Someone asked on the Association of Ortho Labs Facebook group what are alternatives to plaster stone nippers. I shot a quick video of what I use:
I use a set of hand held hedge trimmers.
They are Fiskars Puner Shears. They work a little differently than nippers. They "shave" the model more than "nip" the plaster. Works good on about 90% of the models, depending on how they are poured up. They will save you in a "pinch" (those that have used Plaster nippers before just giggled at my joke) 
