When the name John Vojtech is mentioned in the Modeling community, one of the first things that comes to mind if you are familiar with him is the level of detail usually associated in his models. Through John's desire for a higher level of detail he has created his own tool line to make it easier for modelers to achieve this level in their own models.

The Mini Punch and Die set is made with hardened steel and will allow you punch plastic and metal discs in sizes of 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6. I found the punches to be very sharp so you don't have to apply a lot of pressure and makes a nice clean cut. This set is great for adding those little details found in many different types of models.

The Multi Shape Punch set is probably one of the more interesting sets. I saw this being demonstrated at the IPMS/USA Nationals this year and was amazed. This is a precision milled disc with a hardened rubber center and comes with three punches (round, triangle and rectangle) and two thin sheets of Aluminum. This set is very simple to use, as all you have to do is apply pressure with your fingers and the punch will press right through the aluminum sheet. On the website they say you can use heavier stock, but you will have to use a hammer.

I also had the opportunity to get two additional punch sets to go with the Multi Shape Punch set. Each set consists of six punches made from hardened steel. The first set is the Starter Punch set. This consists of varied shapes (see review photo). The second is hexagon set that includes six punches in sizes of 0.8, 1.0, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1 and 2.5. These are a great compliment to the Multi Shape Punch set and create almost endless possibilities of the additional details that can be created.

The Capsule Centering Jig is the next piece. Have ever had some circular piece that you need to put a hole in the center, well your problem has been somewhat solved. This set consists of two piece male and female piece that is machined metal and has different size inserts. You put your piece in the appropriate insert enclose everything in the male and female pieces, stick a needle in to mark your center and there you have it. All you have to do now is drill it out. The only down side is the fact that it will not accommodate larger pieces.

The Bar Cutting Guide is made from dural aluminum and includes a embedded ruler marked in 1mm increments. You clamp the piece you are cutting into the grooves and cut away. Very handy to those that like to scratch build their own details.

The last item from UMM is a set of three paint brushes. These are sable hair brushes and come in a nice detail point of 4mm, 7mm and 10mm. The one thing that stands out is that these are shorts brushes. Designed for better control, but I will leave that up to the user. The great part though is that these are very economical.

As you can see UMM has been very busy turning out some great products for modelers to be able to take their models to a higher level. I recommend all of these items as I tried them out and see that they will be a great benefit, maybe not all at once but over a period of time and with different projects.

I would like to thank UMM and IPMS/USA for affording me the opportunity to review these products.

Material: Hardened Steel for the punch Sets, Bar Cutter Dural Aluminum