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I apologise if this is the wrong forum but it didn't really fit into "painting and modelling" so here goes
Having had half my army and my tank collapse recently, it's obvious that the glue on the Games Workshop sticker on my glue is more potent than the glue itself.
I've heard talk of some cement stuff but I'm not sure what that's about. How do I know if a glue is suitable for use with plastic models? Is there such a thing as "plastic glue"?
General help appreciated.

Yes - what you're thinking about is a glue called plastic cement. It works on plastic models by melting the plastic a ltitle bit before it bonds, effectively creating a near-permanent bond. It's an extremely useful thing to have, since even normal super glue (if you can even call GW stuff "glue" ) will eventually weaken and break. Plus, it doesn't create a permanent bond for a good long while, so if you screw up and put an arm in the wrong position, or decide that you want a different arm there, you can still pull the arm off without needing to break the bond. And if you're a particularly messy modeler, this stuff won't stick to flesh or anything other than plastic, so no worries if you spill it.

The brand I use is Testors liquid cement for plastic models. I highly recommend it if you deal with a lot of plastic models.

Plastic glue is bad and you should feel bad.

Joking aside, once you use plastic glue on a model, a couple things happen.

Value drops dramatically.
Repainting becomes a chore.
Rearming becomes impossible or extremely difficult without damaging the model.

In short, plastic glue is simply not worth it unless you're doing a show piece. Even metal figures hold together fine with regular super glue and the tiniest bit of pinning.

Also, dealing with plastic glue on old models, whether you're repainting them or buying used models, is an enormous pain in the ass.

I also use the testers glue, works great for me.


However as stated it does melt the two pices together, so its a pain to get them apart at a later date.

Necroshea wrote:Joking aside, once you use plastic glue on a model, a couple things happen.

Value drops dramatically.
Repainting becomes a chore.
Rearming becomes impossible or extremely difficult without damaging the model.

I don't think I have ever seen an eBay auction that specified what type of glue had been used on the models.
Repainting a model assembled with plastic glue is no different to repainting a single piece model.
Removing a piece that has been attached with plastic glue is no harder than cutting through plastic.

But on the plus side, your models arms don't fall off at random moments throughout the game because they've been knocked at some point in the past, or because the superglue has degraded and become brittle.

If you're going to get a plastic glue, be sure to get Revell Contacta, it's the best stuff out there imo. DO NOT buy GW plastic glue, it's disgusting gunk with an awkward fat nozzle and will leave awful strings everywhere unless you're really careful (and sometimes even if you are)

I use supergule for almost everything. The only time I use model cement is when I'm putting something together that is large and heavy and will likely break if I don't permanently bond it. That doesn't happen often.

I have models that I superglued over 15 years ago that are still going strong, even after being knocked about on the table, dropped, etc. It's more than enough in most cases, plus if you use gel it's way quicker to dry, and if you make a mistake *snap* you can remove the piece with a bit of effort and re-glue it. You can't do that with model cement.

It's entirely up to you. Superglue bonds are easier to disassemble later, but they're also....

...easier to disassemble and thus fall apart more easily.

If you don't plan to strip and reassemble your figs, then plastic glue will give you a better join. Plastic glues are solvents that actually fuse the two parts into one.

There are many kinds of plastic glue. I recommend staying away from sticky gel-ish plastic glues. Runny liquid glues with a brush applicator make it extremely easy to apply exactly how much you want (to both pieces) where you want it and since they are almost entirely solvent, they bond at a good rate.

They do tend to be quite smelly though. Plastruct "Plastic Weld" is my favorite, though there are many other suitable brands.

You want to get anything Revel or Humbrol, I got myself a 25g pot of Revel Contacta professional with the metal application tube for about 3 quid from a generic hobby store


LazzurusMan

IF you use plastic glue, and are having problems "disassembling" a model...then you are using WAAAAAAAAAAY to much glue.

Because the glue blonds or welds the two surface's you actually need less to get a proper weld. Far to often the opinion of a product is based on the results obtained from improper use. When I work with plastic, it is all about some kind of MEK based product, or similar chemical make up.

Of course this stuff stinks and is toxic to inhale, but then again you should only be using small amounts and have a window or fan nearby, do that and you will be fine.

Ashton