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In 40k I loathed the metal figures because they are always falling apart with just super glue. Now I know I will have to learn to do it the right way, since I will be on metal overload. With these figures what size of pinning material do you use, and what size bit? I just borrowed a dremel so that I can attempt to do it up right.

I personally use a 1mm drill bit with pinning wire. I find that offers plenty of support to the join you are pinning. As for the technique though, PP miniatures may require something a little different than what I'm used to.

I use .85mm for everything but my large Warjacks and 1.25mm for my Large Warjacks.


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I think you'd actually be better off useing a pin vise then a dremmel to drill your hole, you dont have to go very deep, usually less then 1/4 of an inch is fine.

For size I use whatever looks good, I usually use those big paper clips to pin stuff(sorry don't know what size).
When I am ready to pin I start with a sharp exacto blade to mark the spot, I then use a pin vice to start the hole and move to a variable speed drill to finish. Pretty easy and faster than just doing it with a pin vise. I would also advise against a dremmel, I find even at their slowest speeds they are spinning way to fast to have much control.

I use small gauge chicken wire that my wife bought in a huge roll from garden ridge about 5 years ago.

I have used a pin vise as well as a cordless variable speed black and decker drill. The cordless drill works pretty well as long as you have a very light finger on the trigger.

Nightsbane wrote:In 40k I loathed the metal figures because they are always falling apart with just super glue. Now I know I will have to learn to do it the right way, since I will be on metal overload. With these figures what size of pinning material do you use, and what size bit? I just borrowed a dremel so that I can attempt to do it up right.

People are shocked and amazed to find out that none of my Skorne figures use a single pin... If you use Green Stuff properly, you'll be amazed at how well things stay intact. Think the only things that have "broken off" for me, are the darn flag spikes on the Centrati and on occasional rider coming off the Ferox when I pull to hard on rider to remove them from my stoage toolbox and magnetized bases.

Green stuff can be used as a glue/adhesive/reinforcement?

Retrias wrote:Green stuff can be used as a glue/adhesive/reinforcement?

That's my primary use for green stuff. I never really used the stuff until I started my Hordes Skorne army. The early (Titan Gladiator) sculpts were notorious for having huge gaps and spaces between the two torso pieces, hence I had to use green stuff as a gap filler. I noticed how durable my models have become, so as a standard practice, I GS all my pewter miniatures now. Thinking back, it makes a lot of sense, as the GS ensures a solid contact point, so you do not have air bubbles between the bonding points, which can happens when you accidentally trim off a little too much flash from the model (where the ball socket is no longer perfectly sphere).

Be warned though, I have destroyed two (1 infantry & 1 light warbeast) models from green stuff mishaps, but that was ages ago. I found the key is to always use a lot less than you think you need.

I have found that using greenstuff with superglue creates a very strong bond.

I have had greenstuff only come apart.

I think it is a matter of the different materials contracting due to temperature.
Living in the midwest we get some brutal temp swings that do not help with this.

Less is more, it's universally known to those that spend time with it

I generally have a blob monster where extra greenstuff goes....I'm almost done, which indicates I'm not 'getting' it.

I also quit pinning my Warmachine models long ago. The keys are:

1) Wash the models with a little soapy water. I just hit them really quick with a toothbrush in some warm water. When I'm assembling, I will some times use a dremel with a polishing wheel to clean a joint, but I haven't done that in a long time either.

2)Score the joint a bit with an exacto. Roughing up the surface seems to help hold the joint together.

3) use a small dot of green stuff (~1/4 the size of a pea). I put glue in the joint, put the GS in the glue, put a dot of glue over the GS, and then press. Not only does it seem to make the join very solid, but it also holds the arm / leg / whatever in place while the glue dries.

4) I'm not sure if this is really helping, but I switched to Gorilla Glue Super Glue. It seems to be much less brittle and my models are just staying solid, but I'm not sure if thats the glue or something else.

Eh? what do you suggest on my behemoth then?

everyone have seen the sculpt right?, i still hold a grudge against those who decide how it is posed

that and one of cryx spyder jack

For the love of all that is holy, pin them!

Green stuff may work for a while, but it's a very light chemical bond, not a physical bond like pinning.

I use a normal pin vice and paperclips. I also will generally glue big joints with JB Kwik epoxy.

I must have a picture tutorial for your greenstuff bonding technique, Salisar!
No seriously, please do it and put it in P&M Tutorials, it would be a great help to a lot of people I'm sure. (if you do, pm me when it's up!)

Ah, i agree with this , i must see this bonding technique
every kind of techniques help when doing hard models, right?

GW Pinning Vise and standard paper clips. You need a metal that is pretty solid for this, but you really don't need much length of pin. That being said, quality of glue really matters also. There seems to be a lot of variation between bottles, so sometimes it is just a crapshoot. Use just enough superglue to make a bond, a common mistake that actually creates weakness in joints is too much superglue.

I dropped Death Jack from a 1 foot height and he survived, which is a testament in and of itself.

MasterDRD wrote:I must have a picture tutorial for your greenstuff bonding technique, Salisar!
No seriously, please do it and put it in P&M Tutorials, it would be a great help to a lot of people I'm sure. (if you do, pm me when it's up!)

Sure! I'll need some time to work on it, but I'll give it a shot... Let me take a look at my Skorne models when I get home. Since the introduction of WM MK2, I haven't had too many opportunities to play WM/H, since no one wanted to play MK1, and I refused to used may paid for models to beta test... So, who knows... According to Todosi, they could be laying around in pieces by now. (Boy that would suck...)

Since they finally released the Skorne book, I ordered some new models. I will take some pictures and put together a guide when I start assembling. As a few people already mentioned, it's just super glue and GS. I wish it is some super fancy patent pending technique... Anyways, I'll let you guys know when it's done.

Well if it makes the models as sturdy as you say, it can't hurt to try right? Besides, unless I've got a totally wrong mental image of the process, I see no reason why you couldn't also put a pin in there before you do it.

MasterDRD wrote:Well if it makes the models as sturdy as you say, it can't hurt to try right? Besides, unless I've got a totally wrong mental image of the process, I see no reason why you couldn't also put a pin in there before you do it.

Oh please don't get me wrong. My models are not going to survive a 5-story drop or a fall from the table to the concrete floor. Only thing I can say is that my models no longer spontaneously disintegrate under its own weight. Which I cannot say the same for my pewter WH$40K figures...

I don't know how many times I move/charge with my Greater Daemon and a wing falls off. The tip of my CSM's sword is poking in the foam, and I accidentally rip his entire arm off while taking him out of the case... Crap like that doesn't happen anymore, but I'm not going to start using my GS'ed Titan Gladiator as a golf ball anytime soon.

Well of course not.

Good luck getting a pin into either arm of Lynch.

Another trick I've used is putting a bit of kleenex or toilet paper on the part to be glued together. I did that putting Beast, Rowdy, and the wardog together to help get a better bond.

Bought the formula pin vice kit, we'll see how it goes, never pinned before.

Todosi wrote:
I use a normal pin vice and paperclips.

I agree,i have various sized paper clips stored in a draw at home.

Ive never had a problem with even the largest models coming apart with just superglue. Only time anything has come off is from a solid impact or a good drop. Now, I do use gel superglue not liquid, and I tend to use zip kicker as well.

Sometimes on larger joints I scribe a cross hatched pattern into both sides of the joint to give the glue additional surface area and texture to grip.