Squadron’s Basic Sprue Cutter is the foundation tool in Squadron’s three-piece collection of cutters, a collection that includes a Precision Cutter and a High Precision Cutter. These tools can be purchased individually or in a 3-piece set.

This Basic Cutter is designed to remove larger, less fragile parts from sprue trees, as well as to render large trees into smaller, more manageable ones. As with any cutter, it can be used to remove any part from its tree, depending on the finesse of the operator. This tool is exceptionally sharp and cuts very cleanly for a “basic” cutter. Its 5” length is easy to grip, with well-padded handles.

The only downside that I found was the relative narrowness of its opening, a modest 5mm at maximum spread. For comparison, the photos show my older Craftsman 4 1/2” cutters with their 16mm maximum opening. The narrow spread of the Squadron cutter is compensated by it’s very pointed end, allowing access to otherwise hard-to-get-to parts. The tip of these Basic Cutters is actually more pointed than the Precision Cutters. Another small plus is the protective plastic end cap (protective both for the cutters and for clumsy fingers).

Together, these three cutters provide the modeler with nearly everything for sprue cutting needs, and these Basic Cutters offer a good starting point. Recommended.

The Squadron website provides a very good instructional video for anyone interested in seeing how the tools work “in the field”.

Thanks to Squadron and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for providing this review sample.