As part of my building 11 P-51 Mustang kits I am using this little cutting pad. It saves the work surface from getting cut up. I have several of them, this is one of the oldest and smallest.
Here is one of the planes, it is the 7th of them and almost done, lacking only canopy and landing gear. I always build landing gear down so I can have my planes on the ground or in the air.
Canopies get glued on using Testors Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker. It's really good for clear stuff because it dries clear and leave no fogging on the clear parts.
For general plastic glue work, I used Model Master Liquid Cement For Plastic Models.
Here are a few of my basic tools. An Olfa knife with snap off blade, much sharper than X-Acto or any other I have found; X-Acto knife with #11 blade, a pair of stamp tongs, and a Tamiya sprue cutter. It was about $25 and worth every penny.
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