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nold wrote:I've always used a hobby knife for this task, however, I would like to try a seam scraper. Do hobby stores carry these?

Possibly, but I haven't seen one in the few I've visited. Micromark carries one, though - here's a link.

From wrote:When people say "scraping" the model. Do you actually scrape the model with the blade held vertically because when I am doing this I find that I'm holding my razor diagonally and cutting the flash off I wouldn't call it scraping... Am I doing this wrong?

Sometimes cutting is best, like you're doing, but many people do actually scrape, instead (myself included). A 90 degree angle (blade perpendicular to surface) isn't actually ideal for this - something more like 60 degrees, with the blade angled away from the direction of travel, helps keep the blade from binding and springing back, which tends to leave little nicks and jagged bits of mold line behind. Scraping is a more gentle process than cutting and leaves a very smooth finish, if done right, making it ideal for removing thin mold lines in soft plastic. Shift lines (when the mold halves were actually out of alignment, instead of just letting a little plastic ooze between as flash), however, like those I encountered on nearly every model in my AoBR set, are an absolute bear to deal with. Those require more aggressive stock removal (repeated scraping, cutting, filing, and/or sanding), if not outright re-sculpting. Those are the ones that truly crush my soul.

Regarding the OP's question, for me it's mostly a matter of reminding myself that it's a necessary evil. I'm a slow, methodical painter, and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend five minutes prepping a model, only to sully a four hour paintjob with a poor canvas. Better to grit your teeth and do it right if the final result matters to you. I've also noticed that relatively few people, outside of avid converters, really view models holistically. The more you consider box/blister->game table/display cabinet a process and don't just think in terms of buy->paint->done, the less odious the task seems - in terms of total time/effort, it's merely a drop in the bucket.