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I't been a long while since I'd purchased any metal GW figures, but recent events pointed out the fact that I really didn't have any characters that were less than 15 years old in my armies. So I purchased a couple of Space Marine specials (Pedro and Tellion) and sat down to clean them up for painting. After filing, I tried to glue the bits together with reg'ler old cyannoacetate (sp?). No luck. The glue would not stick, or set. I even clamped them together & left over night and I might as well have used water on them as anything... next morning they just fell apart.

Now the glue works... get it on anything else and it just sticks like crazy... so there's something about the figs that is super-glue proof. I don't remember every having to wash the metal figures before to get them to stick together... but as I said it's been a long time since I've purchased new metal. I finally gave up and used green stuff to glue all the bits together and glue them to the base (super glue didn't work for that either). Any advice?

BTW, the Tellion figure was a very poor casting, took major snipping, filing & grinding to remove the large, extra blobs of metal from the body of the figure, doing significant damage in the process (though I did my best). Someone at GW-QC must have been asleep at the switch when this fig was produced...

call them and tell them about the miscasting and they should send you another. as for the super glue, i never put together metal minis without pinning every joint. ive read posts where they recommend washing them first but i never have, pinning usually takes care of it for me.

Get a refund / replacement on the model.

As for gluing, for heavy metal bits, pinning or an epoxy glue are the only options.

For smaller parts, file/sand them a bit to give the glue something more to adhere to, dont use too much glue, and maybe exhale breath on it to help set faster (moisture increases the reaction speed, at a cost of strength).

Different superglues are different quality. The games workshop one I find awful for whatever reason. I've had some success with revel, but my absolute best superglue is UHU which comes in a self cleaning bottle so the lid never gets glued shut (a luxury!)

Try wahing your models in warm water, the mold release agent could still be on your models. Yes even on metal, not just resin!

On a side not you can also "hot spot" the glue. put a thin dot of super glue on both sides of the model and then a smaller dot of PVA glue in the center and hold it together. You will have a strong bond if done correctly. The PVA/superglue will hold almost immediately and the surrounding super glue will harden to a nice bond over the next few hours. This works best with the actual GW brands for some reason.

Works worst with Zap-A-Gap. Haven't tried it with the new super glue I have seen floating around the game stores at 5 bucks a bottle.

I do recommend pinning your models if you can. But this is my second option.

All excellent suggestions... thank you! I used to pin all my models but I've gotten lazy with plastic. I'd wondered if there might be some residual mold release left on the fig. I didn't even think about the filing thing (which I used to know to do, or using accelerator on the glue. It's a terrible thing when you get old and the wrinkles in your brain start to outnumber actual functioning brain matter. Better than the alternative I suppose though, eh?

I've never heard of hot spotting... will have to try it.

I use lock tight gel glue it works really well.But as every one else has said pinning your fig will help.

Pinning works, but I use loctite super glue, and it's strong enough that I never have to pin.

I'm with Filth on this one, loctite super glue "gel." Works great for me no matter the model (but I bath them too)

Two words, Toilet Paper.

I heard this trick on the forums and it made building my daemon army possible.

The TP absorbs the glue really well and fills in gaps.

On smaller models and joints, (like sternguard arms and hands) Ill dab a tiny bit of glue on one part then smear a little chunk of greenstuff onto it. Then I dab glue on the other piece and mash them together.

A little later, after the glue has dried but before the greenstuff is fully cured i simply cut away any excess GS hanging out of the join.

If need be, Ill leave it there and fille it or shape it to fill whatever gap was causing the problem in the first place.

Anything as big as say a Ghazkull arm, Id just pin it. Check out the tips section of dakka forums for some nice pointers.

When I got back to my figs last night, I checked them and the green stuff hadn't stuck either... so I peeled off the green stuff, then tried super glue again. This time it worked just fine. There must have been something on the mini preventing the glue from adhering that was taken off by the green stuff.

I'll experiment with all these suggestions... I have a lot of converting to do in rebuilding my marine army, so figuring out a good way to glue all the fiddly bits will be essential.

It's probably down to old superglue.
If it doesn't smell & make your eyes water then throw it away & buy some more.

silverdaemon wrote:call them and tell them about the miscasting and they should send you another. as for the super glue, i never put together metal minis without pinning every joint. ive read posts where they recommend washing them first but i never have, pinning usually takes care of it for me.

EVERYTIME you use metal you should pin. Even if its a plastic/metal combo mini. So Im with silverdaemon on this one for sure. Not only does pinning make the metal parts stick, but it also makes the minis much stronger. If you just super glue a metal mini and drop it, the super glue bonds will snap off and your stuck with a broken mini. BUT if you did it smart and pinned it together, chances are itll just bounce and youll have that nice burning feeling you get when you almost did something bad

I use Zap-A-Gap, rarely have any problems even with metal models. If the glue doesn't seem to be curing, try seperating the pieces and touching your finger into the glue on one piece. Skin tends to start the catalyst going, and when you put them back together the process spreads to the rest of it.

I'm surprised no one has told you to wash the metal minis first.
Fresh metal minis have a bit of the mould release still stuck to them. As soon as you take a new metal fig outof the blister, scrub it under running water with an old toothbrush and a dab of hand soap. Removes all the mould release residue, and allows glue and paint to actually stick to the metal.

This happens to me with resin and some newer GW metal models, I find it's usually the mold break and I simply use mineral spirits or detergent and clean the model first then I have no issues.

I take steel wool to the areas to be glued. The purpose is to rub the mold release off until it's shiny. When it has a chrome like look to it then it's ready for glue.

I also use Loctite and I'll never use any other brand. I put together the GW LOC and didn't pin his wings. Just Loctite glue to hold them on and I could pick him up by the wings and carry him by the wings. Even had him tip over a few times on the table (stupid hills) and never once did his wings break.

Superglue CAN expire and weaken with age. If it doesn't make your eyes water and your throat burn to breathe it in, throw it away.

Well, this was an old bottle that had been open to the air a long time... perhaps you're right.

In summary... clean, pin, new glue. (and a variety of gluing methods to try)

If the glue is good enough pinning should really be minimal.

Also, after taking steel wool to the model take some rubbing alcohol and qtip/cotton ball and wash the newly scoured parts with alcohol. Helps ensure no oils left behind on the surface.

I pin all my metal figures, unless I'm magnetizing, which I do for my Terminator arms.

There is some great stuff on this thread though. I'm glad I check it out. ;-)

I use Gorilla Super glue and never have a issue, the one time i did I washed the mini and was fine. and its cheap also!

children of filth wrote:Pinning works, but I use loctite super glue, and it's strong enough that I never have to pin.

Im a huge fan of all the Loc-tite glues they are all great.

Super glue/ca glues dont always set well if youre using them in larger gaps- but will bond up fine in tighter joins. So, the more glue you have to use, the less effective it is and slower it will dry. This is why alot of people use the crutch of an accelerator like Insta-set or Zip kicker.

My recommendation is to clean the model with Simple Green or other degreaser. After that, pin the joint. If it's metal, it must be pinned. Then use a TINY amount of superglue. Less is more! Your symptoms are classic of using too much glue.

That's entirely possible. Since I had to re-work the surfaces due to the poor quality of the casting, I did use a fair amount of glue to try to make the connection.

Dugg wrote:There is some great stuff on this thread though. I'm glad I check it out. ;-)

Too true..