How to avoid this,tiny flying bits of plastic?

[StickyFingers]

I am newish to modelmaking.
I did a fun build of Bandai c3po, and there are some tiny pieces that seem to have no purpose other than to annoy modelmakers. I am using some fine angled tweezers, trying to place the pieces, the pieces are no more than 3mm long and 2mm wide, when said pieces disappear at the seemingly the speed of light, maybe with a small click, to denote which direction they flew off in.
Like will pattison I have problems with my hands due to nerve damage, so I need a way to manipulate tiny pieces without firing them off in random directions.
I would be grateful for any tips from anyone who has experience of this problem, as searching for escaping bits of plastic, is not the fun part of modelling:)
With this 3cpo model I had 3 bits of plastic, lost, somewhere in my room, when ready I started to look for them.
I found one piece after looking for 2 days, nestled up inside the L shaped foot of my workmate, like it was hiding, the L part of the leg shielding the direction of flight, The other two escapees, after finaly seemingly searched all the floor I turned to the bin, which is an asda bag hooked at the back of the workmate, the bag was full of all sorts of grungy stuff.
I had to remove it all a piece at a time, shaking every bit, and when at long last I got to the bottom amongst the small dust and crap, like a miner panning in a stream, I Spyed glimpses of gold. (the model being 75% goldish plated.) How I managed to hit a half closed plastic bag, hanging behind a workmate 6 feet away, not once, but twice is beyond me.
Any Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Ps I whish my fingers were really sticky. sorry for being so wordy.

[schweinhund227]

I would run my Tweezers pinched over a rough sanding stick and Rough up the pincers... to give them grip if they are the chromed kind !
That way you would give them a better grip...

There are other kinds of tweezers... with a slider that adds controlled pressure or Locks them down .... I"m sure you will find a shoe that fits !

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTI2NFgxNjAw/ ... s/$_35.JPG




hope this gives you some ideas ?

take care and happy modelling !

[Tay99]

Have you tried using a wax pencil to pick up the parts I think Ultimate sell one that's what I use for small PE parts, I put a small dab of glue on the larger part then use the pencil to pick up the smaller part and put it in place where you want it.

[Stokesy44]

Have you tried using a wax pencil to pick up the parts I think Ultimate sell one that's what I use for small PE parts, I put a small dab of glue on the larger part then use the pencil to pick up the smaller part and put it in place where you want it.

Exactly what I was going to say. The Ultimate wax pencil works for PE and plastic. Its a dream.

[Coen]

Most of the time, the reason that parts go ping it's because you're holding them too firmly in the tweezers.
It takes a lot of practice and a tonne of patience but holding parts with a less firm hand will reduce the amount of ping.
Norm's suggestion of roughing up the inside of your tweezers is also a great idea. You don't want them so rough that they leave marks though. So tweezers with teeth are a bad idea.
Using a jewelers drape is also helpful, though less so for the ping, it will help starve the carpenter monster by catching those dropped parts in your lap rather than in the floor.
Waxed pick up sticks and using some blue Tac to steady items may also be of some help.
Blue Tac is always on my bench... And in large quantities.

[StickyFingers]

Thanks guys, all good thinking. Maybe I was hoping for a magic tool that would do the job, without any risk at all.
I actually have a wax pencil that I tried, but it wouldn't stick, probably due to the metal plating on the bits.
I roughed up my tweezers a bit, also dipped the grippy bits in a little contact adhesive, wich I let totally dry out, its gone rubbery and slightly tacky,
I just need to get to some tiny parts and try em out:)
So thanks again for being kind enough to reply with your ideas:)

[wookiee76]

The ends of wax pencils dry out and lose their tack, give it a sharpen and jobs a good un.

[Scalemodelmedic]

If you've got any liquid mask put a drop on the end of a cocktail stick or toothpick and when it dries it will be sticky enough to grab bits