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Showing results for tags 'DSPIAE'.
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As it's not legal to buy disposable plastic spoons in the EU, or order them from abroad, I ordered two sets of these from Aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003737747272.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.21ef1802SpAoAd Although they are more expensive than spoons, it's nice that it's a compact deck so storing the swatches is easy, and also finding any particular swatch, as they're divided in sections by the main colours. And the background is in white, grey and black, to mimic the three most common primer colours. So all in all, looks to be quite nice and practical product.
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I'm almost a total novice when it comes to scribing. DSPIAE has so many products that it's a bit confusing, especially when they have quite complicated names. They have bits called Tungsten Steel Broach, in different widths. I find it difficult to conceptualize what is average width of a panel line or recessed detail on a 1/72 kit that has fine surface, like Eduard's. I understand that they vary, and I would get as many as possible if the bits weren't expensive. If I would get one or two widths, what would be a good compromise?
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High Performance Flexible Sandpaper (MTS-042) (Extra Fine Set) Meng Model/DSPIAE via Creative Models Ltd We originally got this set in from Creative a month or so ago, but they looked so cool and useful that by the time we got round to reviewing them, they’d gone out of stock. Now they’re back, and we’re rushing to let you know about them. Meng’s range of modelling tools has been expanding, and since their tie-up with DSPIAE it has included metal tools, and lots of other useful bits & bobs that are enticing, as well as handy. This set of flexible sponge-backed sanding sheets arrive in a card box, with an attractive smoke-coloured translucent plastic box in a poly-bag. It is divided up into five individual sections, each of which has its own lid with snap-down closure and hinge. Inside are a five sections full of sandpaper of various grades, each on different thicknesses of coloured sponge, which corresponds with the grade of grit that it holds. The box lids have the grade engraved on the top, and each sponge back is over-printed with both the grade and the Meng brand name so you don’t forget who makes them. In the box you get the following: #1000 2 x thick, 2 x medium, 2 x thin #1200 2 x thick, 2 x medium, 2 x thin #1500 2 x thick, 2 x medium, 2 x thin #2000 2 x thick, 2 x medium, 2 x thin #2500 2 x thick, 2 x medium, 2 x thin That’s a total of 30 sheets, each one measuring approximately 70mm x 20mm. The sandpaper is 0.3mm thick, and the sponges are 2mm, 3mm and 5mm for thin, medium & thick respectively. They’re a useful size, with not too much “middle” that’s not quite as easy to use in precision applications, and with high quality sandpaper well-adhered to the foam that should lead to a long service-life, with refills of individual grits available for a reasonable price. You should remember that they are intended to sand shapes, and shouldn’t be relied on to create flat surfaces, as they have a tendency to round off flat surfaces when used extensively or carelessly. They are great for smoothing off shapes that you want to diminish or minimise, reducing flat-spots, and for gently sanding detailed areas where you don’t want to obliterate the detail. There is also a Fine set, which has more aggressive grits of 150, 250, 400, 600, and 800 in the same style box, with additional bright foam colours to tell them all apart, providing your memory is up to the task. Very highly recommended. Extra Fine Set (MTS-042) Fine Set (MTS-041) Review sample courtesy of
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Single Blade Nipper 2.0 (ST-A) DSPIAE I'd never heard of DSPIAE until a friend of mine was muttering about the new sprue cutters he'd bought at Telford (thanks Dan), and how awesome they were. I was in the market for a set, as my old Xuron pair weren't looking too good, and I was sick of the crush-marks that were being left in parts when I removed them from their sprues. Post-Telford they were only available from the AliExpress shopping platform, so I took my life in my hands and ordered a pair. It wasn't too painful, and after I got over an initial inability to pay by card, the order was completed and I was kept apprised of progress toward delivery by email from the AliExpress platform. About a week later and a small box arrived with the DSPIAE logo on it. Inside the box was a shrink-wrapped black box with an overlapping lid made from sturdy card. Inside the lid is a card insert with a small holster for