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I was wondering i there where any good alternatives to GWs rather expensive black undercoat spray and plastic glue. I know there are many glue brands out there but i want one i can trust! I have found primers and undercoat sprays online, but one i have added postage i may as well pop into my local GW and get theirs which i know does a good job.

Thanks, and sorry if this discussion has appeared a million times before!

I use superglue from the pound shop/home bargain/etc... 10 tubes for £1. Excellent for bonding most items, though you may want to get a better glue for detail gluing.

In terms of primer, I use Plastikote; you can get it from plenty of places like Wilkos or B&Q. About £6 for a large can.

I use supadec grey primer for my primer. Superglue with a metal applicator tends to be pretty easier to work with.

So would you say super glue is better on plastic models than GW plastic glue, or is it just cheaper? I will check out that Plastikote stuff too, cheers!

Superglue is fine on models. I've never used GW glue of any kind, but I've assembled 6-7 armies with pound shop glue without any problem. Not the exact kind that I usually get, but I've had several different brands from poundland/home bargains/etc and they have all been OK.

As I say, get a tube of good glue with a detail nozzle to do the smaller, more fiddly parts. Revell do a really good applicator.

Yep i'd say £1 shop superglue too! as for plastic glue its hard to find the good stuff that dries white..... loads of polycement products dry yellow that ive used

EMA "Plastic Weld" is what I use on plastic kits. It's a solvent glue, so you may have a problem getting it dependant on how old you are/look.

You will also need a reasonable brush for an applicator. Not too large or you'll flood the area and soften any detail, too small and you'll have a hard time getting any glue to the model.

You can get away with using very small amounts, especially if you press the two pieces to be joined together lightly, apply a small drop of glue, then increase the pressure on the join. Start at any locating pins to minimise the chance of slipping, and work your way round the join (If a large one such as joining the two fuselage sections of a Dakkajet). Single applications are enough to join a marine's arm to his body.

This sort of glue can have the advantage of squeezing a small 'bead' of plastic out of the join which acts as a filler, meaning that less filling is required on a model, and the joins just need slight sanding or filing for a good join.

the downside is that it can affect paint and cause it to bubble slightly or run, especially when the paint is not fully cured.

I use Halfords primers & Revel plastic glue

army painter. has colours and matching acrylic pots.

had good results with Halfords, and ModelMates primer.

Swear by Revel for plastic glue, theres a tub you can get with a little needle applicator thing, great for fine work and getting the glue where needed.

As for primers, I've seen nothing finish nicer than the Tamiya sprays, but they're silly expensive (£6ish for 150ml for me) so I've resorted to black / gray / white bumper paint/primer from any car parts shop, like Halfords as mentioned above. £6 will usually get you 2 cans but you'll get about 500ml per can or more. Works well, but I test the paint first on some sprue to check the finish after I got a can from a bad batch.