Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello all.

Completely new to all this and im helping my 11 year old son navigate his new found love of Warhammer40k. I would like to purchase a new side cutting tool for him, and so far we have purchased games workshop stuff but can any recommend a different side cutting tool for getting stuff of the plastic spule? Looking at the citadel ones they cost £20 plus although I've seen cheaper on ebay and from stockists but is there any decent ones that aren't as expensive

Thank you in advance

Seeing as you're in the UK, head to Hobbycraft, you'll get a decent pair of snips for under a tenner. I have two pairs of these and they've been fantastic.

Basically, avoid citadel tools if you can, there are always cheaper and better alternatives.

I've recently taken the big plunge back into the hobby, and I just went on ebay and amazon and searched for each item I'd need and sorted it by cheapest first and bought that. For example the side cutters I got were 0.01p with £2.99 shipping, they're called Paperllong Electrical Wire Cutters, with blue rubber handle. So £3 instead of £20 for the exact same tool that does the exact same job. I did the same thing for hobby knife, glue, files, pin vice... the lot.

Citadel tools (like everything Citadel, really) are way overpriced for what you get. Like with any well known or market-leading brand, that's what you're paying for - the brand name. And also the convenience of having everything on one site going into one basket, of course.

Zinge have a set that are quite common and not expensive, can also get similar on Ebay.
https://www.zinge.co.uk/collections/hobby-tools/products/xuron-baco-clippers-fine-detail-cutters

Thank you for all the replies. I will take a look at all the suggestions now.

I've been through a few sets and though a bit expensive I'm loving these Tamiyas
https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/74123/index.htm

Those tamiya ones look like my GW finecast cutters

Don't buy the GW stuff when you can help it. 200% markup. Local hardware stores or Amazon. Independent game shops will have good ones too.

 maxwin wrote:
I've been through a few sets and though a bit expensive I'm loving these Tamiyas
https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/74123/index.htm

I ordered these too the other day, have read a lot of praise for them. Should be getting them sometime next week.

The GW ones are expensive, but they are pretty good. In my experience they're better than the ones you buy for a few bucks at craft stores. In general, yes, GW tools are overpriced, but a lot of people who complain about GW tools are thinking back to when they'd put high prices on junk products, these days they tend to put high prices on what are actually pretty good products.

The ones that I've found are similarly good if not better are Xuron, but they're also on the pricey side, cheaper than GW though.

I've heard the Tamiya ones are pretty good, not sure how they compare to the GW ones, haven't tried them myself.

Otherwise just try your luck with some craft store ones. I've found it's a bit of luck of the draw with those ones.

In practice, IMO, it doesn't make a huuuge amount of difference to me if I have awesome cutters or crappy ones because even with good clippers I always clip a decent amount away from the model and then use a knife for cleaning up.

Don't go too cheap on the sprue cutters. You're going to use them often, and don't want problems cutting up a sprue you paid good money for, and had to wait over a week for shipping. There's a Dakka thread for sprue cutters from a few weeks ago. Post on this thread if you can't find it!

Another vote here for Xuron cutters. Specifically the 170-II Micro-shear Flush Cutter. You should be able to find them for £6 or less if you shop around. Try Ebay.

the Xuron cutters are the ones i use. Won't use anything else now.

I hope this isnt considered necroing the thread? Anyway, finally the Tamiya nippers arrived and boy are they good! I wont use anything lesser ever again for plastic models.

The cutting action difference vs a general purpose electrical flush cutter is startling! I barely need to use any force to nip out the pieces, and they just seem to fall off the sprue without any observable "snip rash". These things are indeed nippers, not clippers, and I realize there's a difference now!

They are expensive for sure but so far I'm very impressed. Cant imagine Godhands etc being much better than this tbh

 tauist wrote:
I hope this isnt considered necroing the thread?

Thread is this year, and this month, i'd really doubt it comes close to a necro.

I use the GW expensive cutters, and found them to be better than the cheap things I used previously, but they are a bit big sometimes, so interesting to hear the Tamiya ones are much finer, may have to splash out for a pair.

I use Tamiya nippers and they are really good. The only GW tools I use are the old hobby knife (2008) that takes with the nice grip that takes Xacto blades, and the newest Citadel saw.

I almost forgot - Welcome to the forum and welcome to the hobby!

A trick we found with cheaper electrical side cutters was to turn them upside down where the sprue meets the model then cut, then when the model was free, snip off the remaining bits of sprue.

Since the tension isn't as great as when the model is attached, it leaves very little damage to the model and then all you might then need occasionally is to scrap/sand any residual sprue left over.

