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So, I am very new to painting/modeling, though that is what I'm interested in the most. I recently bought a set of Space Marines (I believe it's a Devestator squad, they have nothing but heavy weapons, and this powerfist)

The powerfist is going to be the only melee weapon of this particular chapter (Aptly named "Venom Fists")

But how do I get better with that plastic glue? It seems to get EVERYWHERE, and painting the eyes is HARD... How should I go about that?

Oh, and yes, this is my first headswap, I had "The Battle For Macragge" laying around, and found this commander head, and decided to saw it off, and use it on this marine that I had already glued the powerfist to.

Any tips are greatly appreciated, criticisms are as well, but remember, this was posted so I could get some advice :3

Thanks in advance, folks!

Yikes! That glue really DID get EVERYWHERE!!! I don't know what kinda tip/applicator that glue has since I pretty much only use zap-a-gap super glue, but my suggestion would be to find a terribly gakky paint brush... like a $1 affair and use that to paint the glue on... because... damn that's a lot of glue. Anyway, for my next suggestion I'd say A.) you should take the time to shave down those mold lines. They are really obvious on the gun and some other spots, and just taking a couple minutes to shave them down will massively improve the overall look of the model.

And finally, I suggest priming your models before attempting to paint them. You can buy GW primer, but really I've found I have the best luck with Krylon flat matte spray that I can buy for about $2/can at wal-mart. After you've assembled them and are ready to paint, you should spray your mini down with a thin coat of spray paint (my suggestion is black). You want to be spraying from about a foot away, in a well ventilated area, and you don't want to start spraying on the mini. Start spraying on the side and make a couple quick passes over the mini, so you don't get a bunch of paint pooling in the cracks and details.

What this will do is make the paint stick a lot easier to the mini. I notice that a lot of areas like the kneed pad, the paint has chipped or cracked off exposing the bare plastic. This will make it hapen less often, and if you use black primer, then you can leave the cracks between the armor the color of the primer and it will give a nice easy shading effect. Same thing goes for the joints in the flexible armor, but I usually paint over those areas with black anyway to give the areas a nice sheen.

I hope this helped, and if you have any other questions, wether it be about things I've mentioned, or just general painting/converting tips, feel free to send me a PM or something.

Another thing I should mention, if you are using games workshop's plastic glue, then the stuff you are using isn't actually glue at all. It's a chemical that literally melts your plastic together. Because of this you want to be especially careful to only use a tiny bit of glue, and then just hold the pieces together for maybe 30 seconds to let them bond together. You don't want to get any of the glue on the actual visible surfaces of your models becuase it will melt and deform the plastic. So again, use VERY limited quantities and be increadibly careful. That stuff can ruin your nice expensive models if not handled carefully. If you feth up during painting, there are always ways to strip the paint or cover it up, but if you melt your models, there isn't much you can do to recover them without some high skill in green stuff sculpting/plasticard use.

CENArtDamage wrote:Yikes! That glue really DID get EVERYWHERE!!! I don't know what kinda tip/applicator that glue has since I pretty much only use zap-a-gap super glue, but my suggestion would be to find a terribly gakky paint brush... like a $1 affair and use that to paint the glue on... because... damn that's a lot of glue. Anyway, for my next suggestion I'd say A.) you should take the time to shave down those mold lines. They are really obvious on the gun and some other spots, and just taking a couple minutes to shave them down will massively improve the overall look of the model.

And finally, I suggest priming your models before attempting to paint them. You can buy GW primer, but really I've found I have the best luck with Krylon flat matte spray that I can buy for about $2/can at wal-mart. After you've assembled them and are ready to paint, you should spray your mini down with a thin coat of spray paint (my suggestion is black). You want to be spraying from about a foot away, in a well ventilated area, and you don't want to start spraying on the mini. Start spraying on the side and make a couple quick passes over the mini, so you don't get a bunch of paint pooling in the cracks and details.

What this will do is make the paint stick a lot easier to the mini. I notice that a lot of areas like the kneed pad, the paint has chipped or cracked off exposing the bare plastic. This will make it hapen less often, and if you use black primer, then you can leave the cracks between the armor the color of the primer and it will give a nice easy shading effect. Same thing goes for the joints in the flexible armor, but I usually paint over those areas with black anyway to give the areas a nice sheen.

