Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I have not done any serious modeling in a long time, and historically one thing I found to be a problem when dealing with putting part together, is that the plastic that the model is made from is often softer than the adhesive holding it together so it sands faster than the area along the joint.

I now find myself needing to fill some gaps and close some seams, and the last thing I want is one area to be harder to sand than the rest of the plastic - does this happen with Green Stuff and Liquid Green Stuff?

I typically just use greenstuff and sculpt it to how I want it so I don't need to sand it afterwards. I apply a bit more than I need then just use a rounded rolling type tool to smooth it up against the other surfaces of the model.

I've been unimpressed with liquid green stuff. It tends to shrink as it dries, so you'll fill a gap and it'll look sweet but then you'll come back an hour later and the gap will have returned. Then it also tends to be sloppier, so you can't work it to the shape you actually need, you just need to apply more than you need a clean it up afterwards.

Regular greenstuff takes longer to apply initially because you have to mix it, but in the long run I think it's just as fast and easier to produce a good quality finished product. I'd only use LGS on gaps that are so tiny I'd consider not cleaning them at all.

Applying GS so that sanding is avoided makes sense, but not always applicable.

The main question then changes.

What product is used to fill gaps, that in turn does not become harder than the surrounding plastic?

After all, no matter how hard one tries, occasionally parts just do not fit as well as they should or a mistake has to be fixed.

Try vallejo modeling putty, or in the dropper bottle I think its called "plastic putty".

I have found it to shrink much less than liquid green stuff, and you can thin it a bit with water when putting it on.

How well does it sand/file down?

 Chopper Greg wrote:
Applying GS so that sanding is avoided makes sense, but not always applicable.

The main question then changes.

What product is used to fill gaps, that in turn does not become harder than the surrounding plastic?

After all, no matter how hard one tries, occasionally parts just do not fit as well as they should or a mistake has to be fixed.

Greenstuff takes a couple of hours to cure to the point where it can't be removed, so you have plenty of time to smooth it out before it goes off. If you make a mistake just smooth it out before it cures and do it again, or do it in more gradual steps if it's a huge gap and you can't get a good finish the first time. Greenstuff doesn't like being sanded, but that said I've never had to sand it when filling gaps because you can smooth it out before it cures.

What sort of gap are you filling that you NEED to be able to sand it? I used to use some putty made by Revell that was nice and easy to sand... but it was also significantly harder to apply to miniatures (it was better suited to big long model aircraft joins). It was definitely easier to sand than greenstuff... but I'd still rather use greenstuff for 99% of wargaming type models.

Vallejo's Plastic Putty is, as the bottle attests, 100% acrylic resin, so it sands down as easily as a thick coat of dried paint. When thinned to similar consistencies, I've seen it compared to Milliput slip (or whatever you might call the slurry of putty and water mixed for use as a surfacer). Just be sure to let it cure thoroughly before attempting to sand - first time I tried, I thought it was dry, but I ended up peeling off as many sections as I smoothed. It will never bond to a model as strongly as a solvent-based putty (like Squadron Green/White) or a two-part epoxy putty (like GS/Kneadatite), but it does the trick for filling hairline gaps and minor pits, as well as smoothing joins in sculpting work, etc.

 oadie wrote:
Vallejo's Plastic Putty is, as the bottle attests, 100% acrylic resin, so it sands down as easily as a thick coat of dried paint. When thinned to similar consistencies, I've seen it compared to Milliput slip (or whatever you might call the slurry of putty and water mixed for use as a surfacer). Just be sure to let it cure thoroughly before attempting to sand - first time I tried, I thought it was dry, but I ended up peeling off as many sections as I smoothed. It will never bond to a model as strongly as a solvent-based putty (like Squadron Green/White) or a two-part epoxy putty (like GS/Kneadatite), but it does the trick for filling hairline gaps and minor pits, as well as smoothing joins in sculpting work, etc.

This ^ matches my experiences with it as well.
I use liquid greenstuff for minor scratches or blemishes, but the vallejo has become my #1 for filling small gaps etc.

I have never tried the squadron stuff....may have to give it a try.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

Greenstuff takes a couple of hours to cure to the point where it can't be removed, so you have plenty of time to smooth it out before it goes off. If you make a mistake just smooth it out before it cures and do it again, or do it in more gradual steps if it's a huge gap and you can't get a good finish the first time. Greenstuff doesn't like being sanded, but that said I've never had to sand it when filling gaps because you can smooth it out before it cures.

What sort of gap are you filling that you NEED to be able to sand it? I used to use some putty made by Revell that was nice and easy to sand... but it was also significantly harder to apply to miniatures (it was better suited to big long model aircraft joins). It was definitely easier to sand than greenstuff... but I'd still rather use greenstuff for 99% of wargaming type models.

I'm working on Deathmark torsos right now.

I have several where the shoulders do not quite come together and a couple where the secondary sprue tore off as I was trying to remove them from the main sprue, leaving a pit - and that is not counting the seams that do come together but still have to be hidden.

Needless to say, I'm going to have to fill and shape.