The RP Toolz sets are modelled after the old Historex sets, which use the same principle - steel base plate and acrylic guide plate. The acrylic plate is there to only guide the punch; the steel base plate is the one you punch through. I’ve had the Historex hexagonal set for over 20 years and probably punched thousands of bolt heads with it and the acrylic guide plate has no wear, or if it does it is very minimal and does not have any impact on the punching. The punches themselves are what wear, and everyone’s punches (Historex, UMM, RP) are of course steel. That’s actually why I bought the RP ones - the most commonly used size of punch on my Historex set has worn (not the guide plate or base plate).
And since UMM’s guide/die blocks are aluminum I actually think they would wear faster, since RP’s(and Historex’s) die blocks are steel.
What I like about the UMM sets are that the die block is one piece and the upper part is quite thick so it holds the punch itself very well and there is less chance of having the punch not being straight (and this is what can cause the wear). On the RP/Historex sets, you physically have to hold the punch while you tap it, which increases the risk of a non-vertical punch and subsequent wear.
However, if you are punching multiple disc/bolt heads, the round UMM dies are inconvenient because you need to keep fiddling with the plastic sheet. The RP/Historex ones allow you to simply keep pulling your plastic sheet forward slightly to punch the next item and the acrylic guide plate holds the plastic sheet in place. Since I’m usually punching more then one, that’s why I tend to use these ones more then the UMM ones I have.
So both styles definitely have their pros and cons.
That’s what I was getting at. The NYPD K9s I see are like the Guards at Buckingham Palace or the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Nothing distracts them. They’re all business.
If you look close, you will see these pads were concave with sink marks as well as knock out marks, so a disc only filled the hole, but did not address the rest of the curved pad. …
Also, adding discs only works when your punch set has one the same size as the knock out hole which, in this case, there wasn’t. So it was either add a punched disc and putty over and around it, or just putty the lot… Lesser of two evils.
USPS braved the elements and delivered this gem today. Written & researched by our own @Armorsmith DV. The book looks like a very promising read and is next on my list!
I was a Sapper for 13 years and I can’t remember a single time I ever was anything but on my belly in a minefield…The only one I could relate to was the guy burying the mines, yeah, we stood up for that.
(Gasps and hushed murmurs emanate from the audience)
“But canmedic!” they cry, “That’s… German armour! You don’t build German armour!” “And in 1/48?…” (a ruckus erupts as Lady Poly of Styrene faints from the shock)
Fear not fellow plastic enthusiasts, no heresy is being committed here. For you see, this parcel is not mine.
The Boy Sr. has decided that a Snap-Tite pirate ship, a Bandai AT-ST and a half built Gundam that he decided really wasn’t as cool as dad thought it would be have prepared him for gluey fingers.
I figured 1/48 was a good mix between size and simplicity and he thought this was the coolest looking box on offer (or at least in stock). Though he did have his eye on a T-55 for a bit too.
I’ll post some updates once we crack into this pint sized behemoth.
They say that the more of that you drink, the more historically-accurate your Leopards, Centurions, and Shermans will be. Good on ya for getting the young lad into our crippling add- outstanding hobby!
today. Written & researched by our own 
‘HOWITZER’ has a sprue cutter inside the bottle! 
