I also found that a decent step mandrel set, varying diameter wood dowels, and an electronic soldering iron usually come in handy when assembling white metal kits.
Twilight Nocturne thank you for the tip. Since making this video I have discovered wood dowel rods and step mandrels. Also drill bits are great for longer parts.
DO NOT buy the 'Metal Earth' brand 3 piece tool kit. Price equals quality and that should give you the biggest hint at what you are going to get. In my set, the nippers didn't even meet at the very end, so they were never going to achieve a clean cut. The long-nose pliers were badly forged and finished unevenly and the bullnose pliers never gripped at the very end. Instead, I use a good quality pair of plastic modelling sprue cutter nippers with a very fine point and they are perfect. For my plier selection, I use a set of Kinchrome miniature pliers. I have done over a dozen kits so far with no issues.
I got the F35, ok start I guess but gave up. Still fascinated and would like to create these models. I have a tool kit I ordered on eBay that's going to take forever to get here but I'm looking at mandrill bending tools type things. Any suggestions other than this kit
Thanks, for the review! I just stumbled across this precision set at harbor freight and will be giving them a shot. I'll let you know how they do! www.harborfreight.com/6-pc-precision-pliers-set-60826.html -Cheers!
Kyle Sargent Update: I ended up purchasing this set (www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/pliers/6-piece-mini-pliers-set-94931.html) because it seemed to be of a slight better finish quality. After trying it out today, I'm VERY impressed how well this kit worked and highly recommend it! -Cheers!
I also found that a decent step mandrel set, varying diameter wood dowels, and an electronic soldering iron usually come in handy when assembling white metal kits.
Twilight Nocturne thank you for the tip. Since making this video I have discovered wood dowel rods and step mandrels. Also drill bits are great for longer parts.
DO NOT buy the 'Metal Earth' brand 3 piece tool kit. Price equals quality and that should give you the biggest hint at what you are going to get. In my set, the nippers didn't even meet at the very end, so they were never going to achieve a clean cut. The long-nose pliers were badly forged and finished unevenly and the bullnose pliers never gripped at the very end. Instead, I use a good quality pair of plastic modelling sprue cutter nippers with a very fine point and they are perfect. For my plier selection, I use a set of Kinchrome miniature pliers. I have done over a dozen kits so far with no issues.
I got the F35, ok start I guess but gave up. Still fascinated and would like to create these models. I have a tool kit I ordered on eBay that's going to take forever to get here but I'm looking at mandrill bending tools type things. Any suggestions other than this kit
You can buy step mandrels from www.yourtoymart.com
I'd probably try and angle grind the tips of those cutters even thinner. Doing that might make the perfect tool for the job :-)
Thanks, for the review! I just stumbled across this precision set at harbor freight and will be giving them a shot. I'll let you know how they do! www.harborfreight.com/6-pc-precision-pliers-set-60826.html
-Cheers!
Kyle Sargent Update: I ended up purchasing this set (www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/pliers/6-piece-mini-pliers-set-94931.html) because it seemed to be of a slight better finish quality. After trying it out today, I'm VERY impressed how well this kit worked and highly recommend it!
-Cheers!
Kyle Sargent Cool! Thanks for sharing.
Go to harbor freight, same tools 5 bucks.