IPMS/USA Reviews

If you have ever been interested in 3D printing, then this printer will get you started. 3D printers take a plastic filament material and melt it into an extruding nozzle, then ejected on to a moving build plate forms an object, so as the material cools it hardens. 3D printers can use several materials to melt plastic and create objects of different plastic type materials.

I have no experience with 3D printing but have always been intrigued about the idea.

I have experienced times when a special tool or part would be good to have, but there is nothing available. Now if I think about the part I can design it and at the same time learn a new skill of 3D printing. I will be honest and say the kicker for designing a part was the last time I knocked over my Tamiya cement bottle and said to myself, I wish there was something I could put the bottle in to keep from tipping it over. Guess what my first design and project was with the 3D printer.

Our good friend and supporter Abby Robey of Xuron supplied several new tools to us for review. Up first is this sprue cutter. Like all of Xuron's tools, this is a finely crafted tool that will deliver years of service if properly used. That means plastic only - the fine cutting edges are shaped to deliver a near-flush cut on soft plastic - use them on metal and you'll damage that edge.

I did a test cut on a standard sprue runner from the Eduard Spitfire I'm reviewing - take a look at the results in photo 3. Even on a relatively thick piece of styrene, the tool delivers a near-perpendicular cut through the runner. Moving on to "normal" usage, I removed one of the horizontal stabilizers from its tree - note (photo 4) that the resulting cut is almost perfectly flush. Cleaning up parts is my least favorite part of building; these cutters will reduce the magnitude of that tedious task. Highly recommended!

Thanks go out to Abby at Xuron for the opportunity to review this tool.

Here's the second review of some new tools from our friends at Xuron up in Saco, ME.

The Photo-Etch Tool Kit consists of three discrete tools:

• Model 9180ET Professional Photo-Etch Scissor
• Model 450 Tweezer Nose Pliers
• Model 575 Micro Bending Pliers

I'm currently working on an Eduard Spitfire in 1/72 scale with some incredibly tiny p/e parts, several of which have found their way to carpet heaven. Using the tweezer pliers to hold parts, and the extremely sharp scissors to cut them, I've eliminated the problem. Figure X shows the results of cutting the cockpit armor plate part off the p/e fret - almost no cleanup required. A couple of swipes with a sanding stick while holding the part with the tweezer nose pliers and I am done.

Highly recommended as an alternative to hours spent under the workbench searching for bits of brass! Thanks go out to Abby at Xuron for the opportunity to review this tool set

Tru-Color paint was started in 2008 when Rick Galazzo and Scott Cohen, armed with a desire to improve the Accupaint formulas, set about to formulate a new model paint. Both gentlemen have extensive experience formulating commercial paints, so they brought their knowledge and experience to bear in the model world. The goal was to produce a paint that was a solvent-based formula with a quick drying time and a glossy finish. The result of their efforts is Tru-Color paint.

• MSRP: $5.69 / 1 oz., $10.25 / 2 oz.

Eleven years on, and 600 colors later, they are still expanding the line of paints. The initial batches were targeted at model railroad enthusiasts. These paints are airbrush ready and replicate hundreds of colors that have seen the light of day. In addition to the airbrush-ready paints, Tru-Color also offers matte airbrush-ready paints and brush-able matte paints. As the years have passed, the offerings have expanded to include ranges for other genres of models:

PJ Production is well known for its figures and this time has provided another fine example of military pilots for a specific era. Most often, pilot figures covered are US Army or international pilots. This set is specific to the US Navy which is a nice touch to their ever-expanding product line.

The product contains two figures of two different styles with a small amount of flash is on the figures which is simply brushed away while detail is nice and crisp. Both complete figures (less arms), wearing helmets with the goggles up and seat belt harness on. The two have slightly different head positions and the arms only allow for right hand on stick and left hand on a throttle(s).

Test fit is in the 1/72 Azur Vindicator and the figure parts appear slightly under sized for this kit but a little material will be added to raise the pilot up to a correct height. The arms do align very well with the stick and throttles in this test fit.

Thanks to PJ Production for this very nice sample.