I hope this helped, and if you have any other questions, wether it be about things I've mentioned, or just general painting/converting tips, feel free to send me a PM or something.

It definitely did, and to answer your question, the glue applicator I'm using... *Drumroll*



Is there a better sort of plastic glue I can use?
Oh, and what is it's technical name?

And thank you for the primer advice, the first thing I ever painted were Necrons, and they looked awesome. My mother (who paints ceramics and sells them) told me to prime them, and I did. (Don't have them anymore, moved three times since, and packing boxes don't do justice to loose models *Painful tsk*) I should have remembered her advice. *Chuckle*

CENArtDamage wrote:Another thing I should mention, if you are using games workshop's plastic glue, then the stuff you are using isn't actually glue at all. It's a chemical that literally melts your plastic together. Because of this you want to be especially careful to only use a tiny bit of glue, and then just hold the pieces together for maybe 30 seconds to let them bond together. You don't want to get any of the glue on the actual visible surfaces of your models becuase it will melt and deform the plastic. So again, use VERY limited quantities and be increadibly careful. That stuff can ruin your nice expensive models if not handled carefully. If you feth up during painting, there are always ways to strip the paint or cover it up, but if you melt your models, there isn't much you can do to recover them without some high skill in green stuff sculpting/plasticard use.

You beat me to it. I am using Games Workshop plastic glue... I suppose I'll stop.

I have some PVA glue, but I know that's for wood, and won't work.

Will something like Rubber cement work? I'm such a noob, I'm sorry if these questions are stupid. XD

Use the Zap a Gap glue. It is the best. It won't warp the model. They also sell an accelerant if you are impatient, but I'd get good with the Zap before going to the accelerant.

Best advise I can give you is to take your time and work clean before using the glue. Shave all your mold lines off either before or after you glue. If you do it before make sure the model is free of all debris.

Well I would suggestion either using the plastic glue that you already have, or to follow suite and use zap-a-gap super glue PVA glue won't really cut it.

The plastic glue is great, but as Ben Parker once said "with great power comes great responsibility". Now he wasn't talking about the GW plastic glue, but that gem of wisdom applies well here. It's great stuff, and it will hold your plastics together amazingly, but you just need to be extra cautious when handling it.

Or if you go the zap-a-gap route, make sure to watch out for imposters or others of their various products. You want fast curing gap-filling super glue.

CENArtDamage wrote:Well I would suggestion either using the plastic glue that you already have, or to follow suite and use zap-a-gap super glue PVA glue won't really cut it.

The plastic glue is great, but as Ben Parker once said "with great power comes great responsibility". Now he wasn't talking about the GW plastic glue, but that gem of wisdom applies well here. It's great stuff, and it will hold your plastics together amazingly, but you just need to be extra cautious when handling it.

Or if you go the zap-a-gap route, make sure to watch out for imposters or others of their various products. You want fast curing gap-filling super glue.

Well, I might get used to the GW plastic glue.

Can I use a brush to put it on? And if so, how do I wash a brush that has glue in it? (Or do I just have to buy a crapload of cheap ones and use one for each time I paint?)

"You want fast curing gap-filling super glue."

I'll second that, but I don't bother with the Zap-A-Gap brand since cyanoacrylate is cyanoacrylate. I use a generic superglue gel from the dollar store that fills gaps and forms a strong bond in a second or two.

Model glue or plastic glue is great for making incredibly strong welds, but strings up easily and leaves unsightly marks on visible surfaces if you're not careful. Testors sells the stuff in a tube or bottle and you can get precision nozzles to make gluing your marines and their fiddily bits gads easier and cleaner.

Gavin Thorne wrote:"You want fast curing gap-filling super glue."

I'll second that, but I don't bother with the Zap-A-Gap brand since cyanoacrylate is cyanoacrylate. I use a generic superglue gel from the dollar store that fills gaps and forms a strong bond in a second or two.

Model glue or plastic glue is great for making incredibly strong welds, but strings up easily and leaves unsightly marks on visible surfaces if you're not careful. Testors sells the stuff in a tube or bottle and you can get precision nozzles to make gluing your marines and their fiddily bits gads easier and cleaner.

