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So a buddy of mine picked one up and I'm assembling/painting it for him. The only real issue I'm scratching my head at is the wings. I'd really like to paint them separate from the rest of the model, simply based on how much real estate they cover and I'd like to magnetize them.

The problem with this is the bad fit between them and the body. More than just simply warping, I'm going to have to greenstuff and sculpt most of the joint. This obviously puts a damper on painting and attaching the wings after the body is done.

Is there a way to sculpt the wing joint temporarily, then be able to cleanly remove them later on? I was thinking about using a light coat of petroleum jelly on the body to keep the green stuff from sticking to it, but I don't know if it would work in the first place, or how easy it would be to work with as I sculpted the joint.

Any experience/advice?

I don't have experience with a bloodthirster and don't know how the wings slot into the body. If the connection area is not too deep or too uneven you might get away with it without even useing some sort of divider like the jelly. Just gentle force can remove the GS. And even if it stays on the model you can pry it away and reglue it to the wing later.

But you have to keep one additional problem in mind. If the wing doesn't stay in place securely it might shift and move during sculpting and cureing. This might result in an unwanted position. You have to find a way to attach the part secure enough so that the GS can cure. Apply a tiny bit of superglue, a removeable pinning or some supports to rest the parts opon so that they can't move.

I have done something similar with useing superglue but only on smaller models with a lot less surface involved (Removeable arms on some sculpted multipart model that i wanted to cast in resin later.). So be carefull as all of that might not be appliable to the FW bloodthirster.

Never tried that particular model...
But suggest fixing the wings with pins,moderatly long ones. probably 2 pins in each wing if theres room, to stop it twisting.
Dont glue the pins into the body, just the wing.
Once the piece will sit still with the pins, use greestuff on the wing pieces to make the fit nice and flush, with some lubricant on the body piece.. petroleum jelly seems sensible.
I would hope that this gives you wings with a much nicer fit, with pins to slot onto the main body when you want to, If space allows, magnet between the pins would help it not to slip off during play a little.

Most of the professionals I have seen use two pins in each wing. They are too heavy for magnets from what I hear. One looked into it quite a bit since I plan to buy one soon

I agree with the pinning. It just seems more secure. Maybe two pins plus a magnet depending on fit. I'll be pinning other joints anyway, just due to the size and weight of the model, so that's not a big deal. Sounds like petroleum jelly on the body might be the way to go. I think I'll do a test on one of the pour blocks that I remove from the kit.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I would glue and pin them in place, then green stuff it to look nice, then take a fine saw and cut further up?

You can do all the stuff you want. You can sculpt the joints before you primer. Let them dry and then they should separate from the body cleanly. That is if they stay up there. If not, lay them down to where the green stuff isn't touching any surface and you're good to go.

I'd magnetize and pin. I've got some .5" x .385" rare earth magnets that I'm going to use on my Titan. They have ~7 pound of pull force each, iirc. You'd have to figure out how much real estate you have to work with, and how deep you can set magnets into his back and wings. Thicker magnets have more force. So you could do thick ones in his black, and thinner ones of the same diameter in his wings. Then I'd put at least one pin in his wings that slide into his back. That'll help keep the wing oriented the same way.