what to cut out body with

[Specializer]

i have a 1/12 scale body that i can't wait to use but i gotta cut it and i dont want to spend money on special cutting out body kits....is there anything that i can use...especially to cut out the wheel "holes" :D can i just use scissors and then maybe sand a bit? thanks

[Hockeekidd98]

You could, i picked up this. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJGU5&P=7

Best money i've spent.... The scissors cut through lexan so much easier then regular scissors.

[RC10racer89]

The curved scissors will really help with the wheel wells. For the straight edges you can either use regular scissors, or score the lexan with an x-acto knife then bend the lexan back and forth until it snaps off along the line you scored with the knife. I also use a dremel with the sanding drum to touchup the wheel wells after I'm done cutting them out with the scissors.

[Grifter]

Lexan scissors!!

Like stated above, you can cut through it much easier with these.

[DesertLab]

Go down to Longs or your local drug store and pick up a pair of toenail siccors. Curved tip, designed to cut through thick crusty toenails, so lexan is easy. I want to get a pair of the correct siccors and see how much better or worse they work.

[SteveK]

If you find a 40% off coupon, you get get an Olfa Circle Cutter at Michael's Crafts for about $7, which is pretty good. I've tried cutting wheel openings with a cheapo compas and an X-Acto stuck where the pencil would go, and it worked well, but this will be 10 times easier. If you have a nitro, you can also cut cooling holes, glow plug holes, or cut a couple and connect them for really slick-looking access to the gas tank.

Lately I have had good luck cutting the flashing off bodies with those smaller snap-off knives, like the one from Olfa. I don't know if it's the angle of the point, or the angle I hold it or what, but I works great, and cuts deeply in only a pass or two, and I don't 'wander' nearly as much. The traditional method for opening doors in 1/24th scale plastic models is to drag an X-Acto backwards through the door seam, and this takes a while: The snap-off knife is great for that and does it in fewer passes.

BTW: Michael's, AC Moore, JoAnne Fabrics, and The Rag Shop all accept each others coupons, and somebody has a 40%-off one each week.

[Specializer]

i cut the body out with my mom's manicure/pedicure scissors and an xacto knife and the body turned out great...this is my first body and i want to apply vynils on it (pin striping etc.) do i apply it outside the body or on the inside?