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Fine Craft Saws (T-024) ET Model This set of Photo-Etch (PE) saws are designed to be used in circumstances where a fine cut line is required, and the subject matter is somewhat delicate. There are five saws and one scribing tool included in the set, which arrives in ET Model's familiar thick polythene bag with green header card and black backing. The thick fret of PE is 0.2mm and nickel plated for good-looks, with a core of some kind of ferric metal, as it is vaguely attracted to magnets, lending them to use with a magnetic tool rack if you're inclined. Once removed from the fret using some PE scissors or a sharp blade, the larger straight-bladed saws need to have their tops folded over, which doesn't require any fancy PE bender and can be done with your hands. I glued the flaps down with CA to give them a bit more rigidity, but you may not want to. You will probably want to file down the PE attachment gates, as they are sharp and could do you a mischief if you slip or press too hard on them. A diamond grit micro-file makes short work of them, with a sanding stick taking a little longer due to the strength of the metal compared to brass. Each saw has a line of recesses in the "handle" that will improve your grip in use, and the folded over section will prevent that annoying kink that can happen with PE saws when you apply too much pressure or meet an unexpected obstacle. Where the large saws are folded results in a line of small rectangular blocks along the spine that are just a little bit sharp, which can be made safer with a quick brush of a coarse sanding sponge to round over the edges. The two larger blades are straight with one cutting surface that would be useful for cutting casting blocks off resin parts or similar jobs. The three curved saws have teeth on the top and bottom surfaces of their sickle-shaped blades, allowing you to cut in the convex or concave. These can be useful to restore panel lines to cylindrical objects such as missiles or fuselages, being careful not to bite too deep. The remaining blade is a simple scribing tool that should have some usefulness, especially if you haven't previously owned such a thing. It is a little short and wide for some uses, but it will come in handy I'm sure. The teeth are fine, so the cut is commensurately slow, but clean. If you approach the task like it will be over in a flash you'll quickly become disheartened, but that isn't the point. They are precision tools that demand patience with a result that rewards those able to persevere. Conclusion A handy part of the modeller's tool kit that will doubtless get used more frequently than you'd think. ET Models are currently looking for a new UK Distributor at time of writing, but you can find their sets on eBay, and from some of the vendors in the Far East, but we'll keep you informed and update you when they have this resolved. Recommended. Review Sample courtesy of

Hi I am looking to buy a razor saw for vary fine cuts. i.e. canop seperation, control surfaces etc. Any suggestions on make and model number. There are a lot of brands out there, but all say for "fine" work. Thanks Sean

From a popular auction site came an assembled Sevans Dalek. Knowing they cost a fortune if lucky enough to find an example intact I bid for this immediately and it was posted to me darned quick. It was a very sad example of the model assemblers art. Important bits were missing and a lot was broken, good job not a lot of money was spent however the time taken to get it all back together was going to be long. The kit was originally a Davros from the Peter Davison era (you know..the one with Dirty Den) and I really wanted a Genesis version, so the DVD came out and I started sketching the bits I needed to amend or scratchbuild. First job was to strip the enamel paint from the plastic. My weapon of choice is good old Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner. I sprayed the entire kit with the cleaner, marigolds and fresh air essential here, placed the lot in a carrier bag and waited a couple of hours. The spray was rinsed thoroughly and an old toothbrush scrubbed most of the paint off, more than one attempt was made. The next job was to remove the side skirts due to a fillet being used by the original modeller. This was not going to be easy, some glue was loosened by the paint removal, some type of welding glue was used on most of it and OMG araldite. Brute force and a razor saw got the rest off. I knew that additional plastic card would have to be used to rebuild the base, too much was hacked off during the removal. The 5th scale Davros was a lot easier to clean up, the body halves literally fell apart and the resin hands and head were easy to scrub clean with loads of water and the toothbrush. The head antennae were missing, I would have to scratchbuild using soldering wire and dressmaking beads. Thats about it for now, this will be an occasional post as I am also doing other Daleks and Dr Who figures.