Didn't find it took any longer to do that way then with the more expensive ones, plus you get the added benefit of not having so much of the sprue in the way when trying to do more delicate pieces

Depends on the quality you want, generally the better clippers are higher priced. You can get some Excel Side Cutters for $3 USD which are decent, but that's a US company and I'm not sure if they're available in the UK (something similar is, surely). They hold their edge when cutting plastic, but cutting thick plastic can twist the hinge and make the jaws loose, and they deform quickly when cutting metals. A step up is the Xuron 2175 Maxi-sheer for about $15 USD, they hold up better for clipping pewter figs and soft metal wire (like paper clips) for pinning, and cut through thick plastic without deforming or twisting, they are my personal preference and have lasted me years. Another step up is the Tamiya side cutters for around $30 which are very thin and capable of clipping thin sprues very close to the part very cleanly. And finally the top-tier are the God-Hand clippers for a rediculous $80. Some modellers swear by them, but I can't imagine paying that much for a single pair of clippers.

If you get a cheap unbranded pair from Ebay, just be aware that they probably use cheap steel and aren't hardened, they deform quickly (both the cutting edge and the hinge).

 Kalamadea wrote:
Depends on the quality you want, generally the better clippers are higher priced. You can get some Excel Side Cutters for $3 USD which are decent, but that's a US company and I'm not sure if they're available in the UK (something similar is, surely). They hold their edge when cutting plastic, but cutting thick plastic can twist the hinge and make the jaws loose, and they deform quickly when cutting metals. A step up is the Xuron 2175 Maxi-sheer for about $15 USD, they hold up better for clipping pewter figs and soft metal wire (like paper clips) for pinning, and cut through thick plastic without deforming or twisting, they are my personal preference and have lasted me years. Another step up is the Tamiya side cutters for around $30 which are very thin and capable of clipping thin sprues very close to the part very cleanly. And finally the top-tier are the God-Hand clippers for a rediculous $80. Some modellers swear by them, but I can't imagine paying that much for a single pair of clippers.

If you get a cheap unbranded pair from Ebay, just be aware that they probably use cheap steel and aren't hardened, they deform quickly (both the cutting edge and the hinge).

I've read that while godhands are considered to be the ultimate in nipping pedigree, there have been multiple people reporting they break easily. Which is why I decided to go with the lesser Tamiyas, if they break it wont be as upsetting.

That Xuron 2175 sounds like it might be the best choice in terms of price-to-performance ratio?

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
The GW ones are expensive, but they are pretty good.

Agreed. I was hesitating to buy them because the price but I am not regretting this. Very good tool.

The problem I've found, particularly in more recent years, is the lack of space to get clippers in.

I have, more than once, cut out a chunk of the sprue just to get a piece out, and definitely sworn at things when the cutting has damaged the part because it got too close.

Yes, i know, i could use a knife

In my experience, the "quality" doesn't matter much. You're snipping fairly light density plastic. You aren't going to damage even soft steel that way.

I've used the same, cheap, pair of *flat bottomed* side cutters for 20 years. The only thing I would suggest looking for, if you can find them, is the "least tall" pair you can find. Flatter blades fit into tighter spaces, and are less likely to damage components when cutting.

That said, a couple of disposable utility knives (again, not the tall blades, but the 1/2" height kind) with the snap-off blades are excellent, and always sharp if you snap a piece or two off / replace the blade.

Having a fine file is also good for smoothing out cut-off bits.

If your son is planning on getting into major customizations, a "razor saw" is nice. Basically a thin, fine hacksaw blade. great for getting a cut through a "big" piece, that would take forever with a knife.

Last quick suggestion would be a "pin vice" for small drill bits. These are handy if you want to "Pin" two heavy pieces together, at a not-strong-enough joint. They're also good for magnetizing weapon loadouts... which is handy for certain model types.

My girlfriend got me a GodHand for my birthday at the beginning of the month - they are so good that if they broke today, I'd have to order a new pair asap because going back to the old ones would be lamentable.

I also used to think it ridiculous to purchase such expensive snips, but after using them I understand. You don't even FEEL like you're cutting anything. You just . . . put a small amount of the pressure on the grip and suddenly the piece is free.

It's RIDICULOUS, feels like some kind of bizarre alien technology. I show people and even non-hobbyists are like "Whoa".

Regarding their fragility - they are NOT meant for heavy duty work, keep your old snips for that. The GodHand is designed for what is probably small to medium sprue work - big vehicles and using it to convert stuff is probably a bad idea. It could last for a while but the engineering on the blade is so precise that it will not endure that type of load.