Scale Plastic & Rail

the 5.5 hold and fold

 

The 5.5" (5 Speed) Hold and Fold Workstation

 

http://thesmallshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=10

 

The small shop always at the sharp edge (pardon the pun) in bringing new tools to the market – this month they have supplied us with a few of their best tools for the ever expanding use of different materials in modelling. Jim has already reviewed "The Nutter" and the Brass Assist Deluxe Rolling Set last month , now it's my turn to take you through the most useful photo etch tool of the bunch – the 5.5" Hold and Fold.

If you are like me – a returning soul to modelling after missing a few years – you will be amazed at how technology has taken hold of the modeling world and shaken the hell out of it. When I left to go silly in early pubescence a 25 year old revel thunderbolt kit was completely acceptable to buy , build and make and no one really complained - cos that’s as good as we got. Scratchbuilding had became the thing to improve your kit. People started to use plasticard of ever decreasing thinness and even some crazies started to use aluminium drink cans to try and show the thickness in scale of aircraft and military vehicle parts.

Well I have one of those massacred now 35 odd year old thunderbolts in my stash I just can't throw away as I have spent too much time on it – how I cut and bent a rudimentary seat out or a root beer can too look at now just makes me cry at all the time I could have spent out on the pull instead if I had a 5 speed hold and fold!

The tool itself comes in a sturdy little box that came very fast from the small shop in the states to the UK – it took less than a week – inside was the tool itself, the base is black anodised aircraft metal, attached by two spring loaded thumb screws is the main bending part, which on one side is just a straight line for long photo etch parts, the other sides are sixteen long and short "fingers" of flat metal in different sizes and shapes to fit most of the things you need to bend. With the tool itself comes the 5 inch long edging tool , which comes in its own little container to keep it "fresh" Also included is a small razor to bend smaller parts. There is as well a helpful instruction page to ease you into the world of Holdin' and Foldin'

So to cure the scars of my "misspent youth" I decided to face my demons – to make a decent looking P-47 seat in 32nd – admittedly I didn’t have a photo etched set in my teens – but now I have one I decided to have a go – well it took me about five minutes from picking this up to doing it – and not really reading the instructions until after I did it !

I then went on to complete the tiny construction of the gunsight and was amazed at the ease of the folding process. Once I worked out in my mind what I needed to do to represent the right folding process I was going along at a great pace. The bad thing about photo etch is that the suppliers think you understand what you need to do to achieve the shapes they say you can. And sometimes their instructions need to be a little clearer. The good thing about this little tool is that it gives you most of the options to make most of the shapes. The only thing missing is a bending tool which the small shop also sells. There are however small circular notches on the back of the tool to help you make a small diameter circular bended part. Something like a strap or a bomb fin.

The hold'n fold enables you to create "Z" shape bends in PE and "U " shaped parts, the micro edges on the toll make the fold into a razor sharp edging. The other thing I like about this is that you can pass a very long piece through it and bend it at the end. Really its uses are limitless. I can see this tool being incredibly useful to an armour or a ship builder. The aircraft modellers are becoming increasingly more familiar with photo etch and things like Radu Brinzan's "ERLA Haube" which has many complex bends. This tool is perfect for the job and 90% of other jobs I can think of with PE.

 

 

 

So what do we think?

Wowsers is all I can say! This tool does the job asked of it and probably many more I cant think of yet but will next time I look at some Vague PE instructions from the manufacturer – at least I will have an ally in this little tool.

While It can't bend every curve thrown at it (literally) – it does exactly what it says on the tin.

If you use photo etch a lot – or intend to model in the future – I would definitely recommended it - To me its the perfect tool for the job.

Adam Norenberg

You can get these from The Small Shop Here – Many thanks to them for the great service.