Reviewed by Brett Green

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Rivets. Some modellers love 'em, some modellers hate 'em. Witness the ongoing debate about the merits or evils - depending on your point of view - of the recessed rivets on Trumpeter's kits.

Even so, there has been an undeniable trend over the last year or so for modellers to add rivet detail to their models, especially large scale subjects. I confess that I have even had a crack at it myself. After reviewing the RV Resin 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw 190 V18/U1"Känguruh" kit early in 2003, I noted that the resin parts were detailed with very convincing lines of rivets.

This was around the time of the release of Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Dora. If Radek could do such a nice job in 1/48 scale, I thought that it would be interesting to attempt a few simple rivet lines around the outside of the cockpit on that featureless area of Hasegawa's 1/32 scale fuselage. I used a Pounce Wheel with fairly mediocre results, but subsequent efforts by more talented modellers such as Chris Wauchop and Vincent Kermorgant turned out much better.

Some of the problems with my Pounce Wheel were that the wheel itself was fairly wobbly in its mount, resulting in a correspondingly wobbly line; and also that the rivet "hole" was actually rectangular in shape.

MDC has now released a 1/32 scale Rivet Making Tool set that addresses both of these problems. The set comprises a wooden handle with two interchangeable steel rivet punches. One is smaller for British and Allied aircraft; while the larger one is appropriate for Luftwaffe subjects. This is a useful tool as it offers a secure grip via the knob-shaped handle; and the tip of the punches will result in a perfectly circular recessed rivet.

The cleverest part of this set, however, is the inclusion of three photo-etched parts.

These are rivet guides, with two lengths offering different intervals between the rivets, and a third sheet with various sizes and shapes for adding rivets to hatches. These parts are made from very thin and flexible metal, and will lend themselves to being taped to the surface of the model for a jolly good riveting.

The inclusion of these photo-etched parts transforms the tool into a genuine rivet making system. In addition to the tool and the guides, however, there is a third element essential for achieving a good result - patience! Riveting a model requires planning, time, skill - and a steady hand applying even pressure.

If you are an experienced modeller who wants to try to add rivet details to your large-scale model, MDC's 1/32 scale Rivet Making Tool will take a lot of the pain and guesswork out of the job.

Recommended.

Thanks to MDC for the review sample

Images and Text Copyright 2004 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 24 November, 2004
Last updated 24 November, 2004

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