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Ill fitting parts

OK, I have not made many kits but I sit here building the Academy Mig-29 Fulcrum A and had to take a break. My hands are going numb with all the sanding required to make some parts fit together. I am going to invest in a Dremmel to take the labour out of the work as I love building kits and won't quit just because a leading company can't make their fuselage halves fit together properly! Big gaps, overlapping parts and uneven molding are just some corrections so far

Who else gets wound up over this? I'm sure a lot do. This is why I stck with Tamiya only products with my armour modelling. The other manufacturers were driving me mad with endless ill fitting parts.

I've seen the Dremmel Mini Mite recommended, can anyone recommend another cordless drill?

Reply to
Tone
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Tony:

If you are going to invest in a Dremel for this work, you would best get one of the cord type and but a speed control. Out of the box most Dremels are so fast that they melt the plastic real quick unless slowed way down. Hard experience speaking. I got my speed control at Radio Shack many years ago. Bill Shuey

Reply to
William H. Shuey

OK, I read in the Osprey Modelling the Stuart book that the author uses the Dremel Mini Mite which I found spins at 5k or 10k rpm but retails if you can find it for about £35.

There is a new cordless Dremel on ebay at the moment for a good price, this has variable speed from 5000rpm upwards. The same as the Mini Mite but a lot cheaper (due to Ebay) Would you or anyone else agree that 5000rpm is ok for model making?

T> >

Reply to
Tone

Yes, the Mini-Mite is fine at 5K rpm, though you can melt plastic even then if you are not careful. The greater danger is that you'll take off too much plastic--it takes a while to get used to, but once you are attuned to the performance, you can save a lot of time. Frankly, while a lot of people don't seem to mind the corded models, I would find the cord cumbersome, and I really haven't felt a need to go slower than 5K. While I don't know about the pricing policies in the UK on the Dremel stuff, the price in the US is closer to $30, though by the time you buy a dozen and a half attachments, collets, mandrels, etc. (and you will), it will double.

Mark Schynert

Reply to
Mark Schynert

Thankyou for the reply. The Mini Mite is about £30 so its quite expensive really. This Ebay deal offers the new cordless Dremel vari speed box set with the Dremel Lite atachment for £25. A relative bargain then, I will go buy one now and order up some attachments for it too probably a cutting set and a sanding/polishing set. These are about another £9 for each set but there may be a combined one for about £15.

I'll give it a bit of practice before applying it to my models and see how I go.

manufacturers

Reply to
Tone

Shuey

Frankly, I much prefer my trusty Dremel Mini-Mite Cordless! This thing is completely controllable, as there is no heavy electrical cord to interfere, and the high speed setting on the cordless is just about perfect for working in styrene.

Suggestion: Spring the extra bucks for a 1/8" carbide cutter (the cylindrical cutter with the rounded nose on it). Why?

The normal high-speed steel cutters one gets with every Dremel tool aren't all that good in styrene, as styrene is abrasive enough to dull HS steel very, very quickly--which I have found is the biggest reason for the "melting" that many experience. The carbide cutters simply do not dull in styrene, the teeth are much finer and much, much sharper as well.

Just my experience (I still have my first multi-speed 110v Dremel--gets used maybe once a year, if that)

Art

Reply to
EmilA1944

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