HI.
Just getting back to Armor modeling and I would like some feed back on purchasing a Dremel tool to help with my kits and diorama settings I am looking at the 300 series. I s it usefull???

Corded rotary tools tend to have too fast of a minimum rpm for working plastics. Cordless are better. Do you see a need for a rotary tool in your projects for grinding, rotary sanding, buffing, polishing or carving? If so you might find one useful. 75% of my rotary tool usage is for stirring paint. The rest is for polishing painted surfaces.

Joe, I have one and many people swear by them. I mostly do ships in 1/350 and find that the RPM's are so high (5,000 is usually the lowest setting) that you melt the styrene if you are not very, very careful. I prefer to stick with hand tools because they get you into trouble a lot more slowly. I'd save the money and buy some good quality hand tools.

Just my opinion.

Bob

Hey Joe, I have the model #395 variable speed and love it. With all the available tips, it is very usefull for my dio building. If you do purchase one, just watch your speed with plastic as mentioned. For things like tank wheels, just chuck them on the dremel, turn on and use an emmory board to clean off mold lines. Many, many use's.

Useful? Absolutely, especially if you're working with resin parts. I should say it's a must not just with modeling but also around the house or the garage.

I had one for years and ended up giving it to a friend of mine. I hardly ever used it. I used it a lot when my son was in Scouts and we used it on his pinewood derby cars. Other than that it just took up space. I prefer to use my basic tools...X-Acto knife, X-Acto saw, nail clippers, pin vise, sand paper and emery boards.

Just my two cents worth.

Harv

Harv, your experience sounds about like mine. I have a cordless 2 speed Dremel that I thought might be useful in my modeling, but I knew would be useful around the house, so I bought it. If I've used it for anything except household projects I can't remember what it was. As far as modeling is concerned, it just took up space on the bench, so it went to the tool kit. My suggestion about Dremel would be buy one to use around the house - they do have 1001 uses, and maybe some day you'll find you need it at your modeling bench.

I far prefer to work with hand tools when I'm building. Slow and easy is the way to build and I've never found that power tools promoted that. Hand tools are a great check on the rule of unintended consequences when you get one of those "yeah, that just might work" ideas. With power tools you are past the point of no return very quickly unless you are a lot more careful than most of us. Hand tools self impose a speed limit on your progress that can ultimately save a lot of filling, sanding, desperate scratch building attempts and streams of obscenities issuing forth from the work bench area. Easier on the blood pressure to!

Bob

i have a cordless dremel i use all the time when sanding resin down, i honestly dont know what I would do with out it.

cheers

Keith

In modelling I only use the Dremel to cut stell tubing (for gun barrels).

The answer is "Yes they are", but not the AC Handtools as they have too much torque and speed and can ruin a month of work in two seconds (Checked by myself...Maybe three seconds to be precise)
What you need is a 12Volts DC drill, less torque , speed under 5000 rpm (And less if you want to).
I´ve used two of these tools both unbranded , the first one lasted me more than 10 years with intensive use...When it broke I felt lost until I find a replacement.
I´ve used them to drill, polish, cut thick plastic (WO melting) , cut metal tubing, turning plastic and metal to made simpler shapes like 1:72 guns:


But also wheels and round tank hatches, you can hollow car lights to insert lenses...Remember it has low sped and a weak torque so if you´re careful it wont melt the plastic or send the piece flying away.
You can go the branded way : "Proxxon Micromot 50E" or look for a similar unbranded one...That´s your choice, quality and price will go in accordance.
Cheers

Hi,
If you decide you want a Dremel, I'd suggest the 4000 series as it's a variable speed and is less likely to eat your work. I got mine last Christmas at Menards with a box of accesories for under $75. The big box home improvment stores have major sales this time of the year,you can get one cheap.

That said, it would depend on what you model, I do a lot of resin, kit bashing & scratchbuilding so mine gets a lot of use. The single speed w/ speed control is in the garage and is great for wirebrushing and grinding on auto projects, but sucked for modelling.

I've got some of the battery powered stuff, but I don't do well with those things. Every time I pick one up the batteries are dead/dying etc. So it really boils down to your needs/ wants. Personally I've never met a power tool I didn't like, AARRRHH,AARRRHH, AARRRHH (go TIM the toolman).

As others stated, concentrate on the hand tools first, before going power tool.

Bottom line is enjoy the hobby!!!

Jake

I have 2, one is a 5 speed. Way too fast for model use. the other is a single speed & i have the variable speed contoller. I really haven't used either in years for hobby work.

They do come in handy round the house.

I use my Dremel sporadically for the hobby. Though I don't use it a bunch, I can't imagine not having it available.

If you use small pieces of metal to enhance your plastic models, for example, hypodermic needles for gun barrels, guitar strings, wire mesh, or large photoetch parts, then a dremel grinding wheel can cut them accurately and very fast.
And like others have said, they'd be good for removing pour stubs on resin.
But I agree that when it comes to styrene, hand tools are easier to control, don't melt the job, and are therefore more accurate.
I do a bit of kit bashing and scratch building, and they can also be handy to quickly go over all the bits that need knocking down before you break out the putty.

Joe,
I've recently returned to active modeling and along with discovering that a lot of my paints have dried up I also discovered that my Dremel Mini Mite's batterys (10 years old) had given up. I immediately ordered another newer version of this cordless 12 VOLT DC VERSION as I use it a lot (WW1 Aircraft models) I have 3 different chucks and drill, sand, contour, and shape with it to no end. Anything round that you can chuck becomes easy to trim, sand, or reshape. I have done my own spinner for a Neiuport 17 add on by chucking a scrap spinner and re-shaping it with the dremel mounted in a small bench vise (like a lathe) ; you just have to go slow to keep the heat down. I have the AC bigger version for Home Handyman Duties and like one of your other repliers discovered the hard way that it's too fast and too big for the modeling requirement.
I believe the present version is still called the "Mini-mite" and is course made by Dremel. Get it, try it, I know you'll like it!
Cheers,
Lance

Buy one!