Parts are breaking when I take them off the sprue

[Bluesman]

I wasn't sure where to put this post, but this seemed to be the best place. I have a Roden 1/72 SE5 A model kit, and the plastic is so brittle that every time I snip or cut the smaller pieces off the sprue, they tend to break. I lost half of the upper wing's Lewis gun to the carpet monster and two out of the three main pieces of the landing gear assembly broke on me    This is my first Roden kit, are all of their kits like this?

Does anyone have any advice about cutting the pieces without breaking them? I would greatly appreciate any help.

Bluesman

[Gisbod]

Using a fine tooth saw should help..

CMKkits.com

Guy

[Bluesman]

Hmmm, I don't have a micro-saw. I am going to have to sneak one in past the wife. No body told me how dangerous this hobby could be.... 

Thanks for the help. I will avoid Roden in the future, unless they are the only recourse.

[Nigel Jackson]

Hello Bluesman.

Yes, their plastic does seem very brittle and like others I have sometimes resorted to a fine saw, though this can be tedious. Bare in mind that I work in 1/48 scale and so the very fine pieces are just that bit bigger; even so I find occasional breakages even before  I've taken the parts out of their protective plastic bag.

What I have done quite often is to slowly and gently saw through the overall frame to get it into smaller more easily held pieces. Then, when faced with something like a delicate strut to remove, I place the index finger of my left hand (I'm right-handed) against the back of the piece, before cutting it from the sprue with my Tamiya clippers.  The purpose is to try and absorb some of the shock which causes brittle plastic to fracture.

It's not 100% and I've not yet nipped my fingers, but it has worked for me.

Good luck

Best wishes
Nigel

[Bluesman]

Thank you, I will try that when I go back to the model. I have shelved it for now, and am working the Revell Sopwith Triplane. Thanks again

Hello Bluesman.

Yes, their plastic does seem very brittle and like others I have sometimes resorted to a fine saw, though this can be tedious. Bare in mind that I work in 1/48 scale and so the very fine pieces are just that bit bigger; even so I find occasional breakages even before  I've taken the parts out of their protective plastic bag.

What I have done quite often is to slowly and gently saw through the overall frame to get it into smaller more easily held pieces. Then, when faced with something like a delicate strut to remove, I place the index finger of my left hand (I'm right-handed) against the back of the piece, before cutting it from the sprue with my Tamiya clippers.  The purpose is to try and absorb some of the shock which causes brittle plastic to fracture.

It's not 100% and I've not yet nipped my fingers, but it has worked for me.

Good luck

Best wishes
Nigel

[Ssasho0]

another trick is to cut with a sharp scalpel but in direction away from the part - toward the spue. This way the energy goes away from the part

[PrzemoL]

My experience is that it is not only the bluntness but thickness of the blade, that imposes extra stress when cutting bits off a sprue. Rather then a scalpel, I prefer to use old fashion shaving blades, which are very thin, to cut the pieces from sprues. Like those:
https://www.edwinjagger.co.uk/wilkinson-sword-de-razor-blades-10-pack.html
I find them also very useful to remove the rests of the sprue connections.

[lcarroll]

Bluesman,
    Like most here I prefer a micro saw for parts removal. I'm presently working on an older generation Hasegawa Kit and if there's any more hard, brittle, and shatter prone plastic out there I haven't found it in over 60 years of modelling! Despite the foregoing I experienced no damage using the saw below. It's a wonderful product, cheap, and UMM are a very efficient and reliable company to deal with.

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_28&products_id=35

Enjoy, highly recommended!
Cheers,
Lance

[Vickers]

I seldom ever remove parts from sprue with anything other than a Tiger Saw- they're easy to get from most online retailers who carry tools (UMM-USA, Sprue Brothers, Hannants, etc.). Very thin, super sharp, and with a variety of tooth counts. Also, it is important to let the saw do the work. I don't recommend using a back-and-forth action. Better to just pull the saw over the desired separation point very lightly and smoothly a few times and most sprue gates will separate like butter.

[mike in calif]

PE saws that mount to an X-acto handle for me.