Tools! Part 1

Dana emailed me at: oddlrockets@bellsouth.net
He asked for posts about tools.
"Could you perhaps do a segment on all your tools? . . . how you find the inexpensive things to make your building easier. Show us what you recommend!"

Here's some of my favorites, some you won't find in a hobby store.

If you follow the blog, you've seen me use this many times.

Years back I worked in a print shop doing paste-up.

You would use a flat plastic burnisher to adhere typed copy on cardstock.

I now use the white side of the barrel to make sharp creases on folded stock.

The permanant marker is great for touching up black paint. Sometimes it can be also used on black decaled areas.

I keep 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" diameter dowels close at hand.

This one has been sharpened with a pencil sharpener. The tip is sanded round.

I use the dowels to pre-form cardstock shrouds in the palm of my hand.
The sharpened end is useful for support when making small shrouds like the sixteen nozzles on the Dr. Zooch Soyuz model.
After the glue tab on a shroud is dried, use the dowel to "round out" the cone and make it's final shape.

Shove an engine casing over a 1/2 dowel to make a painting wand.

You'll see less spray paint on your hand if the model is a few inches away as you are holding it.

These also come in handy (before painting) as the model is being built.

I used the dowel holder on the last build while the stick on decals were being applied.

TIP: While the paint is drying, don't touch the model to see if the paint is dry.
Touch the paint on the wand stick near the model.