Need a good scriber for aircraft panels. I’ve seen the Squadron one but never used it. Opinions?
Are there better ones than the Squadron offering?
I’ve tried making my own out of old dental instruments but I’m at the point that I need a “real” one.
Thanks in advance for all the help, and sorry if this has been posted before.
Gip
not sure about the squadron one but micromart sells one that seems to be pretty good…although i havent used it!
Maybe a month or so ago I orderd one from Hawkeye Hobbies (member here) awsome service and a great tool just go to his website I have gotten the razor saw,panel scriber and the sprue cutters from him great guy to deal with and has quality stuff. I will be trying his natural metal finishes soon when I get to finish my new bench and start on the Academy P-38 I picked up at a show in April.
John
The UMM scriber is fantastic…especially when you’re scribing compound surfaces, you have a lot more control than with the typical “pen-like” scribers. Hawkeye’s carries it, but as of this writing he is currently out of stock…but don’t despair, you can also order directly from the guy who designed it
Wish I had this tool years ago!
i have the squadron scriber itdoes a decent job, one should really have a few diffrent scribing tools.
One can never have too many tools! [:D]
I have 4 scribers myself.
In a hogan voice Amen brother.
The best scriber is cheap, use a sewing needle chucked in a pin vice. The commercial scribers really can’t do rounded corners very well.
I beg to differ. The UMM scriber is designed specifically to make scribing compound surfaces more easily, and with more control. I only say this after trying it myself, not to promote a product BTW.
Thanks to you all for the great replies. I’ve looked closely at the UMM offering and the one from MicroMark, and I think I’m going with the UMM one.
Gip
I have never heard of that UMM one. I have always used the Micro Mark one and have been very happy with it.
i used the squadron scriber its ok i got the tamiya scriber which works great and also have the trumpeter panel scriber that one is great too!
The best thing I ever bought was my Badger Air brush (OK now I have 2) the second best was the UMM scriber. I have the squadron scriber and have tried needles in a pin vice. The UMM is superior.
tyamada and I are on the same page. Go through your back issues of FSM to November '07. There’s an article on the subject. Tools? Primarily a sewing needle in a pin vice and templates. Old-school? Yes. Low-tech? Yes. Does it work? You make the call.
My suggestion would be to try the simple tool method first. Practice on some expendable or scrapped subject. If you think you need a fancier tool, they certainly are out there.
I think we’re talking about this in another thread right now, too, so I apologize if this is duplicate content.
A needle in a pin vise is good, I’ve been using that up to now, but you must take into account the scale of your work, and the size of the needle or pin you use.
Some sewing needles or straight pins have points that are a little too blunt, except perhaps at larger scales, so that’s something to consider.
Recently I’ve been using a new #11 X-Acto knife for scribing, in 1/48th, because of the fine tip of the blade.
With sewing needles, something else I do is to cut the extra length up at the eye end, so that the portion exposed in the pin vise is not too long, and so the needle stays a little more rigid as I draw it along the straight edge.
Regards,
Brad
I have the UMM tool that I’m learning to use, the Squadron tool and the Bare Metal Foil tool that nobody has mentioned yet. The Squadron tool never gets used now and didn’t last very long. The BMF tool is the one I’ve used the most and is still very sharp even after many small jobs and an entire 1/48 SR-71. I’ll be using the UMM tool on the next project. Very sharp and makes a very fine line.
What I’ve found in my current 1/48 project is using a variety of scribers as a process, and which I use depends on the shape of the surface, how long the scribed line will be, whether it’s a raised line I’m scribing or a factory-scribed line I’m rescribing, etc.
To start the line and for small round, square, etc., shapes I’ve found the needle in the pin vise method good. At that scale, it’s hard for me to manipulate a tool with a larger point in circles and whatnot. For the longer straight lines, I’ll then step up to one of the “pen-like” scribers to etch the line a little deeper. Finally, to clean up the line and put the final etch on it I’ll typically use the curved end of the UMM tool, which leaves a nice clean scribed line…the straight edge is good for terminating lines that go over curved surfaces like wing edges - you just kind of rock it back and forth rather than scrape or push it along. Again, the curved edge is good here for putting the finishing touch on the scribed line.
One advantage of this tool is that you aren’t limited to just pulling the tool to scribe…you can also PUSH it along to finish those lines to minimize what I call “overscratch” where the line is supposed to terminate. I’ve also found that the curved edge follows raised panel lines I want to scribe quite well if you’re slow, apply minimal pressure, and patient…I just gently push it along the line, although keeping a straight line gets harder the longer the line is - that’s where I’ll employ dymo tape or a small rectangular strip of .010 styrene stock held or taped onto the surface as a guide.
I guess the lesson here is that no one tool really suffices for all tasks…for me the best strategy is to employ multiple tools, using each tool I find most effective for the particular task at hand.
I just received the UMM scriber in the mail last week. UMM’s service was efficient and incredibly quick; I had a scriber and razor saw within a week of order submittal.
The scriber is, in a word, SHARP. I’ve only had the chance to use the curved end of the tool, and am impressed. With just light pressure it will remove small ribbons of styrene resulting in a very fine panel line. With more pressure, of course, the amount of plastic removed increases, and the line widens and deepens. What’s nice is that it actually removes styrene and doesn’t simply create a furrow in the plastic.
Question: I’ve seen several referrals regarding Dymo label tape. When using the stuff do you remove the backing and stick it to the model, or simply hold it in place like you would a straight edge?
Gip
People usually remove the backing and stick it to the model. However, the adhesive isn’t particularly strong, and after a few times it won’t stick anymore. One guy in another thread suggested sticking the tape to a same-sized piece of Tamiya masking tape, that way you can keep using the piece of dymo more times than you otherwise could.