Somehow, I managed to lose my round, needle file. It was my favorite file and I used it on just about every model I own to clean away flash and sand down mold lines. The sharp tip and round body could reach any nook and cranny on a model and it worked great on plastic, metal, and resin. It could fix anything and I really miss it.
To replace it, I purchased a three-pack of angled files from Army Painter. The store didn't have any needle files on hand, but I thought I might give these a try. As you can see in the photo, the files are "L" shaped and I've never used a file like this before. There was a "flat" two sided file, a sharp wedge-shaped file, and a wide-angled file.
On the same shopping trip, I also picked up a blister pack of metal British Combat Engineers and Flame Thrower from Bolt Action and thought they would make a good test subjects for my new files.
After fumbling around quite a bit trying to figure out how to hold these correctly, I have to admit that I never really got the hang of it. I worked on five models but the files just didn't feel right in my hand. I've always used straight files and these angled files felt like I was trying to sand down mold likes with a hockey stick or golf club.
The files themselves are really well made though and the teeth have great texture and will probably hold up to lifetime of sanding. The product is obviously well made and the only real problem I have is my own stubbornness and inability to adjust to a new kind of file.
There are a few situations where these will come in hand and I'll certainly keep them in my arsenal, but I'm going to keep an eye out for another needle file.
To replace it, I purchased a three-pack of angled files from Army Painter. The store didn't have any needle files on hand, but I thought I might give these a try. As you can see in the photo, the files are "L" shaped and I've never used a file like this before. There was a "flat" two sided file, a sharp wedge-shaped file, and a wide-angled file.
After fumbling around quite a bit trying to figure out how to hold these correctly, I have to admit that I never really got the hang of it. I worked on five models but the files just didn't feel right in my hand. I've always used straight files and these angled files felt like I was trying to sand down mold likes with a hockey stick or golf club.
The files themselves are really well made though and the teeth have great texture and will probably hold up to lifetime of sanding. The product is obviously well made and the only real problem I have is my own stubbornness and inability to adjust to a new kind of file.
There are a few situations where these will come in hand and I'll certainly keep them in my arsenal, but I'm going to keep an eye out for another needle file.
I've found that holding them like a pen is best, obviously depending upon how you hold a pen.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense, the top of the file doesn't have any teeth and could be a good spot to use an index finger as a guide.
Delete