Techniques for holding pieces while painting

[armentage]

Can someone point me to some nice tools for holding my model pieces while airbrushing?

I have a pair of surgical forceps that I've been using while modeling for almost 20 years now (I dont even know where I got them) and while they are great, I only have the 1, and they are pretty expensive ($10 each)

So what I'd like to hear are some suggestions of tools for holding and mount small model pieces (i.e. gundam armor, landing gears, etc) for spraying/painting.

Let the games begin!

Thanks!

[Stamen0083]

I got a pack of bamboo skewers, 100 count for a buck, I think, and a couple packs of alligator clips from Radio Shack (you might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere. You get 12 for like $2.5). Then I split the bamboo skewers down the middle a little and attach the clips to them.

Sometimes I use sticky tack on a stick for small pieces.

[Gabe Q]

I use toothpicks and masking tape. Just wrap some masking tape around the toothpick and stick the piece to it.

[armentage]

How about tricks for holding heavier pieces?

Masking tape on skewers sure does sound like a great idea - it's a varation on what I do now (I'll ball up tape on the end of a paint brush).

When working with pieces that have Poly-caps, sometimes I'll mount a limb on old-school Testors plastic brushes. They happen to be the perfect diameter and material (harder version of the same sort of rubber) to mate with a Polycap plug.

[kanata67]

radio shack sells a device called "helping hands" for about $10. It's a little stand with highly articulated arms that end in alligator clips. you can position pieces at pretty much any angl as well as rotate the alligator clips for access to all sides of what you are working on. You can also use it to hold pieces attached to a toothpick steady. Also has a magnifying glass for detailed work. I believe it's designed for soldering small bits and electronics but it works great for painting, and glueing, and holding small parts steady if your hands shake as bad as mine.

as I look it up. The new version is different from the two I have. Looks to have more features but the old one might still be found on clearence at some local stores.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?cata...ct%5Fid=64-2991

[Stamen0083]

Depends on how heavy the piece is, and how much surface you have for mounting it.

Usually, I use more than one bamboo/clip stick to hold bigger objects. The body of my VF-0S was mounted on two skewers, for example. Sometimes you can get creative with things. If there is a large part of the piece that is not visible, I would drill holes into the piece for mounting.

[VF-19]

I've got two main methods for holding pieces while airbrushing:

1) Popsicle stick with double sided tape. Quite flexible, and you can glue a couple of sticks together to get one nice long surface to apply the double sided tape. Best of all it's reusable. Just peel off the tape, and put some new tape on.

2) Alligator clips with wood skewers. Picked up a long skewer at Home Depot (and they even let me cut it up! ), and a bunch of alligator clips at Radio Shack (or in Canada, The Source). Put them together, and presto, instant (and cheap) way to hold parts while you're painting!

[phoenix01]

I never get that far