Alright, I'll keep that in mind...Thanks a ton! I'll try out both, and see which works best. Can I get this stuff in Hobby Lobby? (It's the Hobby Store equivilent of Walmart, if you don't have them where you are, they have limited selections on modeling stuff, but for tools I can always find what I need.)

Yes.

I use this which seems to work well

ChaosDave wrote:I use this which seems to work well

I know they have that at Hobby Lobby, I'll be sure to get some of that as well.

Hi - from model stores (where you can buy train kits etc) you can get great plastic glue - cheap and comes with a brush in the lid. You do not want ANY pooling of plastic glue - paint it onto the area that will join - on both sides and wait for 10 seconds or so for it to start to melt the plastic - then press the two parts together firmly.

In regards to the eyes, try resting with the model in one hand supported by the table/desk and prop the other forearm on there too to try and brace yourself from moving. Don't put much paint on the brush - just a dab on the end, and brush off a little so it isn't a little ball of paint (I use my thumb nail as a mini-palette). You can always go back and add more, but it doesn't look so good if you put too much on.

Also, having the paint slightly thinned will give you more control - so that just the tip of the brush is doing your work for you rather than having to press it in.

Make sure you have a brush with a decent tip - size 0 or smaller.

Cheers

Or if you get model glue Testors in the orange tube put some on a piece of cardboard. Get a tooth pic to pick some glue up and apply it with the tooth pic not out of the tube.

YUP the orange testors is what I use. And you BARELY have to use any of it to bond. I put just enough on the part Im putting together to make the surface shiny. Then stick and blow on the joint for about 5 secs. Presto its held together enough to hold until it dries. You really need to go easy on that stuff. Get a paper towel and wipe off the tube if it gets to much glue on it.

As for painting eyes. Paint the eyes FIRST! THEN pant the rest of the head. That way you can get in as close as you can to make the eyes looks better

The problem is you are using WAY too much glue. You only need a small drop right in the middle of the joint. When you press it together it will spread out and bond the entire joint.

You want to use a Cyanoacrylate glue because it does in a sense weld the parts together. I wish you had a video of how you did that to a model, I just don't understand.

"You want to use a Cyanoacrylate glue because it does in a sense weld the parts together"

Not exactly... CA is an actual glue, which means that it leaves a binder connecting two surfaces. A weld actually fuses the two surfaces into one, making a stronger bond. Of course, plastic glue can only bond plastic to plastic and is useless for metal models or bits where CA or epoxy would work considerably better.

http://www.micromark.com/PLASTIC-MODEL-CEMENT-1-FL-OZ,7922.html

This is the best stuff I have found for polystyrene models, only works polystyrene to polystyrene (polystyrene is the plastic GW models are made from.

You'll have to use cyanoacrylate to bond between metal, greenstuff, and plastic. Loctite is my favorite brand, but there are many others.

Gavin Thorne wrote:"You want to use a Cyanoacrylate glue because it does in a sense weld the parts together"

Not exactly... CA is an actual glue, which means that it leaves a binder connecting two surfaces. A weld actually fuses the two surfaces into one, making a stronger bond. Of course, plastic glue can only bond plastic to plastic and is useless for metal models or bits where CA or epoxy would work considerably better.

Uh, that's what CA glue does, it fuses the two surfaces into one.

asmith wrote:http://www.micromark.com/PLASTIC-MODEL-CEMENT-1-FL-OZ,7922.html

This is the best stuff I have found for polystyrene models, only works polystyrene to polystyrene (polystyrene is the plastic GW models are made from.

You'll have to use cyanoacrylate to bond between metal, greenstuff, and plastic. Loctite is my favorite brand, but there are many others.

I like the applicator for that glue, but the tube tends to clog and I don't feel it holds as well. And you can't use CA glue to bond between metal and plastic. Loctite works great though, that is what I use on resin pieces.

jabbakahut wrote:You want to use a Cyanoacrylate glue because it does in a sense weld the parts together. I wish you had a video of how you did that to a model, I just don't understand.

I think what happened, was that I just am not so good at using subtle techniques, I squeeze too hard, and too much glue comes out, I just have to get used to it.

KingCracker wrote:YUP the orange testors is what I use. And you BARELY have to use any of it to bond. I put just enough on the part Im putting together to make the surface shiny. Then stick and blow on the joint for about 5 secs. Presto its held together enough to hold until it dries. You really need to go easy on that stuff. Get a paper towel and wipe off the tube if it gets to much glue on it.

