The Little World

I used to look upon the humble cocktail stick with disdain. No more. I am an eco-friendly convert.

I believe the sticks – also known as satay sticks – are made of bamboo. This is an eminently sustainable crop and can be used with no eco-guilt at all.

And they are cheap – I do not have to wash and re-use the leftovers from Hawker’s Market. I can afford a packet from Coles or the local Asian shop and use them for as many tasks as possible.

The Nieuport 17C is currently skewered like a prawn for undercoating and will remain so for the finish silver coat. I regret that the wing cannot be similarly accommodated, but the modellers alligator clip is doing just as well. The ability to spray all in one means a lot faster job.

I also use the sticks for glue application a lot these days – particularly if it is cyanoacrylate. I saw a set of CA tools by Tamiya in my local Hobbyhell at a Tamiya price. I just committed the shapes to memory and came home and carved the ends of the sticks to match. So far a perfect tool.

They also mean a thin line of PVA for canopies.

The removal of excess paint around canopy frames is the exclusive province of these sticks – sanded down to a finer point and then to a chisel edge, they lift even stubborn lacquer without scratching the clear part of a canopy.

As fine paint brushes, they are also useful – you sharpen to a point and it is like having a brush that never splays out on you.

I also suspect they could be pressed into service as internal strut members for wings that need re-enforcement against sagging. Helluva lot cheaper than K&S brass tubing.