Alec AL-K25 R-Boko Tool Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

I recently saw the Alec series of modeling tools and was anxious to try them out. This tool is called the R-Boko (don't ask me why) but it is a round chamfering tool. The triangular plate has a series of curves at varying diameters from 2 to 22 mm and the edges aren't knife-sharp, so you won't accidentally cut your hand while using this tool. Instead, the edges are square, providing enough of an edge to be effective with plastic.

Here is the R-Boko (right) along with the Alec R-V6 (left) and the engine assembly out of a 1/35 AH-6J Little Bird. The engine case halves and exhaust duct halves go together nicely, but the usual seams and mold lines are present. I selected the appropriate diameters in the R-Boko and scraped the seams and mold lines off the parts without leaving the tell-tale flat spots left by files. With a little practice, you won't even think about using another tool to clean up rounded surfaces. This is one of those tools, once you've used it, that you wonder how you've been able to model without it.

Because all the edges on this tool are squared, there are no sharp edges to gouge the plastic surface unless you dig one of the corners into the surface. If you pull the tool across the surface rather than push it like a chisel, you'll achieve an effective scraping effect that will get better with experience. Not only is it effective with mold lines, flash, and other issues in plastic, it works effectively on resin, and puttied surfaces as well.

I have found four tools in the Alec series (so far), this R-Boko which is an outstanding solution for rounded surfaces, the R-V6 (shown above) which makes clean-up of ejector pin marks and the insides of round parts easy, the F-V6 for working around flat surfaces (especially confined spaces), and the Lagia, which has a combination of these features. We'll examine these other tools soon.

You can find the R-Boko (within the US) at HobbyZone USA here!

My thanks to HobbyZone USA for this review sample.