What you get in the box

RP Toolz is a Hungarian company that produces a range of punches along with other modelling tools. The rivet punch kit comes in small white box. Inside, you get two bags containing the 10 punches for the set, the die baseplate, a small hammer and a multilingual set of instructions.

Down to the Nuts and Bolts (Or Rivets in this case)

I took the punches out and was instantly impressed by the quality of them. The punches are made from machined aluminium and steel and the die baseplate feels very solid when you pick it up. It has a steel base with a machined aluminium layer then clear acrylic on top, held in place by two pins, and two sprung thumbscrews to pin down the sheet. The sizes of the punches included are 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0 (mm). You can use brass, aluminium or styrene sheet (the instructions recommend to use no more than 0.3mm thick). I tried the punches with some spare styrene I had around and the punches worked perfectly – they are slightly pointed so it pushes a dome of the material through the die when you hit the punch.

The only bit of disappointment I had was the hammer you get with the set. I do love the fact they give you a hammer. It’s solid and does the job but, when you look at it, it’s just not as well made as the rest of the set. My attention was then drawn to another small issue – as the punches are made from aluminium when you hit them with the hammer it leaves marks and dents the top of the punches. It’s not a major issue at the start but constant use will cause a lot of wear to the punch (I got round this issue by using a rubber-ended jewellers hammer I have, although wrapping the hammer head with some spare foam sheet would do as well). If RP Toolz chose to dip the hammer head in rubber it would resolve the issue in the future.

The rivets you get from the set do look great though. I did a test using the 0.7mm punch, although I forgot how fiddly placing rivets can be. I would recommend using brass or aluminium if you are going to do larger rivets, as the test I did on the styrene split the larger rivets but it could be that the styrene I used may have been a bit brittle.

Conclusion

For me, RP Toolz has hit the rivet on the head with this one. This set is a very welcome addition for the modelling community and, although this is still quite an expensive investment for most modellers, it is still more affordable and more available than other similar products on the market. The set is very well made and will last for a long time if looked after so, in my opinion, well worth the price.