Questions
Questions, answered plainly.
If yours is not here, email hello@axonmodelco.com — every message answered within one business day.
Before you order
- How do I know a tool will fit what I already own?
- Every product page has a "fits" field with the numbers you check against your own bench: file tang diameter and handle bore, jaw opening, mat thickness, rule graduation, stated accuracy. If you are not sure, email orders@axonmodelco.com describing what you have and we will check it before you order. If it still turns out not to mate, it is returnable unused at no cost to you.
- How long should the nippers last?
- Two to four years of regular building, if they only ever cut plastic. The test is not the calendar though — cut a strip of 1 mm styrene and look at the face under a light. A clean shear means the bevel is still good; a whitened, crushed edge means it has rolled. One cut through brass wire will do that in a single stroke, which is why the cautions on the product page are as blunt as they are.
- Do you sell knives or blades?
- No. No handles, no loose blades, no razor saws, no scribers. Most people already own a handle and the blade profile they prefer is a personal thing, so it is a poor guess for us to make — and a catalogue of loose honed blades is a different kind of shop from this one. The sprue nippers are here because a nipper is a plier that shears: it has a ground bevel closing on an anvil rather than an edge you replace, and it is the tool that removes a sanding step from every part in a box.
- Do you sell paints, glues or kits?
- No. This is a tool counter. No paints, no thinners, no adhesives, no primers, and no model kits. Liquids in small bottles carry shipping restrictions a hand-tool catalog does not, and they are the highest-return line in the trade because colour never matches a screen. Tools only.
- Are there reviews?
- Not yet, and we would rather say so than invent them. This is a new shop. When there are real reviews from real customers they will appear here, attributed. In the meantime the product pages carry the full specification, which is more useful than a star rating anyway.
Payment
- What will appear on my card statement?
- AXON MODEL. If you do not recognize a charge, please email or call us before disputing it with your bank — we can identify an order from the amount and the last four digits of the card in a few minutes, which is far faster than a dispute.
- What currency am I charged in?
- All prices are shown and charged in US Dollars (USD). If your card is issued outside the United States your bank may add its own conversion fee, which we do not see and do not receive.
- Is my card safe on this site?
- The card fields at checkout are hosted by our PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment provider and displayed inside the page, so what you type goes directly to them and never touches our servers. We receive a token, the last four digits, the brand and the issuing country — that is all the card information that exists on our side. The payment security page explains it in full.
- Why was I asked to verify the payment with my bank?
- That is 3-D Secure, an additional check run by your bank rather than by us. It is more likely on higher-value orders and on a card being used at a new shop. Complete the step in the window that opens — closing it leaves the order unpaid.
- Is there a subscription or a recurring charge?
- No. There is no subscription, no membership, no auto-renewal and no recurring charge of any kind on this site. Every order is a single purchase, charged once.
Shipping
- What does shipping cost and how long does it take?
- Standard shipping is a flat $6.00, free over $75, delivering in 3-6 business days from dispatch. Express is a flat $18.00 and delivers in 2 business days. We pack once a day on business days.
- Where do you ship?
- Within the United States only, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. We can ship to a PO box for everything except the fluids, which travel by a ground service that will not deliver to one. We do not ship internationally at this time.
- How is everything packed?
- Nippers ship with a moulded guard over the jaw, because an unprotected cutting bevel finds the inside of the carton. Tweezers ship points-down in a moulded insert. Files ship separated so their teeth cannot touch. Mats ship flat between two boards and are never rolled. The result is a bigger carton than the contents strictly need — that is deliberate, and it is cheaper than a replacement for both of us. Packing materials are paper-based and recyclable.
- My tracking has not updated.
- If there has been no movement for three business days, email us with your order number and we will open a trace with the carrier. If a parcel is confirmed lost we replace or refund the order at our cost — we do not ask you to claim against the carrier yourself.
After it arrives
- Something arrived damaged.
- Send a photograph to us within 14 days of delivery with your order number, and keep the packaging until we reply. We replace the item or refund it in full including shipping — you choose which. You will not be asked to send a damaged item back.
- Can I return something I simply do not want?
- Yes, within 30 days of delivery, for any reason or none, as long as it is unused and in its original packaging. Email us and we will send a prepaid label. There is no restocking fee and nothing to arrange yourself. A file drawn across a part, a used sanding stick or film sheet, a nipper that has cut, or a mat that has been cut on counts as used and cannot be returned.
- My part wore out. Is that a fault?
- If it reached the range published on its page, no — that is a consumable being consumed, and the range and the wear check are both stated before you buy. If it failed well short of the range, that is a defect and we replace it. Tell us roughly what you cut with it and we will take your word for it.
- How long does a refund take?
- We process it within 5 business days of a return reaching us, or 2 business days of agreeing a damage claim. Card networks then take a further 3 to 10 days to post it to your statement, which is outside our control and varies by issuer. Refunds always go back to the card that paid.