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I've been painting GW models for quite a few years and I've got a pretty reasonably good technique as far as my painting and hobby efforts go.

Recently, however, I've been getting quite frustrated with the GW sprue cutters as I find they often maul my minatures then I spend ages cleaning up and filing badly cut sprue-spots on my minatures.
It's time-consuming and I'm wondering if there is a better way, so recently I have started looking at 3rd party sprue cutters that I can get one that makes the kind of clean cuts that only need minimal cleanup.

Please note this thread is more about sprue cutting in particular rather than whole kits.
I already have quite a few knives and files that I'm currently satisfied with.

I'm wondering if there are others out there who have experienced this and/or have gotten 3rd party sprue cutters.
Any brands of cutters that are to be investigated?
Any experiences to share?
Pictures of sprue cuts?

I know this is quite a boring subject but its really started bothering me recently.

Thanks all.

I've only used knives and gw plastic cutters and I don't have to do massive cleaning afterwards. Sure there is cleaning sometimes but that depends on the connection between plastic part and sprue.

Can you take pics of your cuts?

Nail clippers are quite efficient at snipping the bits off i'e these

Grate for getting into those really tight spots, much better that those rebranded side cutters.

these are good:
http://www.modelcraftcollection.com/

I've never had a problem with the GW snips.

What I'd recommend is that instead of cutting the model clean off the sprue, instead leave some of the sprue attached and then go back at it with your hobby knife to clean it up. No snips, regardless of the brand are going to give you a clean, flush cut.

Thanks for your responses.

illuknisaa wrote:Can you take pics of your cuts?

I know there is cleaning sometimes, but I find that when I use GW cutters (And I'm very careful about my cuts), it gouges out a little bit on the model-side of the cut.
This means that when I use a hobby knife to cut a smooth cut over the top, it leaves a little tiny crater. I know its a little pedantic, but it annoys me as it happens nearly every time.

I've tried using different GW cutters.

bubber wrote:these are good:
http://www.modelcraftcollection.com/

I'm looking through the pliers and cutters section, are there any particular brands that you use and have had success with?

Catyrpelius wrote:I've never had a problem with the GW snips.
What I'd recommend is that instead of cutting the model clean off the sprue, instead leave some of the sprue attached and then go back at it with your hobby knife to clean it up. No snips, regardless of the brand are going to give you a clean, flush cut.

If I there is a way, I would really like just that, a cutter that cuts rather than gouges. I appreciate you say that this is not possible, but I still ask if anyone knows of a cutter (That doesnt cost £30+) that provides a clean cut.
The way I see it, is that a clean flush cut is exactly what a good sprue cutter is supposed to provide.




Guys, I know what the issue is and I know what I want from this and more importantly I hope that this thread might be able to help any others who are dissatisfied like I am.
I have looked around the web and particularly on Amazon.co.uk where some sprue cutters consistently get 5 starts like here, here and especially here.

The ones linked above, according to reviews from real people, provide flush cuts and dont cost a bomb.
Unfortunately, I've never had experience with any of these and wondered if anyone had any advice to get me (And anyone else also looking) closer to the goal?

Thanks again guys and gals.

I've never had issues like this with my GW ones...

I use the P3 ones for about 4 years now. They are very good. If you are finding problems with clippers in general use a knife.

With more reading I'm seeing good experiences from using Xuron 'side cutters'.
I'm considering buying these (Xuron 410T High Precision Shear):
aka
I'm seeing them around for circa £15 online, but I'm going to try and find them a bit cheaper.

Any thoughts?

plonka2000 wrote:I know there is cleaning sometimes, but I find that when I use GW cutters (And I'm very careful about my cuts), it gouges out a little bit on the model-side of the cut.
This means that when I use a hobby knife to cut a smooth cut over the top, it leaves a little tiny crater. I know its a little pedantic, but it annoys me as it happens nearly every time.

Based on this statement i would say that you are cutting too close to the actual part.

Ashton

Redfinger wrote:Based on this statement i would say that you are cutting too close to the actual part.

Ashton

I hear what you're saying, but this scenario is the proof of a good cutter.
To my knowledge, that's why they're called 'flush cutters'; so that they provide a nearly flush cut so that only minimal cleanup is required afterward.
The GW cutters dont cut it in that regard... excuse the pun.

I feel I'm being a little pedantic about this but bear in mind that these are precision instruments and I'm referring to things on a fine scale.
When I say 'gouges' I dont litterally mean it tears a giant crater out, but I do notice that its quite a messy cut.

Maybe I'm not putting this into words as well as I want, but the GW cutters 'squeeze' the plastic rather than 'slice' it.
That is why when it is cut, and you pull away the cutter to look at it, there is visible stress on the plastic (small white marks).

I'm being fussy, and I know it so just bear with me. Like many people here, I guess I'm a 'precision artist' (If I would ever call myself that).
I know how to cut plastic models away from a sprue, but the problem is I've come to relise that the GW cutter is not very precise as a cutter.

