I was thrilled to finally get my hands on a new Index Finger Knife. Its design is simple and genius at the same time. Rest your index finger in the holder and apply pressure to the blade and cut the materials. It makes the blade feel like an extension of your finger. Many years ago, I had a swivel knife. It was like a pen with a narrow, free-spinning blade. I used it to cut out scallops for my Sig Kougar trim scheme. It worked well at the time, but after hun-dreds of sharpenings, it finally wore out. The Index Finger Knife uses standard blades and is a joy to use. The only learning curve is how much pressure to use on the material you’re working with, but that’s true of any new knife.

To build some-thing straight, one needs to be able to cut straight. A good miter box is one of the essential tools for a properly built model. As you can see in the photo, my old miter box has a few miles on it. Over time the slots became wider, and the cuts became less accurate. You can see the difference between the old and new ver-sions side by side.

The Miter Box Set doesn’t cut any corners.

HM

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One of the highlights of the NRSHA (National Retail Hobby Stores Association)

show is chatting it up with the older manufacturers that were my go-to companies when I was much younger. It’s great to see that they have persevered over the 50 years I have been active in modeling. Though there are many folks I love to talk with, one in particular I enjoy is Alan Iwig, national sales manager for Excel Blades. He always travels with some Hobby Merchandiser magazines from years back and has numerous stories to share.

Alan is knowledgeable about Excel Blades’s products and stands behind them and the company. It is comforting to know this, and Alan is accessible when anyone has questions about the products. Over the years, Excel and Alan have been very gener-ous with samples for us at the NRSHA Expo, and they all have been greatly appreciated.

Excel was kind enough to send a few samples of their most popular products that hobbyists find useful for their projects. Stocking tools like these can capture a bigger share of hobbyists’ wallets because they can find everything they need for a project at your store.

One of my favorite items is the FitGrip Knife. I have many of the traditional round aluminum knives and have dodged a few falling off my less-than-level work table. I still use the round knives, but the FitGrip knife is a game-changer. Not only is it super comfortable to use, but it doesn’t roll off the workspace. It is also much easier to load and lock with the knurled lock knob on the end. With its placement at the end rather than near the blade insert, it doesn’t un-lock the blade as you rotate the knife while cutting.

STAY SHARP WITH HOBBY TOOLS FROM EXCEL BLADES

Alan Iwig, national sales manager for Excel Blades

Complex curves are a cinch.

The FitGrip Knife makes detail work easy.

Excel knives have unique advan-tages compared to other tools.

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These decals are from a Woodland Sce-nics DPM kit, Woody’s Country Store. Use one of the Excel knives to cut the transfer sheet to separate the item you want from the rest of the sheet.

While holding it in place, rub the bur-nisher ball end across the plastic sheet. You will see the letters/images disconnect from the sheet. Do one letter or image at a time so they don’t rip.

Make sure the decal looks completely dull and disconnected from the plastic sheet. Carefully remove the plastic carrier sheet and then coat the surface to seal them in place.

It can’t be said enough: to do a job right, you need the right tool for the job! This is a small sample of the affordable, quality tools that are available from Excel Blades. Be sure to strategically place them around your store as add-on sales to practically every product. If your customers are like me, they can’t have enough knives around. My work area constantly ‘eats’ them up, but I always have another nearby! Soon the holiday shopping season will commence, so be sure you have enough in stock. HM

I took one of my smaller foam models and rolled the larger tracing wheel parallel to the panel lines. It’s a quick and easy way to add detail that other models may not have.

Once done, you may want to give the model a light coat of a suitable clear coat to seal the indentations. A few minutes of work yields great-looking results.

The last tool we have is a Ball Tip Burnisher. This is typically used to set dry transfer lettering to a surface. Dry transfers are supplied with the Woodland Scenics kits, so be sure to offer a burnisher with the kits!

The Tracing Wheel Set has a few different applications. Of course, the most well-known is tracing. I remember when my mother used to make our clothes, she used a larger version with carbon paper to transfer the cut lines from the pattern onto the cloth. The same process applies for transferring plans to balsa for cutting by hand.

The assortment provided in the pack has three different-sized wheels. Another less obvious application is scribing panel lines for model kits, especially aircraft. I always personalize my models by adding detail and paint. Details like panel lines on foam models are easily made by running the tracing wheels on the foam to simulate rivets in the metal skin. Kit builders have a choice of wheel sizes appropriate for different model scales and applications to duplicate real-life details easily.

The Burnisher is a simple tool with many uses.

Finally, pull the sheet off when the decal is completely applied.

Then, rub it in place with the burnisher.

We’ll use the burnisher to apply a fiddly decal.

First, cut the decal from the sheet.

The Tracing Wheel Set sparks imagina-tive uses.

Bring scale model detail to a foam ARF with the Tracing Wheel Set.

The new panel lines look stock.

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