Hobby Line Engraver

Hobby Line Engraver panel line scriber

The Hobby Line Engraver is a hand scriber with which thin lines are engraved into the surface of a model. It is most often used where sanding a joint between parts has erased the original panel line and it has to be restored, or when a modeler adds engraved detail of their own. Green Stuff World states plastic, resin and wood as suitable materials. Unlike a knife, the scriber does not cut the material but removes it as a fine chip, so the resulting groove has a constant width and a flat bottom.

Use

• Lay out the route of the line beforehand with flexible tape or a template, and the scriber then keeps itself on line.
• Draw it lightly and several times over, building the depth gradually rather than in one heavy pass.
• Pull toward yourself and hold the tip perpendicular to the surface, or the groove will wander.
• Remove the chip as you go, so that it does not clog the groove and spoil the guidance.
• Polish the finished line lightly with a fine sanding sponge so that the burrs along the edges of the groove disappear.

Who it is for

The scriber will be appreciated by modelers who fill the joints of fuselages and hulls and want to keep a continuous pattern of panels, and by those who create their own detail on models. It is simple to handle and the result depends above all on a steady hand and good guidance.

The tip is sharp. Work away from your fingers, put the tool down so that it cannot fall tip first, and store it out of the reach of children.