Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing a fine kit created by RB Productions; Smârdan/”Brutar-II-Class River Patrol Monitor. Upon receiving the kit, I was fortunate to receive a selection of modelling tools as well. As we know, tools are a crucial part to any modelling project and RB Productions offers a large line of tools of their own creation and design.

Categories of Tools

• Folding Tools
• Cutting Tools
• Paint Masks and Stencils (PE)
• Scribing Tools
• Adhesive Tools
• Measuring Tools
• Scratch Building Materials

Cutting Tools

One of the cutting tool selections from RB Productions is the Universal Saw. This tool fits into the standard hobby knife and is comprised of the Universal Saw Holder and four options of blades which are purchased separately. The holder and blades are made from stainless steel.

• RB-T013 – Universal Saw Holder - €7.00 / $7.95
• RB-T014 – Rapid Cut Saw Blade - €3.70 / $4.20
• RB-T015 – Medium Saw Blade - €3.70 / $4.20
• RB-T016 – Fine Saw Blade - €3.70 / $4.20
• RB-T017 – Ultra-Fine Saw Blade - €3.70 / $4.20

The Saw holder is a simple design and easy to construct which holds the saw blades securely through the use of two machine screws and nylon threaded metal washers. There are three patterns of hole for setting the blade; center-line and offset (x2). The offset setting allows the thin blades more rigidity if needed. Simply insert the machine screws form one side of the holder through the blade and out the other side of the holder and secure with the provided nuts.

There is a small arrow etched into the surface of each of the blades. This show the direction of the saw teeth and which direction the blade should be drawn when cutting as seen with traditional Japanese saw blades where they are designed to cut on the “pull” of the blade rather than the “push”. There are different sized options to the blades. In test driving the Ultra-fine saw blade, I was able to remove tiny bollards from the Smârdan/”Brutar-II-Class River Patrol Monitor kit with ease. The cut was clean and fast. These blades are designed to cut plastic, resin and wood.

RB-T038 – Nano Saws (6 Blades) - €7.95 / $9.00

The second set of cutting blades I looked at is the Nano Saws. This is a six blade set supplied in one photo etch sheet. These are not flimsy as the etched sheet is 0.14mm thick. The blades are removed in the same fashion as small photo etch parts would be removed by simply cutting the tiny attachment points.

Each of the six blades have a unique shape to give plenty of options for use. The blades all fit into a standard hobby knife securely. The blades are designed for cutting resin, plastic, and wood and in some case even soft metals.

Adhesive Tools

Another set of tool from RB Productions I took a look at are the Adhesive tools. Getting the adhesive from point A to point B can often be a tricky one. As modelers we are a resourceful lot and employ the uses of pins, wire, toothpicks or just about anything we can come up with to adequately apply the glue to the model. In recent years we have seen the increased selling and use of many different glue adapters. Here is RB Productions version.

RB-T039 – Glue Tips – Photo etch applicators - €5.95 / $6.76 (per set)

RB Productions Glue Tips come sold in a five-piece set which is etched into 0.20mm stainless steel. These small applicators are designed with a small u-shaped tip to grab the glue allow for a more precise delivery to the model. These Glue Tips can be used with just your fingers or placed into a hobby knife or even a pin vice.

In trying out these tips with a couple of standard adhesives on my bench, I found they work very well. The thick metal these tips are extremely ridged and their fine tip allows the placement of the glues precisely. The tips are pliable enough to allow the user to slightly bend the tip to give a better reach around corners and into small spaces.

RB-PP – Pick-up Pencil - €2.00 / $2.27

An otherwise unassuming item, the Pick-up Pencil looks like an ordinary white pencil; however, this pencil is a bit different. When sharpened to a point in an ordinary pencil sharpener, the soft, tacky inner core allows the modeler to be able to pick up the tiniest of pieces where even the sharpest of tweezers will fail.

While the pencil does have this tacky quality, this tackiness does not transfer to the parts and is not so strong as to not release when placing small parts in position. This Pick-up Pencil is ideal for traditional builds as well as the scratch builders among us. Between tiny photo etch parts that end up fling off into the abyss of the carpet monster or the microscopic rivets that cannot be picked up with tweezers, this pencil is ideal. Simply shape the tip however you seem fit, touch the part and position the part where it is needed. Just a simple concept with excellent results…nothing more, nothing less.

Conclusion

Like many others, I am always on the lookout for little tools to help out around the bench when building, fortunately RB Productions comes to the rescue. The quality of these micro-tools are excellent along with their overall usefulness. Having the ability to accurately cut parts with a wide range of special cutting tips and the precisely place the parts as well as the adhesives to hold such parts is a must! RB Productions’ tools do just that. Add the more than reasonable value of the cost of these tools and I have to Highly Recommend them to just about anyone who construct models; OOB or Scratch alike!

Highly Recommended

I would like to thank RB Productions for providing this selection of small tools for review here on Model Shipwrights

Link to review - Smârdan/”Brutar-II-Class River Patrol Monitor