Part Preparation Best Practices

The first step to building any model is to remove the cast parts from the sprues and clean up any flash found on the parts. Here are some tips that will keep your parts from being mutilated during the process.

 


It may be tempting to cut the parts from the sprue using a hobby knife, but this is not the ideal method. Often times the downward force of the blade will twist or bend the parts or even break delicate parts. I would suggest that you use hobby nippers to separate the parts from the spues. Leave a small amount (about 2mm) worth of the sprue on the part to be trimmed off later.

Use a hobby nipper
to remove parts
from the sprues

After the part has been removed from the sprue, use a sharp hobby knife to 'whittle' away the remainder of the sprue. Never be skimpy about keeping a fresh blade in your hobby knife. Dull blades can ruin your parts.

Carve away the rest of the sprue carefully

To remove large flash, you can carve it away with the hobby knife. For the slight flash which appears at the mold lines on parts, place the blade of the hobby knife at a 90 degree angle to the part edge and scape with an even motion.








Place the blade at 90 degrees to the edge and scrape
away small mold lines and flashing

You can also use an emery board or foam core nail file to clean up the parts. Nail clippers can also be useful for flush-trimming of parts. Wet-or-dry hobby sandpaper can be used for final finishing. The better you clean the parts up before assembly, the easier they will be to assemble and the less filling and sanding you will have to do after assembly.

Do final cleanup with hobby sanding film