So here I am looking for something better...

I dont think you are going to find anything much better than what was shown in the post above my first post. I have been building models for almost 20 years, in my experience there is no magic cutter, it is about experience, and taking the time and having the "modeling fortitude" necessary to clean everything up.

Ashton

plonka2000 wrote:With more reading I'm seeing good experiences from using Xuron 'side cutters'.
I'm considering buying these (Xuron 410T High Precision Shear):
aka
I'm seeing them around for circa £15 online, but I'm going to try and find them a bit cheaper.

Any thoughts?

A shear is by definaition gouges.

When I worked electronics assembly we used them, they gouge the least but we broke them by the bucketful.

You are looking for some kind of very sharp side cutters, having thin blades and closing very precisely. I don't think a tool like that is available. Manicure scissors fit the description, but they are not strong enough for this kind of job.

Redfinger wrote:I dont think you are going to find anything much better than what was shown in the post above my first post. I have been building models for almost 20 years, in my experience there is no magic cutter, it is about experience, and taking the time and having the "modeling fortitude" necessary to clean everything up.

Ashton

That sounds fair enough, I'm not looking for something that's perfect.
I'm very aware that there will always be clean up afterward, never said anything to the contrary.
As I've said, this is really about sharing knowledge, but ultimately I think I've reached the limits of my tool and become dissatisfied.
I am prepared to pay a small price for something that will do a better (if not perfect) job and cutting from the sprue.

A shear is by definaition gouges.

When I worked electronics assembly we used them, they gouge the least but we broke them by the bucketful.

I'm sorry (This is not meant as an insult) but your spelling, grammer and reference to definition are all incorrect.

From Oxford Dictionary:

shear

Pronunciation: /???/
verb (past participle shorn /???n/ or sheared)
1 [with object] cut the wool off (a sheep or other animal): Paul has never sheared a sheep before

(as noun shearing) demonstrations of sheep shearing
-cut off (something such as hair, wool, or grass), with scissors or shears: I’ll shear off all that fleece
-(be shorn of) have something cut off: they were shorn of their hair figurative the richest man in the US was shorn of nearly $2 billion

From Oxford Dictionary:

gouge

Pronunciation: /ga?d?, gu?d?/
noun

1- a chisel with a concave blade, used in carpentry, sculpture, and surgery.
2- an indentation or groove made by gouging.
verb
[with object]
1) make (a groove, hole, or indentation) with or as if with a gouge: the channel had been gouged out by the ebbing water
-make a rough hole or indentation in (a surface), especially so as to mar or disfigure it: he had wielded the blade inexpertly, gouging the grass in several places
-(gouge something out) cut or force something out roughly or brutally: one of the young man’s eyes had been gouged out
-[no object] Australian dig for minerals, especially opal: he was gouging for ore

Shear = cut
Gouge= make hole or indentation

This is the difference between using a knife and using a beginner/average quality cutter.

Please, if we're done comparing who is the smartest or who is been doing this or that the longest, can we please start to work together to find a better tool instead of pedantically nitpicking each others statements?
I see too many DakkaDakka threads wrestled down into ego already.

I just want to get some help to find a better cutter.

put the spruce on a hard surface that you're not afraid to cut (craft mat or something) take a box cutter, put it down where you want the cut to be, push down with a tiny bit of force and bam! no need to dump money on a pair of wire cutters, your going to be trimming the flush anyway just go over it and you can file it down with the same knife if you need to

Gnawer wrote:You are looking for some kind of very sharp side cutters, having thin blades and closing very precisely. I don't think a tool like that is available. Manicure scissors fit the description, but they are not strong enough for this kind of job.

I think a tool like that does exist, as there is clearly a large market for it (Pretty much any model hobbiest would LOVE a tool like this).
Many of the side cutters that I have seen online claim to fit this purpose but I'm not gullible enough to believe they will do a perfect job.

Again, what I'm really looking for here is to see if anyone has had a similar issue and what their experiences were with using other cutters.

Which brands did people use?
How good are they?
How much do they cost?

That sort of thing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Molotovsoda wrote:put the spruce on a hard surface that you're not afraid to cut (craft mat or something) take a box cutter, put it down where you want the cut to be, push down with a tiny bit of force and bam! no need to dump money on a pair of wire cutters, your going to be trimming the flush anyway just go over it and you can file it down with the same knife if you need to

I tried this with my craft knife (A fresh blade helped) a few times and found that it's a little too time consuming and makes my fingers hurt after a while.

Using a sprue cutter is my preferred weapon of choice I guess, but still...

I dont have a box cutter... Could you link a pic perhaps?

How about these?



http://www.micromark.com/professional-sprue-cutter,9277.html

Or, if you have 294 euros to spare, im sure these cut very nicely



(cant link directly to product) http://www.finescience.de

plonka2000 wrote:Recently, however, I've been getting quite frustrated with the GW sprue cutters as I find they often maul my minatures then I spend ages cleaning up and filing badly cut sprue-spots on my minatures. It's time-consuming and I'm wondering if there is a better way, so recently I have started looking at 3rd party sprue cutters that I can get one that makes the kind of clean cuts that only need minimal cleanup.

