I am struggling with this BlackBox cockpit for the Trumpeter Corsair. My frustration lies in the overpour. What kind of saw do I purchase to remove this stuff? This looks dicey to me and begs the question, WHY? Why can’t they prep the kit such that I do not need an extra degree to paint it and buid it properly? I know some of you love to do this stuff, and my hats off to you. However, I still contend that Tamiya is the way to go. I read the history, read some more and am guranteed a very nice build with things that fit. I don’t mind paying the price for a good model. Anybody seen the directions on this cockpit? Incredibly difficult to understand. Yeah yeah, I know, lok at pictures. Well, you almost have to collect 15 books to piece together the right angles to answer the questions that come up. My gut is I wish Tamiya had every aircraft in its arsenal. I would enjoy that. The rest of you can build monograms and accurate which don’t get me wrong are gorgeous kits, just hard to understand. I don’t build kits for a livin. It is a hobby!!! Please kit manufacturers, stop focusing on those that don’t mind buying a different tool a week. Let us use an xacto and a tube of glue and let the dam thing fit!!!
Anyway, what saw do I purchase to cut away resin overpour?
A Razor Saw. Several brands & sizes available. I have the X-Acto brand in both small & medium sizes. Available at all Hobby Shops, most Hardwares & web stores like Squadron, Micro Mark, etc. Relatively inexpensive & very handy. No modelers bench should be without them.
Regards, Rick
I have also seen in Black Box’s own instructions that you should use a pair of nippers to make take the first bites out of the overpour. That’s the quickest way, then transfer to a razor saw. The problem with the razor saw is that, with such fine teeth, and resin being such fine powder, you have to stop every two strokes of the saw to unfoul the teeth (I wipe it on my jeans, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you model in good jeans). But once you’ve sawn down as close as you are comfortable, switch to the no. 11 or No. 15 knife or scalpel. (anyone know a cheap source of scalpel blades? Hobby supply companies really jack the price up, while if you have a medical supply source, they are very cheap by the gross. Cheaper than X-Acto blades, but they don’t hold the edge as long.) Best of luck.
Tom
I tend to buy no. X-Acto blades from Micro Mark in packs of 100. In their latest catalog they have them on sale for $11.95, plus shipping.
Dick McC
Rick has the right idea -
Really, a razor saw is the only real option for those nasty massive pour stubs.
Note that X-Acto have several sizes of razor saws - and some that cut on the push, and some that cut on the pull.
I use both, depending on the size of the pour stub and the delicacy of the resin part. Sometimes it’s easier to pull and cut, sometimes not.
Don’t bother trying to use a saw blade with too many teeth (like a really fine blade woodworking saw with lots of teeth per inch) - won’t work. Sandpaper isn’t much better - makes a mess and the dust might just be hazardous to your health.
Good luck
Lee Tree is right; a razor saw will make short work of any pour stub. Yes, as Tom said, you do have to clean out the teeth every few strokes, but it’s by far the best solution.
Yeah, and though Black Box recommends those nippers you use to clip heavy wire or such, I’d be afraid of trying that, for fear of breaking the whole thing in half. So I stick to the razor saw, and then progessively finer grades of sandpaper, starting with the stuff that looks like somebody spread gravel on a sheet of flypaper.