******
- Verified Buyer
If you're like me, and you've built a few Kotobukiya and Gundam snap together kits, but then find yourself in the deep end of the pool, purchasing a model kit you've always wanted just to find out through reviews that it's of lower than average quality and only the hands of a skilled plastic modeler can make it look presentable, chances are you have none of these tools, or if you do, you have the big "real work" versions of them.For a guy like me who had to use fingernail clippers and the paper from a drum sander to get the pieces off the runners and the nubs off the pieces, this kit is a tremendous help. It's great to use the proper tools for a job and watch your productivity go way up and your frustration go way down. I highly recommend this for anyone who is in the market for plastic modeling tools, as this set will save you money over buying things separately. I'll briefly go over what you get:1 small pair of dikes - Some people call these snippers or nippers, the proper name is diagonal cutter. This pair feels surprisingly well made, and they're plenty sharp to cut through plastic runners, or metal runners, if you're into that kind of thing. The grips are comfortable, to boot.1 ruler - Well... It's a ruler. I'm not sure what purpose this serves in making models from a box. Maybe if you're really trying to customize your kit. It's a sturdy metal ruler and has a straight edge, so it's not horrible to have around.5 Jeweler files - Small files typically for delicate metal work. They have varying grit and come in a variety of shapes for getting into extremely hard to reach areas, the most precise being the needle tip file. I'm not sure if the varying grit size is intentional, or a product of shoddy design. Overall, it's hard to mess up a rough metal rod, so these do their job just fine.5 Tweezers - Perhaps a little overkill on the tweezers. I believe the kit could have done just fine with one needle point pair, and the angled pair, but you get 3 needle point pairs, one angled pair, and one pair with rounded tips. Their usefulness goes without saying, but again, it seems like you're getting too many of these things.2 Screwdrivers - One Phillips, one flat. I've never worked on a kit with screws, so... These are also not very fine. I work with small parts in computers very often, and these wouldn't cut it there. I have a precision set that puts these to shame.1 Piece separator - In offputting yellow. Even if all you've ever constructed anything with is a Lego set, you know how absolutely infuriating and finger destroying it is to try and get two parts to get off of one another. The same can be said for model kits, except the edges tend to be sharp, and the pieces might be thin and breakable. I've seen videos where model makers will have troublingly long fingernails for this purpose, so this tool helps you get pieces back apart without having to make yourself look like an evil wizard.2 sanding sticks - One with coarse and fine grit on either side, the other, a tri-grit. The tri-Grit is much thicker than I imagined it would be, and mine seems to have weak glue keeping it to the fluffy middle. It goes from very fine, to very finer, to buffing. I used it on a piece that I wanted to smooth out and was absolutely impressed with how smooth it came out.1 Sanding Sponge - Basically the same as the tri-grit stick, but with only the very finer and buffing grit. "Very finer" probably isn't really a grit level, but this stuff doesn't have a number on it, so I can't be technical.1 "hobby knife" + replacement blades - It's an X-acto knife without the branding. Comes with a cover to keep it pointy, and a set of replacement blades for after you break the tip off of the one in the handle. I have a set of X-acto brand knives and blades, and I can say with confidence that these will cut plastic and make you bleed just as well as the name brand.1 cleaning cloth - Outside of the ruler and the screwdrivers, this thing feels the most out of place. Not because I underestimate the usefulness of a cleaning cloth, but because it is gossamer and very girly looking. Be sure that whatever you're dusting off has been properly sanded, because I don't think this thing can handle being in contact with a rough edge for too long.Overall, great for the money, especially when you look at the prices of some of this stuff individually. Save your money for the kits!