the blade visible, with cleaning cloth, plastic cover and instructions hidden inside. Removing that shows off the final layer containing the nippers and an adjustment wrench in a card-topped custom foam surround. The interior of the lid is a bright red, in keeping with the overall black/red theme that carries on a feeling of quality. Each nipper is also individually ID coded, which enables the buyer to confirm their purchase's authenticity and access product support if necessary. The adjustment wrench has a rounded Allen head that you use to change the limit of closure of the jaws, to ensure a clean cut with no stragglers, whilst maintaining the sharpness of the single blade by preventing it from mashing unfettered into the non-cutting jaw. The handles are 90mm across when open, and the length from stem to tip of blade is 110mm, so they're quite a compact set of cutters, but don't let that put you off if you have large hands. My mitts are fairly large, and I have no trouble using them, with the red foam grips making maintaining a good grip on them simple. Afterall, the last thing you want to do is drop them on a hard floor. I could show you some pictures of pieces of sprue that I have cut with the nippers, but that's not going to tell you much other than it's a clean cut. What a picture will not tell you is that the cutting process is smooth beyond all belief and almost effortless. I can honestly say that it has completely changed the way I cut parts from sprues, and has given me increased confidence that the result will be clean and require much less in the way of clean-up than previously achieved with side-cutters. Simply place the cutters close to the part, and lightly scissor the jaws closed. That's it. A beautiful, clean cut that is close to the part, and has not harmed, stressed or crushed the surrounding styrene in any way. It also applies much less pressure to the parts when cutting, so you're less likely to have any breakages as a result. For example, when cutting off fine tubular parts with multiple sprue gates, the sideways and lateral pressure of a standard cutter squeezing the gate can cause the parts to shatter as the gate widens by the thickness of the blade. This shouldn't be an issue with these nippers, and I have successfully cut a number of parts that would have otherwise been subject to this concern. With very small parts, you need to be careful to place the blades properly against the sprue gates, as the slightly wider nature of the non-cutting jaw can conceivably push the blade off course. With that in mind however, it should no-longer be an issue. That's the only caveat, and you'd only do it once! Note the comparative smoothness of the cut on the left compared with that of the right The instructions name all the components of the nippers and also give names to the accessories, such as the "nipper holster", which will be useful if you are storing your nippers in a tool box or transporting them. This will protect the blade, and also protect the world from tiny amounts of grease that are lubricating the pivot. There is also a plastic cover for the blade, which is very tight-fitting, but would protect your blade from much greater impacts than the leatherette holster, so it has a use. The little microfibre cloth is wrapped in a foil bag, and is DSPIAE branded in one of its radiused corners – very nice quality too. The instructions are a little "Chinglish" in places, but the jist is plain to see, with a final warning that you should under NO circumstances attempt to cut anything other than styrene, ABS or polyurethane resin with the blade, or it will damage it. Shortening polyurethane to PE may not have been the best idea however, as someone is bound to think that's the hobby's de-facto standard shortcut for Photo-Etch instead, with resulting damage. If you've read this however, hopefully you won't. Conclusion I wouldn't think you'd catch me enthusing about a simple sprue-cutter in such a gushing manner, but these things really are that good. Their performance when compared to other brands is like that of chalk and cheese, so they are most definitely worth the extra cost in my opinion, which when you remove the shipping cost makes them pretty good value. I have purchased two from DSPIAE now, plus a couple of pairs of their tweezers, and so far they have not been stopped by customs (presumably due to their low value), but always bear this in mind when purchasing from overseas. Oh, and before you ask. At this stage I have no idea what DSPIAE stands for - other than really good quality tools. Extremely highly recommended. This link and the one below takes you to DSPIAE's AliExpress shop, with lots of interesting tools for the modeller. Britmodeller cannot be held responsible for the amount of money you spend when you see what's available. Review sample purchased from