As for painting eyes. Paint the eyes FIRST! THEN pant the rest of the head. That way you can get in as close as you can to make the eyes looks better

I see, I tried that, but I ended up painting over the eyes, the problem is that it's so small, and even with my reading glasses on, I can't see very well. I suppose I should invest in a magnifier?

@jabbakahut I think you better check your definition of what cyanoacrylate is. Cyanoacrylate is the same as superglue/loctite etc. It does not fuse the surfaces together it hardens quickly.

BTW I have never had a tube on that brandmodel cement clog in over 10 years of use.

jabbakahut wrote:And you can't use CA glue to bond between metal and plastic.

Complete and utter misinformation. Not sure where you got that tidbit from, but I and my hundreds of metal/plastic models say, "You're dead wrong."
I use one glue for every model and one glue alone; GW's glue. Not the stupid "plastic glue," but the standard CA. I have literally thousands of miniatures. All of the ones that are built were built with the same glue (ok, some Zap-A-Gap years ago). More than a decade of gaming and I have YET to have parts fall off without them having been dropped, etc.

The information in the above quote is dead wrong.



Ghidorah

AcervusVlos wrote:

KingCracker wrote:YUP the orange testors is what I use. And you BARELY have to use any of it to bond. I put just enough on the part Im putting together to make the surface shiny. Then stick and blow on the joint for about 5 secs. Presto its held together enough to hold until it dries. You really need to go easy on that stuff. Get a paper towel and wipe off the tube if it gets to much glue on it.

As for painting eyes. Paint the eyes FIRST! THEN pant the rest of the head. That way you can get in as close as you can to make the eyes looks better

I see, I tried that, but I ended up painting over the eyes, the problem is that it's so small, and even with my reading glasses on, I can't see very well. I suppose I should invest in a magnifier?

Sounds like it. Also Ive seen and heard of people using paint pens. Those can come in a REALLY fine tip. I think a magnifier + paint pens = you doing good eyes. Good luck man

asmith wrote:@jabbakahut I think you better check your definition of what cyanoacrylate is. Cyanoacrylate is the same as superglue/loctite etc. It does not fuse the surfaces together it hardens quickly.

BTW I have never had a tube on that brandmodel cement clog in over 10 years of use.

I impressed that you've never had a clog. I went through a couple bottles that came with a star wars model. They give you a little wire to clear out the tube, and maybe using that all the time caused my clogs? I don't know, but the ability to put glue is such specific places was great.

I couldn't find any pictures, but I like those little glue brushes that look like tiny pipe cleaners. It's just a shame you can go through them so quickly.

Ghidorah wrote:

jabbakahut wrote:And you can't use CA glue to bond between metal and plastic.

Complete and utter misinformation. Not sure where you got that tidbit from, but I and my hundreds of metal/plastic models say, "You're dead wrong."
I use one glue for every model and one glue alone; GW's glue. Not the stupid "plastic glue," but the standard CA. I have literally thousands of miniatures. All of the ones that are built were built with the same glue (ok, some Zap-A-Gap years ago). More than a decade of gaming and I have YET to have parts fall off without them having been dropped, etc.

The information in the above quote is dead wrong.

Ghidorah

Wow, I was all ready to throw some knowledge down. But when I went to look it up, I must embarrassingly admit I was completely wrong. Now I'm not even sure when I got that information. I would like to look at my modeling books, but they're all boxed up right now. I thought that super glue was the stuff that will stick pieces to your fingers and that CA glue is just slimy but melts the plastic parts together. I has always used the GW glue on the plastic figs and Loctite on everything else (resin, metal). And I'm shocked that they are the same thing. I've done stress tests with resin pieces to find the best adhesive and have found the Loctite to hold much better than the GW glue.

I never use the wire, in fact I don't really know if I have any of the wire, maybe that does have something to do with it.

No harm, no foul, Jabba!

Ghidorah, asmith: thanks for the support

Don't use superglue for plastic models. Liquid plastic cement is much, much better. GW don't sell it. You can get it from a good modelling shop or online. You 'paint' it on with a brush, and it melts the surface of the plastic. When it dries, the two surfaces are effectively welded together.