GHQ Models Forums

I guess I've been lucky, mould lines have been pretty easy for me to deal with....up until now. I got my new order today and it seems that all my tanks have some good thick and uneven mould lines to deal with. Many of them are right in the middle of panels surrounded by rivets, or straight down a Panther barrel...so I can't use my jewelry file I've used in the past, or a razor blade.

I realize mould lines are just a fact of life with all metal miniatures so I'm not complaining....just trying to find the best way to deal with them. I'd really appreciate some good ideas for removing them. I need help

Thanks!
Tanner

An Exacto knife with a #10 or #12 blade should work. Both of those blades have curved edges compared to a straight #11 blade.

I use a rotary 'dremel' tool & bit to remove the moldlines on my micro. About US$30 (6 bits included) at my local DIY home renovation store. I do suggest that you wear a good filter mask though as the tool will be creating lots of fine metal 'dust' quite close to your nose as you hold it close to grind the flash lines.

Robert in Toronto

robdab wrote:I use a rotary 'dremel' tool & bit to remove the moldlines on my micro. About US$30 (6 bits included) at my local DIY home renovation store.

As an alternative purchase choice to implement that same approach ... if you have a local Radio Shack store, they have micro-sized drills (used for making through-holes in circuit boards etc.) for about US$8 to $10. Most dremel bits (grinding, sanding, etc.) will fit just fine.

robdab wrote:I use a rotary 'dremel' tool & bit to remove the moldlines on my micro. About US$30 (6 bits included) at my local DIY home renovation store. I do suggest that you wear a good filter mask though as the tool will be creating lots of fine metal 'dust' quite close to your nose as you hold it close to grind the flash lines.

Robert in Toronto

I've got a dremel....and I thought about using it....but my first impression is that it would be way overkill and cause more damage than good. Do you just use a slow speed setting?

Thanks guys!
Tanner

I think that I'm going to start taking more of the mold lines off of the sides on the vehicles. If you can see from these pics below, the PanzerIVH I did a while ago you can see them, as well as on the recent Chieftain MkV.

Panzer IV H
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/ ... Kpcopy.jpg

Chieftain Mk V
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/ ... Vacopy.jpg

Some good ideas here.

One other method is a burnishing tool, a blunt rounded sort of affair, chucked into an x-acto blade holder. Remove as much as you can with the #10/12 or Dremel and then 'rub' the area smooth. This works well in hard to reach or small areas where you do not want to remove other detail.

Also, you can create a square-edged bit from an old #11 x-acto. This works good in the tight spots. Simply 'snap' off apx. 1/4 inch of the tip of the blade with needlenosed pliars and then grind or file the edge sharp. This will work great in the really tight spots - like those durned Mk.4 turrets

Troy

dougeagle wrote:I think that I'm going to start taking more of the mold lines off of the sides on the vehicles. If you can see from these pics below, the PanzerIVH I did a while ago you can see them, as well as on the recent Chieftain MkV.

Panzer IV H
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/ ... Kpcopy.jpg

Chieftain Mk V
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/ ... Vacopy.jpg

Whoa! Those are some pretty big mold lines you're sporting there laddie...

Ritter wrote:One other method is a burnishing tool, a blunt rounded sort of affair, chucked into an x-acto blade holder. Remove as much as you can with the #10/12 or Dremel and then 'rub' the area smooth. This works well in hard to reach or small areas where you do not want to remove other detail.

Hmm, after looking through my stuff I've found some stainless steel tools that I can only assume are burnishing tools.... based on your description. I will definitely give them a try.

Thanks for the tip,
Tanner