Tools & Jigs
Airbrush bottle seal
The seal in the airbrush bottle lids can harden over time. You can buy new seals
or make you own from cork. I bought a package of different automotive gasket material from
Canadian Tire and there is enough gasket material to make a few dozen seals. Just use your
original seal as a template for making more.
Clothes pins
Excellent for use as clamps. However, they may be too strong to be used on some
parts.
Film Canisters
I find 35mm film canister are great for pedestals for mounting car and motorcycle
body parts for painting. I tape the canister to a small piece of cardboard so its has a
steady base. Then tape the part to the top of the canisters. The canisters can be
cleaned with lacquer thinner without harming the plastic. Drop by your local film
developer and you should be able to get an armload for free.
Flex-I-File™ sanding strips
Here is a tip from André Bouchere.
I find the available sanding strips far too coarse for plastic modelling purposes. André showed me how to make strips easily from wet/dry sandpaper and some CA glue. Cut the strips 15cm long x 0.7cm wide. Fold over 1.5cm at each each end of the strip. Then use a drop of CA to glue the ends making a 'loop' for the Flex-I-File studs to go through. I've made 400, 600, 1000 and 1500 grit sanding strips.
Also, when using the Flex-I-File on curved surfaces, lightly squeeze the file so the strip isn't so tight. This will allow the sanding strip to conform to the part giving a far better result.
LockJaw™ Clamps
Great
clamps that can be used to holding parts gently or tightly while cement cures.
The pads are rubber and will not harm what is being clamped. They work with a
ratcheting action and have a quick release on the grip. I bought these at
Canadian Tire (http://www.canadiantire.ca).
Punches
I made circular punches from brass tubing for punching out disks from sheet
styrene. I filed the outside edge down so it can easily cut through thin sheet styrene.
The edge is fragile so I lay the styrene on a cloth so the tubing has some protection once
it penetrates through the styrene. I use the punches for cutting instrument 'glass' and
covers for swingarm screws, etc.
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