DSPIAE AT-PB PHOTO ETCHED PARTS BENDER

One of the things the modelling market has plenty of are Photo Etch Parts Benders – something a few years ago would have been quite rare.

One of the best tools I ever had was one produced some years ago by Mission Models so to change it needed something to offered some improvements.

I have been quite a “fan” of the DSPIAE tools that have been on the market for a few years now (and you will also many if not all of them offered under the MENG brand name).

So, when DSPIAE launched its new photo etch parts bender I thought “lets give it a try”.

PICTURE 1

The first thing you will notice with this product is its sheer weight. As it arrives in a box you could be convinced is made of wood (its that hard) the pack weight as in this picture is 1102 grams.

PICTURE 2, 3 & 4

Having listed the lid we are greeted by a folder that contains a different base plate to the one already fitted in the unit as it arrives (more on that in a moment)

Removing that folder, we start to get down to the actual etch folder but as you can see even more secure packing to remove first (there is little chance of transit damage the way this item is boxed).

Having removed the securing foam and the small bagged accessories we get our first glimpse of the unit itself. And it does look smart Polished Mirror finish base plate on a black surround topped off with Red Anodised folding fingers.

PICTURES 5 & 6

Having extracted the unit from its box the first thing you notice is the fact this is still a weighty piece of kit. The actual folding units weighs in at 475 grams.

Size is 175mm x 90mm

PICTURES 7 & 8

Referring back to the Folder mentioned above we find it contains a spare/replacement folding deck. The tool has a very highly reflective polished metal folding deck and this is secured to the base with 3 Allen screws (1 on each corner).

Inside the cover are also the printed instructions giving you all the guidance needed to set the tool up correctly.

This replacement plate is a Matt Gunmetal finish and can be swapped for the mirrored surface as required.

Refer to Picture 13 and you can see this replacement deck in place.

PICTURES 9 & 10

Also, in the box you get a couple of additional parts. One of the bags contains an anti-static cleaning cloth – useful to remove finger prints from the polished surface.

In the set you get 2 tools to allow you to actually make the folds in your etch parts. Interestingly these are made of acrylic that has been “sharpened” at an angle so you can get under the part to start the bend. DSPIAE state that the reason for using the acrylic over a solid metal folder is so you can see exactly what you are doing – nice touch that.

The small tool is 40mm x 25mm and the larger tool is 120mm x 25mm
You also get a bag containing 2 sizes of Allen key and 4 self-adhesive non slip feet to place on the base.

PICTURES 11, 12 & 13

As is common with many of these folding tools you are able to reverse the head so that you have a continuous long straight edge rather than the multiple fingers.

Its just a case of removing the 2 tightening hand screws lifting of the head (minding not to lose the 2 springs) and reversing the whole head.
You would do the same in order to change the folding deck from the mirrored version to the matt gunmetal finished version.

All in all, a very well thought out and made product and with a cost of less than £50 with free shipping well worth the money in my opinion.