that you cannot score and snap. I only use the .13 mm for making raised-panel greeblies, as the thickness is perfect for smaller scales.
- Some people also report using it for thin brass sheets as well.
Making circles
Now, at some point during scratch-building, you may need to make dials or circles for your models. This is where you have to specialty tools to form the shape perfectly. I have 2 tools in my inventory to accomplish this:
- UMM Punch set
- punches go from .6 to 3mm
- can make dials, rivets, bolt-heads, etc.
- difficult to locate exact point where punch will occur
- Olfa compass circle cutter
- cuts from 1/4 inch to 6 inches
- use calipers to measure the length from needle tip to blade (this gives you the radius of the circle)
- comes with a black rubber stop if you don't want the needle pivot marring the surface
- comes with extra blades