Does anyone make 1/35th engine cover lift handles? So far I haven't found any but, that hopefully doesn't mean they aren't out there. Any info on where to head will be appreciated!!!

Hi, Howard!

What, SPECIFICALLY are you building? maybe I could point you to a specific PE set that may help you...

Soft wire, a triangular shaped file, and a 14(?) gauge needle. Far better look than PE.

Ditto on Robert's answer above.

My metal version goes slightly different; wire of the desired diameter, a pair of needle-nose pliers to form the handle loop, #11 knife w/ sharp tip to drill small holes as needed for locating, and a bit of CA.

I sand off any molded-on handle loops (leaving behind the portion representing the handle's "hinge" part attached to the hatch or hull item - if this applies), drill small holes at the end of that hinge or other connection points to locate and receive the tips of my new handle loop, form the desired wire loop with the pliers, clip its ends to desired length, and glue the loop-tips into the holes w/ CA.

Even easier, in many cases.... Use stretched sprue in place of the wire. No CA needed.

PE is flat and thin. It NEVER really looks like a wire handle or grip. PE is great for lots of things, but not for representing 3d rods or cables or wires or stuff made from these things.

But there is actually yet another simple "trick" to creating much-better-looking handles USING THE ACTUAL MOLDED-ON KIT BITS!

In many cases, you can use a sharp flat-end knife-tip (or, in some locations, a plain razor blade...) to gently shave off and lift the molded handle loop a little (being careful to NOT fully remove the handle nor its attachment points). This creates a slightly-lifted handle loop with a TRUE shadow beneath it. And with a little practice is very easy to do. Oh, and if you want to be genuinely "Out-of-box" in your build, this fully meets that definition! You can also modify this approach and gently shave OFF the ENTIRE handle and attachment points, smooth down the shaved area, and then cement the shaved-off handle bit back in place, leaving the loop slightly raised.

ALL better then PE handles, IMHO.

Cheers! Bob

All great tips and ideas! I will head that way I believe. "Sherman" I'm working up the T30 heavy tank. I got the Tiger Model Designs resin set and was looking at the fine moldings and wondered if that would be possible in resin and found nothing so looked into P/E, since it seems almost everything has been done in P/E, and again nothing. So thought I would ask. Seems odd though that it would be a simple thing to do on resin as a set of sprues per kit. There are sprue sets with tool box handles, both round and square. Again, appreciate the help and ideas and happy modeling!!