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A) How do you guys make those perfect 90 degree angle cuts on plastic cards / tubes?
I know if i dont cut them peftectly, they wont have the angle to smoothly adhere to the other parts

Or tubes for example, if they arnt even, they'll slant to the angle thats un even .

B) Those of you with predator tanks . doesnt the side sponsons fall off alot? Its like
2 huge parts held together by a 3 mm thick plastic.

There are more but i cant remember anything else atm , thanks for reading!

Most of the time i just end up cutting to shape, dry fitting, sanding, and just fitting/sanding ad nauseum.

You can also get small Miter boxes at an art store. Use those Evergreen or Plastruct products to shore up those sponsons and anything else that needs support.

Hope this helps.

GoFenris wrote:You can also get small Miter boxes at an art store. Use those Evergreen or Plastruct products to shore up those sponsons and anything else that needs support.

Hope this helps.

woo interesting! i just googled it, so from my understanding, the *box holds the saw to
the correct angle keeping it a clean constant cut?

Yep, miter boxes work like a charm!

One last question , in places like office depot,

they have those.... LARGE blades attached to a board almost like a guillotine . i think its always placed near
copy machines so we can use it after copying stuff?

It usually have grids and measurements printed onto the board. Any idea what those are called, and how much?

That's a paper cutter. They start around $10 US and go up from there. Mind you, you get what you pay for. I don't think they would work too well on plastic. You would be better off with the miter box.

Also, invest in a metal ruler with cork or other non-slip material on the back. That will save you from the "wandering" blade plus you won't cut into the ruler. Something else to consider, if it's a long cut and you can't hold the ruler in place by hand get a couple of small "C" clamps from Harbor Freight/Canadian Tire. They're pretty cheap ($1.50 US) and hold your ruler on your material. I bought a couple of these and they work really well.

kutzmon wrote:That's a paper cutter. They start around $10 US and go up from there. Mind you, you get what you pay for. I don't think they would work too well on plastic. You would be better off with the miter box.

Also, invest in a metal ruler with cork or other non-slip material on the back. That will save you from the "wandering" blade plus you won't cut into the ruler. Something else to consider, if it's a long cut and you can't hold the ruler in place by hand get a couple of small "C" clamps from Harbor Freight/Canadian Tire. They're pretty cheap ($1.50 US) and hold your ruler on your material. I bought a couple of these and they work really well.

I have metal ruler, but im awful with ruler + xacto knife. They never go in a straight line, they either a) go over the ruler onto my finger OUCH or b) go the other way.

never straight line :/

LunaHound wrote:

I have metal ruler, but im awful with ruler + xacto knife. They never go in a straight line, they either a) go over the ruler onto my finger OUCH or b) go the other way.

never straight line :/

Just go slow. If you are cutting plasticard you don't have to cut all the way through it. Just scribe the surface then you can snap it cleanly.

AH! another question !

I dug up some sort of device ( i forgot what i bought it for -_- ) I believe.... its some sort of cutter but it looks like a cow boy sprew ( typo ) hm... like a ninja star attached to a paint roller.

what is it lol

LunaHound wrote:
AH! another question !

I dug up some sort of device ( i forgot what i bought it for -_- ) I believe.... its some sort of cutter but it looks like a cow boy sprew ( typo ) hm... like a ninja star attached to a paint roller.

what is it lol

it sounds like a leather punch. its used to punch holes in leather...lol
you can use it to punch holes in plasticard too and save the circles to make rivets

First, if you want to get a REALLY nice cut on plastic tubes, you should get a tube cutter. perfect, 90 degree, square cuts every single time.

http://www.toolbarn.com/category/pipe-cutter/

Seems to me I paid $5-6US for mine, and it's pretty nice, but this was a number of years. Make sure to buy the smallest one you can. The one I have can cut stuff that's like 1/8"

Second, if you want to cut styrene, basal wood, and cardboard into perfect 30, 45, 60, & 90 degree angles, and do tons exactly the same length, you need to get a NWSL The Chopper II.

http://www.internettrains.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IT&Product_Code=NWS-694

It rocks! It will save you TONS of time and aggravation trying to get everything the same length, or getting a decent angle on stuff.

Also chack out your plasticard supplier for 'tiled' sheets, which are semi-perforated in perfect 90 degree squares of various sizes. These are very expensive compared to plain plasticard, but can be a massive time/stress saver - simply snap the card along the appropriate line and you know everything will fit at perfect 90 degree angles.

I use an Xacto mitre box. They're nice, and they don't take up too much room.

The guy at

http://www.leplastiquealacarte.com

uses the whirly ninja star on a stick to emboss rivets in thin plasticard

Wow i love you guys! thank you so much *bookmarks.

came home and saw so many great suggestions and links <3

Don't forget a square to cut flat plastic you can get them at any hardware store and there are clamps that you squeeze the handle to tighten the clamp you can get them in any size and work great. Happy modeling.