How do you deal with awkward or difficult mold lines?

[Axineton]

So I’ve been assembling some death guard for kill team and there’s lots of spiky bits and also lots of awkward or difficult to get to mold lines on some of them so just wondering if people leave them or try and get rid of them.

[Razblood]

If it would be visible after painting absolutely.

 

I use the tip of my scalpel for awkward mold lines, though I leave them if they won't be visible.

[Mendi Warrior]

Definitely trying to get rid of the mould lines, even if they end up not being visible (obsessive disorder? I don't understand what you mean  ). Not always possible to get rid of everything though.

[Arkhanist]

First tip is to always remove mould lines and sand fresh off the sprue before assembly, though with the easy-to-build models that's less useful than it used to be, and you can always miss one (I usually do!)

 

Then, in no particular order

1) the citadel mouldline remover is surprisingly handy in tight spaces, and much less risk of taking a chunk out of a model. The back edge of a pointy scalpel blade will also work well as a scraper, just wield with care as you can score or scrape an unintended part with the sharp side in tight spaces, and the blunt side can scrape a flat spot on a curved surface if pressed too hard. Usually finish off with:

 

2) Skinny sanding sticks. Padded sponge sanding sticks that will fit in tight spots bigger pads/emery boards can't and mold to the surface if not pressed hard so lower risk of flat spots. Remove the material with a coarser grade, then smooth with a finer one and ultimately a polishing stick for visible areas for the cleanest finish. You can make them yourself by cutting a strip off different grades of sponge micro-mesh style sanding pad, and there are other sellers.

 

3) For holes or bulky leftover sprue knobs, my triangular diamond needle file has the narrowest tip and files right to the end so will fit in super tight spots. So gentle strokes with the pointy bit, though it can leave some light scoring if I can't get a fine grade sanding stick in there after to polish it.

[Axineton]

Cheers arkhanist very detailed there.

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

On a related note, how do people deal with removing flash from the ridges on plasma weapons, ribbed cables, the ribbing in joints of space marine armour and other such areas?

[Grotsmasha]

On a related note, how do people deal with removing flash from the ridges on plasma weapons, ribbed cables, the ribbing in joints of space marine armour and other such areas?

 

I use GW's files, HERE. They're 1/2 moon shaped and get into the ridges just fine :tu:

[Subtle Discord]

I absolutely swear by Swiss made Grobet Files used by jewellers. You'll generally pay a few dollars more for these files but they are simply the best files I've ever used in my lifetime of model making. I'll admit I've never compared them to what GW has on offer (and the quality of their tools has improved over the years) but these files are so good that I don't even look for something better at this point.

 

I've been using the same 6.25" #4 Half Round for 98% of my mould line removal for over 15 years and I'd be lost without it; the other 2% of the time I use a 6.25" #4 Round for small round places that the Half Round can't quite get to. The flat back is perfect for flat or convex surfaces, the curved side with its perfect taper to a fine point can handle any concave surfaces, and the 'knifes edge' can get into tight nooks-and-crannies and deal with things like the corrugated hose that GW loves to use all the time. I despise mould lines and these files ensure that I can remove them from even the most stubborn and/or delicate locations.

 

I could easily ramble on much more about why they're amazing and a few other types shapes and cuts that are super useful for other hobby duties as well, but I'll hold off unless you want some more information; specifically for mould line removal, these two files are all I ever use in most cases.

 

Note that I do advocate having some fine grit sandpaper (240, 320, 400, and 600 are my go-to grits) and foam backed sanding sticks from a place like Alpha Abrasives are also very useful. In closing, I can also highly reccomend the Abrasive Cleaning Disk made by Alpha; it's a sticky rubbery material that effortlessly removes debris and unclogs files and sandpaper without dulling them or gumming them up. The cleaning disk is also something that will last decades and pay for itself many times over by saving clogged sandpaper and sanding sticks from the trash.

[MaliGn]

I mostly use the d edge of a metal sculpting tool for mould line removal, with the variety of available shapes I can usually get into most tricky spots and there's less risk of inadvertent damage to nearby areas that with either a file or a blade.