MUST-HAVE XMAS GIFT #1 – The Small Shop’s “5 Speed” 5.5-inch Photo-Etch Workstation
The big question that never gets spoken aloud in the modeling world is: To photo-etch or not to photo-etch? Whether you’ve read a million build-logs or watched every armor “How-To” video on YouTube that you could ever find—this question is about as hush-hush as where D-Day was supposed to happen in May of 1944 (historical, model-builder referencing for ya!)…
In all these things nobody will give you a straight answer. I’ve seen some build-logs where on one side of a tank they’ll use every little, teensy, tiny piece of photo-etch from the fret (that’s the name for the “sprue” when it’s photo-etch), and then on the opposite side they’ll use the plastic piece that’s supposed to be the replacement for those who don’t want to and/or don’t know how and/or just plain don’t like photo-etch.
BUT WHY ARE THEY USING BOTH PHOTO-ETCH and PLASTIC for sometimes SAME PIECES??? That I can never figure out! And their answer within the build-log text will always be something like, “The photo-etch is only accurate on the starboard side, whereas the plastic representations of the plastic clasps (although quite lacking detail) for the tools on the port side are much closer to exact specifications noted in Rommel’s diary from Africa, which, if you haven’t read means that you are not a REAL modeler… Aaaaand we wore an onion in our belts as it was the…” You get the idea.
But I’ll just go ahead and answer you right now. Always use the photo-etch when available.
And let’s get down to brass… well not tacks, just plain brass here: photo-etch is very, very hard to get right—AND for photo-etch to be simply right it has to be perfect.
Here’s an anecdotal sorta thing to help me help you understand this better (hopefully). When I’m in the middle of a build sometimes I have to remind myself that I am (first and foremost) trying to recreate something that was once much bigger and made out of many different materials than I am currently working with, i.e. not plastic and brass. Now, to some of you, this may seem like a sort of, “Um, excuse me? DUUUHHHH,” kinda thing, but it does truly help me in my builds. And this is the exact reason why the photo-etch parts have to be PERFECT! Because, well, let’s say I bend something a little weird, some piece that should be completely flat, I have bent with a sort of curve in it somewhere because I wasn’t using the proper tools for the job. Now, this hypothetical part with the curve might be small and seemingly insignificant to the overall model as a whole, but I have to remember that the real-life counterpart that that oddly curved photo-etch part represents is actually made out of steel or some incredibly strong alloy that IRL could not be bent that easily (or at all probably!) because it is supposed to represent something that is really, really strong!
So if my photo-etch is bent up at weird angles, has curves where it shouldn’t and/or doesn’t curve properly, then I am now making a model that should be battle-damaged, that is if I am still going with the “I am representing something larger and from different and stronger materials in real life” viewpoint of model-building. And that is why your if you are to photo-etch, then your photo-etch must be PERFECT. And since I said that once must always photo-etch when possible, then by doing the math (carry the one, subtract by -3, add 11 points west for wind velocity… ) then all that = YOUR PHOTO-ETCH MUST BE PERFECT ALL THE TIME. And for this to be true you need the right tools… just like any building job.
Now that I have all of that covered I want to speak to you about a certain product that changed photo-etch from my most dreaded part of any build, to my favorite part of any build.
That product is the Small Shop‘s 5.5-inch “5 Speed” Hold & Fold.
You may have seen some of these before, but this one is just the real deal. Now, I know different modelers who all have their favorite Small Shop item—from The Bug to the 8″ Mk R Multi-Head Hold & Fold—and every single one of these people swear by the particular one they own. And I am no different: my 5 Speed Hold & Fold is one of my babies. It’s one of those tools that, has its super-special spot on the workbench so it’s always right there when I want it. It never gets moved around or dusty, and—ya know what?— I’m just plain proud to own it! And also take note from above that I have not found one person who owns any PE workstation from the Small Shop who doesn’t feel the exact same way about their particular tool.
The 5 Speed PE Workstation is just one of those amazing tools that improves your skill level and your workmanship the second you begin using it. It’s that much of a game changer. When I first started trying my hand at photo-etch I did watch just about every YouTube video I could find on “easy” ways to photo-etch. I saw people using blocks of wood, people using taped-together ruler contraptions—but you know what I saw most of when looking for “easy” ways to build photo-etch? I saw a lot of people with mediocre looking brass on their otherwise flawless models. Now, why do that to yourself?
It comes down to this, if you are serious about modeling, and if you are serious about continuing as a modeler, then a PE Workstation of somekind is a necessity, and there are no better ones out there than the ones available from the Small Shop. These tools are just as much a part of modeling now as tweezers and cement. My choice is the Small Shop’s 5.5-inch, “5 Speed” Hold & Fold, it’s perfect for all my needs and fits nicely on my workspace. But check out the whole line and see which one is right for you and your needs.
