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I just got my first box of models today, and when I unboxed them I was alittle daunted. I didn't really know where to start, my first instinct is to kinda saw through the model crimp connector thing with my xacto knife but I wanna double check that isn't going to ruin it

I usually use a pair of modelling cutters to snip them off the sprue, then lightly scrape away the moldlines with a hobby knife. You can cut them off the sprue with a knife, just be careful not to hit the model. It's generally safer to just do it with some modelling cutters. Even a small pair of scissors will work.

Yeah you need a pair of sprue or model clippers. They are basically small sharp wire cutters designed to get into the frames and clip the parts free.

GW makes them as does gale force nine, army painter, or even tamiya.

Yeah, as Mecha_buddha said, you can probably find a relatively cheap pair at a hobby shop, and maybe even a place like Walmart or Target.

The trick is to be gentle when you cut them. I let my friend try out assembling some old Assault on Blackreach models and he cut deep, sheering off the tops of Space Marine pauldrons. Slide the clippers down the connector, just above the model, then gently squeeze, letting the plastic guide you as it gives. If you do it right, you will be left with a smooth white spot instead of excess plastic to trim off.

Just go to a hardware store and buy some a flush cutter. They'll be far cheaper than hobby companies sell them, and likely better quality to boot. What they sell as clippers for hobbies are just flush cutters.

One bit of advice: do NOT try to clip the sprue right at the surface of the part, you can easily damage it that way. Instead, clip it 1-2mm away and then get a knife or file and carefully remove the last little bit of sprue.

 Peregrine wrote:
One bit of advice: do NOT try to clip the sprue right at the surface of the part, you can easily damage it that way. Instead, clip it 1-2mm away and then get a knife or file and carefully remove the last little bit of sprue.

This. It's far better to do the extra work than screwing up your miniature or having to fix it with greenstuff. Don't do like me and first pair of necron warriors I ever clipped. Poor guys

And so the OP as an idea what we are talking about: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat470006a&prodId=prod1095448

Just get something like this at your FLGS

I guess ork models are a lot tougher than other armies. I always clip right at the part, and never damaged a single one.

It depends on the part, really. Something nice and solid and smooth like an Ork arm or a Marine leg is usually ok - it's the fiddlier bits like hands, weapons and especially thinner models like Eldar, Dark Eldar or Daemonettes that can cause problems.

 Peregrine wrote:
One bit of advice: do NOT try to clip the sprue right at the surface of the part, you can easily damage it that way. Instead, clip it 1-2mm away and then get a knife or file and carefully remove the last little bit of sprue.

I've never had this happen to me and I've been building model kits for 15 years. Interesting...

 captain bloody fists wrote:

 Peregrine wrote:
One bit of advice: do NOT try to clip the sprue right at the surface of the part, you can easily damage it that way. Instead, clip it 1-2mm away and then get a knife or file and carefully remove the last little bit of sprue.

I've never had this happen to me and I've been building model kits for 15 years. Interesting...

I've had that happen with resin bits, which are more brittle. Still, it's good advice with smaller bits, which can break if you put any torque on them.

Get you a small pair of cutters like these from a hobby store or home improvement store (Lowes, Home Depot). Use this to cut stuff off the sprues.



Get you a hobby knife (Exacto Knife). Use this to CAREFULLY remove remaining sprue bits and mold lines.



Some people use file for removing mold lines, but I've never felt the need for them. To each their own, right?

Having the right tool for the job helps. As does erring on the side of caution.

I use the wrong tool; a old pair of wire-cutters. But I clip back away from the contact part, and do the close in work with a hobby knife. With a sharp blade (replace it when it gets dull)

You will probably also want a set of small files, to help clean mold lines. You can use the back of your knife, or a specialized seam scraper, but you will want the files for some projects.

While GW does have a lot of tools for sale, they have them at a huge mark up. It's worth looking at the tools section of their website for things to get, and then head down to Sears or another hardware store and pick them up for 1/3 the price.

Worth noting to get a pair that have a flat cutting edge and not rounded. GW snips may be expensive, but that pair I bought still works and hasn't broke. Even works thru metal models if you shave with it. I've bought cheaper modeling snips and broke quickly. Have no idea why the GW ones work so well for me but they are great

For your own sake, do not use a knife, especially if you're just starting out. Like everyone has said, get a god pair of clippers, one wrong move with a craft knife and you will be out of action for a few weeks to a few months.
Once you get a bit more used to how the models are, become familiar with the mold lines and contours, then move onto the craft knives. Just be careful, don't get cocky, and cut AWAY from the body.

Wire cutters do not cut level with the bottom, but cut in an X shape.
Side cutters, like mentioned above, are more like scissors, but have level 'blades'. so wire cutters may be safer when avoiding digging into the model, but are not as precise.
I use a knife for all sorts of things, and have the stack of used plasters to prove it. I use diamond files (see above) foor cleaning up mold lines.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
For your own sake, do not use a knife, especially if you're just starting out. Like everyone has said, get a god pair of clippers, one wrong move with a craft knife and you will be out of action for a few weeks to a few months.
Once you get a bit more used to how the models are, become familiar with the mold lines and contours, then move onto the craft knives. Just be careful, don't get cocky, and cut AWAY from the body.

