Here is a modelling tool which might be of interest to Moonbasers. I discovered it after seeing a video by Max, from Max's Models.
His local model shop, Hurricane Hobbies in Jacksonville, Floria, had got some in, and the owner showed Max how it worked. It is only suitable for very small and light items, which are normally very difficult to pick up.
It looks like a normal pencil, but instead of a hard lead, it contains a slightly sticky substance, such as paraffin wax. Just touch this to the item, and it sticks, until it is released with a slight twist.
It is used in modelling, crafts, watch making, bead art, and nail art (gluing various small items to fingernails), and possibly in electronics ? Variously called a pick and hold pencil; pick-up pencil, sticky pencil, or grabber.
I thought this looked useful, but even with both Rob Craig and I looking, it was not easy to find. Model and craft shops proved fruitless.
I finally found a pack of these pencils in a chain of Japanese-goods shops called Daiso. They were in the nail decoration section, and went under the name Stone Catch Pen – Easy to catch even small stones.
Unlike the full-length pencil shown in Max's video, these came in a pack of three short pencils, 85mm long. Made in China, for Daiso of Japan.
After getting home I tried them out on various small items, making sure that I had the right thing. These look as though they will be very useful on future projects.
A big thanks to Max, for mentioning these pencils. Just be aware that finding them may be the hard part.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
That looks to be a handy tool for the serious modeler. Alas, between my bad eyes and shaky hands, I try not to build anything that requires tiny parts to begin with! SFZ
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