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Advantages: great tool for folding etched metal or even plastic, now improved with user feedback and available for different modeling uses; precision milling makes for accurate work and good support
Disadvantages: Apparent high price (see text)
Rating: Highly Recommended
While the original "Hold and Fold" was a 3" x 4" device, The Small Shop now offers three different improved tools for every need. Each comes as a kit of parts (base, head, screw or screws, knob or knobs, spring or springs, and alignment pins, a cutting/bending blade, plus a set of stick-on rubber feet to hold it in one place on your work surface and prevent scratching.
The smallest machine is 2" x 2" and is designed for those who do not need large parts folded, such as 1/72-76 armor or 1/72 or 1/144 aircraft modeling or figures. It comes with a tool head that provides two square edges and three different curved ones.
The next size up – the one that replaces the original machine – is 3" x 4" and has a reversible deep reach tool that can be used two ways: one with a straight edge 4" long and one with five different sized indents and "teeth" up to 2" deep for bending different sizes of objects. This is probably the best one for general purpose bending and shaping for most objects used by armor, car, and aircraft modelers.
The last size is a large tool 4" x 8" and comes with two knobs for better tension control and sure gripping of the material being bent. It has 8 cutouts of different size and different width "teeth". This set is great for armor modelers who use brass fender replacement as well as all ship modelers using etched brass for railings, masts, deck details, etc.
The "Kits" also come with two useful accessories: it now includes The Small Shop's "Rolling Set", a wooden and metal bending and rolling set with a matrix for sure alignment, and a "Part Cut-Out Kit" consisting of three plexiglass panels and a clear U-shaped gizmo and rectangle to keep parts from flying into oblivion. This not only means not losing parts, but getting them rolled out (such as front fenders or ship railings) to the right radius.
Assembly of the large one is easy to figure out, but the two smaller ones ran counterintuitive to what I expected (there were no directions with mine, but after I wrote the first draft of this review Pete Forrest told me the regular sets DO come with them!) There is a machined fillet to the edge which looks like the routed edge of a plaque base. This side went DOWN on the two I had, and when set up in that fashion, the parts fit perfectly with some help (a small hammer sets the guide pins). To ease your choices, The Small Shop places either a white paint dot or their brand label on the bottom of the tool base. This is passed along as a word of warning so you don't put the rubber feet on the wrong side!
The large kit provides nearly everything needed to work etched metals except a "guaranteed to hold when painting" glue! Even though it seems pricey at nearly a hundred bucks, considering what you spend on brass getting it right makes it worthwhile and the frustration avoided is sure worth the price!
Overall these are really great value if you figure that the average modeler may spend $19-33 a model for etched brass today and this set prevents both damage and loss of parts, plus pretty assured goof-proof folds. I noticed a competing product at AMPS 2003 and the 8" machine from The Small Shop appears to be a better design, with deeper reach and more uses, plus the two additional items in the set nail it down as a better value. The competitor had prettier colors, but tools like this beg for "use and abuse" so that becomes a moot point!
Thanks to Pete Forrest of The Small Shop for the review samples: www.thesmallshop.com. Please visit the site to see a complete and updated product and price list.
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