Some dude about why he doesn't cut flush

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I think with some parts from manufacturers like Miniart or Bronco you should still use a micro saw to remove parts, imo.

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Or just place the nipper slightly away from the part and leave a little nub to take care of with a file or something. I find clear parts dislike being cut flush a good deal of the time.

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I do that too. Cut away from the part then file down.
Did he use a clear file?? What was that??

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The name of the photo is glass-file …
My wife had one of those as a nail file,
hers was opaque and whenever she
happened to drop one I had to vacuum
glass splinters off the floor …

https://www.amazon.com/glass-nail-files/s?k=glass+nail+files

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Those look slick :star_struck: Just a reminder to the members here that my bday is coming up in October :grin:

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I’d have a sort of anxiety that if I put too much pressure on the work that it would shatter in my hand.

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The only reason for a see-through file is to show the filing action in a video.
Filing with a fine metal file (nail file) works just as well, just work slowly to avoid
filing too deep. After a while muscle memory will take over and know how
much pressure to apply and when to stop.
After a while there is no need for a visual inspection, the finger tip will feel
if the surface is finished when sliding the finger over the place where the
nub used to be

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I use this stuff called paint that magically makes those sorts of problems go away.

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Hm, now I feel odd, I never cut flash, always use the file for the last milimeter… Maybe I like to file? On small parts I scrap or use my Dremel with a silicon polisher grit wheel

I normally use a scalpell No11. to cut, too no cutter…

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That looks like a Gundam sprue and that community tries to not paint parts.

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From my experience it is not advisable to cut flush… the first cut. I use these type of nippers, cut leaving 1 or 2mm and cut again flush. Minimal clean up necessary then.

This files are great, quick and easy way to get a very smooth finish

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If you have a Godhands snipper you cut flush.

Here it is shown with Godhands

I normally use a scalpell No11. to cut, too no cutter…

Me too! When I have 1/72 scale hand rails, or 1/700 masts, I use a sharp blade to cut half-way through one side, flip it over and cut through from the other side. If there’s any residual, I secure the part firmly and use a nail file to level the piece.

:grinning_face: :canada:

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I am pretty sure the part shown is from a 30 Minute Missions or 30 Minute Sisters weapons pack.

You are mostly correct. Amongst people who build Gundam and similar models, there are different types of builders. The majority cut and assemble without painting. A significant fraction of builders use panel line markers. An even smaller fraction of builders clear coat models to remove the toy like plastic sheen. A tiny fraction of builders fully paint models and are considered the elite members of the tribe.

Many Gundam models have a degree of interchangeable parts. The 30 Minute Missions, 30 Minute Sisters, and 30 Minute Fantasy lines are specifically designed for this and the model instructions encourage doing it. Bandai will even release the same model in different plastic colors specifically so that builders can interchange the parts without need to paint.

My comment was lightly poking fun at this culture.

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What hasn’t been mentioned is that with certain manufacturers, a flush cut can result in taking a slight divot out of the part, which then has to be filled.

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Can you tell us how that works and where we can get it?

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When two wedges are forced into a material, one wedge from each side,
the material will get stretched. The flush side of the cutters glide along the
part while the wedges on the other side are forcibly pulling the sprue gate
out of the part. When the cutting edges are halfway into the sprue gate and
have cut half of it the remaining half is still being pulled out.
This will leave a scar, the size of the scar will depend on how soft or hard
the plastic is. If it is very soft it will “flow” and leave a very small scar,
anything can happen if it is very hard (brittle).

I make the first cut with the wedges facing the part, i.e. make sure that the
ugly scar is on the sprue, not the part. Then I can nibble away at the remaining
stump and use a file or sandpaper stick for the last bits.
There are usually mold parting lines to sand down so the extra swipes with the
file don’t add much work.

Try cutting some sprues and take a look (use magnifier if needed) and the cut
afterwards. The outer edges will be smooth and there will usually be a rough
section in the middle where the plastic has been torn apart.

Saws are the only tools that are guaranteed to cut without leaving scars since
the saw teeth removes plastic at 90 degree angle to the sprue instead of forcing
the sprue apart.
along the sprue.

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Assuming you mean 30 Minute Missions, 30 Minute Sisters, and 30 Minute Fantasy models, they are readily available in the United States from Amazon, eBay, HobbyLink.com (in Georgia), USA Gundam Store (www.usagundamstore.com), Gundam Planet (www.gundamplanet.com), and a bunch of similar stores that cater to Gundam type models. A lot of people also purchase such models from HobbyLinkJapan.com, buying in bulk to spread the high shipping cost over many models.

All of the 30 Minute models are designed around a 3mm peg system. Models have many 3mm peg holes, 3mm bars, and 3mm clips allowing the builder to mix and match parts from all models in the respective 30 Minute lines. In addition, there is a standard hand grip size allowing weapons from High Grade Gundams and 30 Minute models to easily interchange with some caveats. In this way it is possible to swap around arms, backpacks, feet, hands, heads, legs, weapons, wings, and sub components. As I wrote previously, instructions in 30 Minute models encourage the builder to do this and include ideas for combining models. In this way, they are a lot like Lego sets that build a specific model but also have pictures on the back showing alternate configurations.

If you want to browse these sorts of models, I can provide some links to the Bandai website.

30 Minute Missions

30 Minute Sisters

30 Minute Fantasy

30 Minute Missions spun up in 2017 or so. I think 30 Minute Sisters began a year after that, and 30 Minute Fantasy a couple years after that. As such, it is still possible to get in on the ground floor for collectors, if that is your gig.

There is also a 30 Minute Preferences line and some limited edition stuff but I am not very knowledgeable about that.

There are also parts packs and decal sheets specifically aimed at Gundam model builders that interchange with the 30 Minutes stuff.

I should also mention all the 30 Minutes models are snap together. Part design is very good or excellent. Part fit is very good or excellent. Plastic quality is very good or excellent. Interchangeability is good to very good.

Anyway, these models and parts packs are a fantastic resource for anyone who enjoys kit bashing or scratch building science fiction stuff. All parts are polystyrene and glue with standard model cement.

For a person who enjoys the process of model building but is reluctant to risk painting, they are excellent.

The video that kicked off this discussion is bread and butter stuff for the many hundreds of YouTube channels dedicated to Gundam and 30 Minutes models. For people who do not paint their models, finding a way to minimize or eliminate stress marks created during part removal is very important.

If you want to see some 30 Minutes model reviews and built up robots, ZakuAurelius has the best YouTube channel for such things.

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