I no it sounds scary but i have just recieved my Revell 1/72 U-Boat,and am pondering about what to do with the flooding holes .if i do cut them out what would be the best thing to use a pin vice or dremel,i dont own any of them and i would like to know what to buy?

I intend to model U96 as i have just orded the decal set which has the laughing sawfish emblem,idea came after watching Das Boot :-)

kind reguards

karl

My 2 cents:
You'll have a lot more control and fewer chances to have the drill slip with a pin vice. Also less chance of melting plastic. On the other hand... your hand is going to get VERY tired drilling out all those holes.

I've been dying to use a cordless Dremel tool I got a couple of years ago for this kind of purpose. It seems that the lower speeds of a battery powered tool will offer less chance for melting plastic.

Another idea, is the old 'egg beater' style hand drills. Might offer nearly the control of the pin vise, less hand pain and less chance to melt the plastic. The drill may be available in hardware stores or craft shops.

Good luck!

Just drilled out about 300 windows on a 1/700 carrier using a pin vice. Did it in 2 sittings and didn’t bother my arms too much.
I believe thats much better then doing it with a power tool and risking damaging the kit.

As for the idea of using a egg beater I don’t know that it would work to well. They take 2 hands to use so you would need to clamp the piece to hold it.

Hi Karl

For this scale and size, I would say... Dremel!
But bear in mind that you should have one with very low RPM's (the type that you can almost count them!!!)and the apropriate drill bit, this way things don't get out of control!


Also advise to test your new tool on a expendable model
Hope this helps
Skipper

Yep, I use this exact same bit. I also use an extension for my dremel and depending on how I turn it, the RPM vary which works out great. One thing to mention though, you want to thin out the walls until they're almost gone (you can see through the plastic well) and then take out the rest. I use a scalpel with a new blade for this and just remove it that way. I used to drill out the flood holes with a dremel without thinning the walls and the results are less than satisfactory.

Ahoy Karl!
Tell ya what mate, I've done it both ways, Dremel and pin vise, and IMHO, my favorite set-up now is a remote mounted motor, with an 8' flexible shaft/drill chuck, and a foot pedal for SUPREME adjustable control. . .my sister-in-law makes false teeth for a living, and she set me up with this deal about 12 years ago, (she uses the same set-up for 10 hours a day in her studio) and I'll tell ya what, a little practice, and the right burrs, you'll wonder why you never bought one of these setups. The footpedal allows pinpoint speed adjustments with toe pressure, and achieiving low RPM drilling and grinding is a cinch. If you're gonna buy one, I would strongly suggest going this route, IMHO.
~Gunny

What I did on my VIIC/41 was not to drill each hole but to use my dremmel and thin the plastic from behind and Like Ion said soon you can see through the plastic-just be carefull and you will get the plastic paper thin and it will just push out. Took me about 40 minutes per side.

Mike T

If you are going to purchase and can only afford one buy a dremel as it can be used for so many other things. Yes, it does melt the plastic unless you get all the extra goodies. Me I can't afford all the extra goodies so I had to learn to control how I drilled. 90 % of the time I get melting, but just like using testors tube glue, you learn how to get exactly what you want with a lot of practice.


Skipper what is that bit you show in the picture, I may need to get one of those

HI Steve (long time no talk!)
It's the Dremel #114 (according Glenn Cauley's sub feature).
I have one of this nut from other brand
You could check it near your (I hope) or at any good eStore (if ordered with other stuff)
Hope this helps

In addition to the #114 that Skipper shows, which has a 5/16 " diameter ball, there are several others including the #190 which is only 3/32". I've used both a large one and the smaller one on occasion. (They list for about $4.50 each and last a long time.)

Because it's hard to use a Dremel without causing the plastic to melt, I'll typically use it for larger areas where there's more material to get rid of and it's less likely to ruin what I want to keep. And you do have to stop every so often to clean out the melted plastic so it still cuts. I'm sure your LHS has them available for individual purchase.

Tom