Modeling Tools
I show two photos of my work bench that was in one of our spare bedroom's over in Colorado. The walls are covered with some of my 301 model awards. I made a round tool to roll down the panel lines on top of my decal's. Without doing this you don't see the panel line. Like I said in other stories, I only use thin superglue to glue parts together and the thick glue for filler.
I bought all these tools in the 1980's and have used them all these years, (1984 - 2016 ). I was told to use water when filing plastic with my metal files and use "3-IN-ONE" oil when working on metal such as aluminum, brass and copper. I cleaned the files with a fiber brush with oil and water, then dried the files so they would not rust.
I paid 70 bucks for each 6" and 4" long file set in the mid 1980's which came to a total of USD$280.00 + tax & "s/h." Each set had 12 files. I bought some other #0 & #2 cut files. When I quit modeling after 32 years, my tools worked like new because I was taught to take care of everything. I kept lot's of paint in the original bottles and just put a piece of tape on the lid and write the name/number on it. A side view drawing of my "Waldron" punch was presented at a club meeting, so guys could learn how to use the punch set. I took a photo of a full bottle of "FUTURE," but the name is no longer written on it. The last photo shows my home made wire tools that I used to apply the super glue onto the models. Enjoy...RJW.
A neat workbench is the sign of a sick mind. 🙂
That can depend Tom.
Some us have just a corner of the living room to work in, so been tidy-ish is a real boon when building/painting, but not O.C.D LOL.
Simon.
Doesn´t matter how much space i have on my desk. I always end up having tools, glues, projects and paints eating it all up till I have just a small area the size of my cutting mat to fit.
I clean up my work place before I take photos and at times I'm just like you. My work table gets to be all covered up with tools, model parts and anything you can think of.
Please send a photo of your work bench!
BTW: I just looked at all my photos and the are very small. I have no idea why?. The other stories have bigger photos.
It's a JOKE! The original version was "A neat desk is the sign of a sick mind."
I know that Tom, I was just saying some of us don
t have the facilities others have, thats all.I understand the joke..
Simon.
Here are a couple of pics of my bench.
This is in the corner of our living room.
Thankfully , my wife Rose does the hobby to, so I have a little lee way there.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
When I got back into modeling in 1977 my wife let me build models on my office desk which was in the corner next to a window just like your present set up. Winter's were cold and rainy in Northern California and I was prohibited to paint anything on my office desk. I got a 3'x6' (1meter x 2 meters) table that had fold up legs and set up a new work station out in the garage. I had to leave my car out on the concrete drive way. My wife was very happy and we are still married, going on 58 years. I got our only son building models but we both had to go out in the garage. I don't know if I have a photo of my office desk with all my stuff on it! Remember...modeling is fun!
Thanks for your photos and say "HI" to Rose. Rodney in Southern California, U.S.A.
I will do Rodney.
Rose does the hobby for therapeutic reasons, and it gives me some one to talk to while on the bench.
You are lucky. The only thing my wife talked to me about my modeling was the money I gave her from customer sales. We really never had a husband/wife disagreement over the hobby. She even went with me to some of the model contest show's.
I guess I'll get another model ready to post as I have another 284 models to show!
Congratulations on the impressive wall of awards for your builds. Special.
I went to over 20 club contests in California and never got an award, then all of a sudden I started getting them and I guess it was due to met getting better at modeling. I had 2 great modelers that showed me many things and I put them into my model work log. I have not been to a contest since 2015 and after I moved from Colorado to here, all of my models and awards are still in boxes. Living with 9 other family members does limit my space. Anyway's, I'm still happy.
Really like the decal rolling disc.Why didn't I think if that years ago! And yeah my workbench takes just one session to run out of space to work on.
Hi Haslam> I thought about that and at first my roling tool tore up the decals as I was pushing the thing down the panel. The I learned how to lightly roll it down the panel line, it worked out just fine...again..."experience" is the name of the game. In our club we had a saying. If you first don't succeed ..."Try Try Again."
Hi Rodney. Thank you for sharing. I have been in the trades for 40 years and when my workbench is clean that means there is no work !
That said I spend a lot of time organising and cleaning. Both at work and modelling that makes for a better job.
When I interviewed people to hire I would ask what the most important tool of the shop is.
Very few have gotten it right. The answer : a Broom ! It’s a meditation tool to brood with as well , cleaning , resetting the mind and solve the work issues.
I feel validated with the work you do !