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hello dakka,

I've spent the afternoon cleaning mold lines off my new assault marine's jump packs and while test-fitting a few of them, I got to wondering - should I fill in the gaps? the two halves of the jump pack fit together fairly well once they're cleaned up (sooo many mold lines!), but they're far from seamless, especially inside the thrusters. is it worth trying to smooth the gaps between the two halves or do you view it as a design aesthetic of the model? if you fill yours, what do you use? green stuff or something else?

in case it matters, I'm aiming for a standard above table-top quality (not there yet, but someday :p)

cheers,

v

I try to do my best !

Just ask Horus what happens when you have a gap in your armor.

yup.

Cleaning off mould lines and filling in gaps and fixing other minor defects is easy to do. While the absence of them won't be noted, the presence of them can ruin an otherwise nicely done mini. Nothing kills the suspension of reality like a mould like or a miscasting glitch gone unfixed.

Absolutely. Every mould line trimmed, every barrel drilled, every imperfection filled. The extra time is worth the end result

ok, then. that's a pretty strong showing for filling in the gaps so the next question is, what should I be using to do it? I've got green stuff, but is that the best 'tool' for the job or should I be looking for something else?

I use a mix of ground plastic (from all the filing of mould lines and bits to get stuff to fit) and liquid poly. The paste works well (but needs good ventilation otherwise you just get woozy as well).

Otherwise, I use Squadron green putty. It's better than GW's liquid green stuff and cheaper - and has been used by modelmakers for decades (also requires a welll ventilated area as it is just as noxious as my other mix and is flammable as well).

Depending on the size of the gap, and the nature of the fitting, yes and no. Gaps between obviously mechanical parts can be left slightly akimbo if it looks like it should make sense. Obviously anything organic is a huge no-no for gaps.

Green-stuff works for anything that's bigger than a millimeter or so in width/depth, while I'd use the Liquid version for anything smaller than that. If it's the underside of a model however, especially if it's going to be mostly black, I just ignore it.

If you are trying to eliminate gaps on Space Marine armour, it's best to do your best to get the end result to look flat and smooth (like the armour), else you start getting an odd, Obliterator-esque look to your models. I use colour shapers and vaseline to greenstuff my models, but there's a lot of schools of thought on how to do it. However, considering that these are Space Marines, you might want to think about using Brown stuff instead, which holds straight lines better. At this size, it shouldn't matter though.

I know the the gaps you mean really well! I just use humbrol model filler. Once it dries I even it out with my surgical knife.

would liquid green stuff work for this?

probably, but I'd just go with the regular kind.

Liquid GS is only good for filling in gaps. Regular GS can also fill in those gaps, but also allows you to do conversion and scratchbuilding work. The earlier you learn to work with GS, the better...

well, that's easy enough then since I've already got that

I'm assuming I just mix it up, roll it out really thin, hack of strips and then press them into the gaps with a modeling tool or some such, then scrape it down with a knife some hours later to smooth it out.

any tips or tricks I should know?

GS cures a bit on the rubbery side of firm and doesn't take to scraping all that well (although it can be cut with relative ease). I suggest you do your shaping and smoothing before it cures - GS doesn't sand all that well, either, although some of the other, harder putties do.

As for me, I'm with LadyCassandra - I fill gaps, for the most part, but won't bother with those that blend into the model's design, or minor ones that are difficult to reach and won't likely be seen (even on the underside, I'll usually tackle easy jobs, since I'm already at it).

I use GS or CA glue+baking soda (for quicker jobs, where filing is practical) for the big jobs and Vallejo's liquid plastic putty for minor seam lines and blends.

I voted no. You're talking about plastic parts in your OP.

If you're using plastic glue correctly, there's no gaps to fill; there's ridges to file down.