I have to wonder if this is an issue with the tool or the person using the tool. I say this because I have never had a model mauled or badly cut by my clippers. Regardless if you use GW's or some other company's product, they're mostly the same tool so you will most likely get the same result.

Now you're not gonna like what I'm gonna say, because you're nto accepting any insight into why you're not getting on well with cutters, but anywho.

When you cut with any brand of cutters there is pressure on the plastic from both sides of the blades. This is what is creating the tiny nicks you're talking about.

The only way to elieviate the pressure on the models side is to make sure that the plastic on the other side has somewhere to go.

If you make a cut about an inch away from the injection port of the model, and then cut flush, the plastic is cut and pushed away from the model, leaving as a cut as flush as possible.

Think of it like you're cutting through a carrot. If you have a sharp tool and the carrot it free on either side, when you slice it, each half will more to accomodate the side of the blade, and cut cleanly.

If you hold the carrot from either end and slice, the carrot will be compressed, as you're trying to fit a whole carrot and the width of your blade into a space that'll only take a whole carrot and your cut will be messy.

/2p

1 sharpen them, the more dull they are the more they'll compress the plastic before cutting through

2 if you're gouging chunks out of the miniature then you're doing something wrong, whether it's using dull cutters or simply miscalculating the angle if the cut

Personally I clip and leave a tiny bit of sprue still attached as I need to cleanup after anyway and there's no worry about damaging the model.

i cannot recommend the xuron shears enough. they are very well designed. they are flush cutters, meaning they leave a very clean cut off the sprue. they are also strong enough to clip pewter within reason. when my pair wore out, after some extended use and abuse, i bought the p3 cutters, which are the exact same cutters, minus the xuron brand name. my first ones are no longer as sharp, so i use them exclusively for cutting pewter and other materials that i know will wear the edge. my only advice is do not cut hard metals like paper clips or copper rod.

TL,DR : xuron flush cutters are identical to p3 flush cutters and are awesome

Show pics. We (or atleast I do) want pics of your cutting. I believe you are cutting it wrong because I've never managed to maul my minis or have to do excessive cleaning. I've many times even managed to cut (with gw cutters) a mini so well that no cleaning was needed.


PICS PICS PICS

hell. I've never had any problem with my good ol wire cutters from my tool box.. Unless, of course, the spaces provided are too small to fit the blades in. In which case, I just use a fresh, sharp exacto blade. Try putting the sprue in the freezer for a few minutes. It makes the plastic more brittle, temporarily. This way you can get it to snap when you apply pressure instead off mushing out of the way and damaging things. Some people even score where they want to cut after freezing the sprue and snap it like they where cutting glass.

plonka2000 wrote:With more reading I'm seeing good experiences from using Xuron 'side cutters'.
I'm considering buying these (Xuron 410T High Precision Shear):
aka
I'm seeing them around for circa £15 online, but I'm going to try and find them a bit cheaper.

Any thoughts?

Look in hobby shops and tool shops, you will find generic brand that are identical to these for about £3. I have some Gale Force 9 ones that I picked up 20% off that are he same.

If you are cutting really fine/fragile components (like those damned handrails on IG kits! ) I would suggest a razor saw. Accurate and will be as close or as far from the component as you want.

I bought the tweezer sprue cutters from MicroMark ( http://www.micromark.com/tweezer-sprue-cutter-despruing-tweezer,8012.html ).
They aren`t cheap but they are solid and very precise.
I use them to finish the cuts done with my standard sprue cutter (much like the Xuron but lower quality). I also use them to clean up figs that I bought from other people. They allow me to get real close to the actual plastic which then requires very minimal "cleaning".

Meleck wrote:I bought the tweezer sprue cutters from MicroMark ( http://www.micromark.com/tweezer-sprue-cutter-despruing-tweezer,8012.html ).

Now those are spiffy. I would think they would be hard to use though, but if they work for you then I can't knock them.

plonka2000 wrote:With more reading I'm seeing good experiences from using Xuron 'side cutters'.
I'm considering buying these (Xuron 410T High Precision Shear):
aka
I'm seeing them around for circa £15 online, but I'm going to try and find them a bit cheaper.

Any thoughts?

Xuron cutters are in IMO beyond any doubt the best cutters on the planet. I have the blue ones (model 170-II):

Hey man, just a tip: try to find some toe nail cutting equipment. I dont know how to speak that in english, but they look a lot like regular plyers, but are sturdier, and made to cut things that are a lot more hard than plastic (human nail can be very hard sometimes).

All I have ever used is a stanley knife, a steady hand (only a couple of finger tips missing!).

Use it like you would peel a potato, bracing the sprue against your thumb and applying steady pressure through the cut. Its quick and clean, leaving nothing to remove after the first cut!