The Little World

And that is all I intend to borrow from Tolkien. I saw the movies years ago and that was all I needed.

But the real topic here is that one tool. You know the one. The one that is there in your tool kit.

It’s the one you had when you started model building. The one you thought was awfully expensive at the time…but have kept ever since; not out of miserliness, but because it does the job so well. The edge is perfect and the handle fits you and your muscles know just how to apply it.

Oh, you’ve bought others since. You have about three more in different drawers of the cabinet for special jobs. But you always reach for the original when you start a new kit.

They don’t make them any more. The company that produced them has been sold to another firm about three times, and each time has seen a reduction in their catalogue. It went in the second iteration…and the replacement isn’t a patch on the original. So you guard it carefully. With a bit of caution it will last you through your retirement modelling career.

The main thing is to keep it away from the family who will probably try to open a jam jar or paint tin with it and snap it in half. That’s why it is hidden – your banking passwords and wallet are left out on the window sill but The Tool is hidden in a secret drawer.

You can never be too careful.