Your Battle Wound story would be a great scared straight moment on this. I don't have a link handy though...

 reiner wrote:

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
For your own sake, do not use a knife, especially if you're just starting out. Like everyone has said, get a god pair of clippers, one wrong move with a craft knife and you will be out of action for a few weeks to a few months.
Once you get a bit more used to how the models are, become familiar with the mold lines and contours, then move onto the craft knives. Just be careful, don't get cocky, and cut AWAY from the body.

Your Battle Wound story would be a great scared straight moment on this. I don't have a link handy though...

Good idea, found out at physiotherapy last week too that whilst I didn't sever the tendon, I did slice 30% through and ~5mm upwards. Still can't even give someone a thumbs up.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:

 reiner wrote:

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
For your own sake, do not use a knife, especially if you're just starting out. Like everyone has said, get a god pair of clippers, one wrong move with a craft knife and you will be out of action for a few weeks to a few months.
Once you get a bit more used to how the models are, become familiar with the mold lines and contours, then move onto the craft knives. Just be careful, don't get cocky, and cut AWAY from the body.

Your Battle Wound story would be a great scared straight moment on this. I don't have a link handy though...

Good idea, found out at physiotherapy last week too that whilst I didn't sever the tendon, I did slice 30% through and ~5mm upwards. Still can't even give someone a thumbs up.

Here's hoping for a full recovery, Buca.

I got a pair of cutters from Walmart for $4 in the craft section - they look identical to the GW ones, except it's black metal with green handles.

never snip flush to the model, always leave flash. You can clean the remaining bit of gate/flash with a knife, and get rid of any remaining stub with a file. When the space gets really tight, instead of cutting the part out, cut out the portion of the sprue that's holding the part. Now you have a tiny sprue with the plastic bit. continue snipping away the sprue until the clippers can get in without causing any damage to the part.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:

 reiner wrote:

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
For your own sake, do not use a knife, especially if you're just starting out. Like everyone has said, get a god pair of clippers, one wrong move with a craft knife and you will be out of action for a few weeks to a few months.
Once you get a bit more used to how the models are, become familiar with the mold lines and contours, then move onto the craft knives. Just be careful, don't get cocky, and cut AWAY from the body.

Your Battle Wound story would be a great scared straight moment on this. I don't have a link handy though...

Good idea, found out at physiotherapy last week too that whilst I didn't sever the tendon, I did slice 30% through and ~5mm upwards. Still can't even give someone a thumbs up.

Well wishes from the whole imperium

I'd also highly recommend clipping slightly away from the part and slicing away/filing down the nub. The thing with flush cutters is that while one side is ground flush, the other is angled to give the jaws some meat (can't sharpen a blade if there's no metal there). When cutting through thicker plastic, this shape forces the cutters away from the waste side as they close, stretching the plastic between the jaws. No matter how sharp the blades are, this means that they're tearing, not slicing through, the middle of the cut, resulting in rough, distorted plastic to be filed down and potential tear-outs to be filled. The effect isn't noticeable on very thin sections, but nearly half of the gates on your average sprue are thick enough to result in distorted cuts, if you aren't careful.

 conker249 wrote:
Worth noting to get a pair that have a flat cutting edge and not rounded. GW snips may be expensive, but that pair I bought still works and hasn't broke. Even works thru metal models if you shave with it. I've bought cheaper modeling snips and broke quickly. Have no idea why the GW ones work so well for me but they are great

On my first pair of GW clippers the metal thingy which pushes the two sides apart bend out of shape, so it continuously got in the way and prevented me from clipping. The second pair has lasted through about 3000 points of orks though

A good source to get the GW clippers is that hobby starter set, which comes with some base colors, a brush and the clippers. I needed to buy a second one anyways, because they pulled the old boltgun metal halfway through me painting a battlewagon with it

Never had a problem using a knife, just be careful, cut lightly and then clean up the cast lines.

Then again I have been making models for 35 years (since I was 5 and my father, a Royal New Zealand Air Force Officer) let me help him make the old Airfix Saab Viggen he got me, so I guess I have forgotten all the nearly severed fingers ;-) :-D

I cut my plastic crack with chili pow... oh, wait, that's not what you are asking

Pro tip, if you cut your fingers don't use balsa wood cement to try and glue the cuts together.

Sprue cutters...xacto knife just to clean up....files for when you really need them....don't cut models away from the spruce with a knife of any kind.

I've got to admit I always used to cut the parts off the sprue with a knife. It works fine if you are careful. A sprue cutter tool (side cutter) is better, though, less chance to get it wrong, and I use one now.

A cutting mat is a good idea.

I use various grades of emery boards or nail files for filing and buffing plastic. Metal needs a steel file.