Review: Citadel Mouldline Remover Tool

I recently needed to pick up the Citadel Moudline Remover tool, as my old Seam Scraper from Micro-Mark was getting dull. Hear my thoughts about this tool and whether its worth its premium price tag, in this little review.

The current range of Citadel tools is definately the most premium one ever and also the most expensive one. When you look at the Games Workshop website, you’ll notice how the pictures of all the tools are taken on a black background with a slight reflection, like you would photograph jewelry or high value consumer goods. Games Workshop definately want to convey the feeling that working with this tools is a hobby status symbol.

Some veterans might actually wonder why you need a scraping tool for mouldlines at all. Mouldlines have tradiontally been removed with a knife or hobby scalpel like a X-Acto knife for years. Which works reasonably well, however with a thin blade it’s actually rather easy to leave unsighty dents when you get stuck while scraping. Dedicated scraping tools have a thicker blade with an angled cutting that makes it much easier to drag the blade over mouldlines, especially on round and organic shapes.

I used to have a Seam Scraper from Micro-Mark, an American mail-order with loads of hobby materials and tools that are always on discount (usually of varying quality). I was perfectly happy with it, but it started to become dull after several years of use and hundreds of models. As the Dollar/Euro exchange rate has become so unfavourable and the shipping to Germany seems to have become more expensive, it became prohibingly expensive to get another one. It would have been about 25 Euro plus import duties, back then I paid like 16 Euro. Makes the Citadel tool a steal with “only” 13 Euro, doesn’t it?

So, let’s have a look at the Citadel Mouldline Remover. The packaging is pretty nice, a thick matte box with glossy highlights. The tool itself looks pretty nice with its dark brassy handle, and has a good weight to it. The quality is definately there.

Here you can see a comparison of the tool next to a X-Acto 11 blade and my old Seam Scraper from Micro-Mark. As you can see, the Citadel tools has a blunt tip (probably for safety reasons), which means that you’ll have a hard time to get into small gaps. You’ll still need a knife or scalpel for these areas. A problem the Seam Scraper doesn’t have, as its tri-angular blade is pointed. I guess I’ll have to use my X-Acto knife much more often from now on.

Another benefit of the Seam Scraper is the tri-angular cutting. The blade is also pointed at two ends, so you can remove it and use the other side if the first side becomes dull. The Citadel tool has only one cutting, so in theory the Seam Scraper should last six times longer. However, the steel used for the blade of the Citadel tool seems to be a very high quality, so maybe that will help. Only the time can tell.

Another thing to bear in mind is that the way the cutting of the blade is angled, left-handers will have a really hard time to use it.

Conclusion

So what do you I think? I really liked my Micro-Mark seam scraper and if you live in the US, I recommend getting this, as it is cheaper and is able to reach small gaps as well. The Citadel Mouldline Remover is perfectly servicable, with minor limitations. It doesn’t come cheap, but I think it will last a while and when you compare its price tag to specialist hobby tools from Tamiya, it’s not too bad actually.

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