The Detail Parts

Hobby Design offers the modeler a wide range of detail products, tools, masking materials and decals for a wide variety of modeling subjects. The three items discussed in this review are compatible with 1/20^th, 1/24^th, and 1/25^thautomotive subjects.

Each of these three items are contained in a small plastic baggie that is, itself, protected with a larger plastic baggie sealed with a cardboard fold-over flap. The double wrapping secures the individual pieces nicely and protects against accidental loss since both bags must be opened to remove the contents. This extra security will certainly be appreciated by the modeler and makes storage of the items much easier.

The Toggle Switch baggie contains 20 pieces, as does the baggie for the Electric Connectors. The baggie containing the Knob Switches contains 5 pieces.

These parts are very small and one should take the time to adjust one’s workspace so that the pieces cannot roll off the work surface and get lost in the general clutter that is usually found on many modelers’ workspaces. The good news is that these pieces are magnetic! If one has a small magnet then the problem of keeping the pieces secure and in one location has been solved.

The small size of the pieces requires some patience and practice. A good pair of tweezers and the use of an Optivisor will make the process go smoothly. The two toggle switches and one knob switch seen in the accompanying image were installed in under 1 minute per piece.

Assembly

As one can see in the images, there are “locating pins” on the attachment end of the knobs and switches. A #80 drill produced a hole into which the pins were inserted. The knob and switches were gently inserted into the drilled holes and the fit was tight enough to hold the parts in place without glue. Once the “fit” was established, Super Glue was used to permanently attach the knob and switches.

Painting

All three items that were presented for review are bright aluminum in color. A steady hand and a small brush will be required to add any paint to these pieces. The review items were left unpainted so as to stand out in

Conclusion

All three samples were found to be, for all intents and purposes, without flaws of any kind. The packaging is secure, each piece is identical to all other pieces in the bag, and there was no “flash” or imperfection of any kind to mar any of the 45 pieces in this review sample. The parts are easy to handle and to install and add a considerable amount of detail to the instrument panel I used as a test bed. Best of all, the price is right!

These products are highly recommended for modelers of all skill levels. Thanks to the fine folks at Hobby Design for the opportunity to review these excellent products.