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.

So, I'm making a primarily Canoptyk Necron army. Got a pair of Tomb Stalkers from Forge World as the centerpieces of the army, an really excited to use them.
Cut out all the pieces, cleaned them of flash and such, and glued on the tiny legs. On all 20 segments. And only afterwards noticed I put them in the spot that the larger legs go.
These models are, as Forge World models tend to be, hideously expensive, so buying another pair of them isn't really an option.
I'm trying to figure out what kind of solution I can use to de-bond the glue without melting the resin, if any. Already tried cutting them out, and it's definitely a no-go.
Hoping there is some sort of solution (no pun intended) to this problem.
Please help!

I'm assuming you used super glue?

Freezing will sometimes weaken super glue enough that the legs may just snap right off.

Simple Green also loosens superglue bonds. No idea what effect it has on resin, though.

Unfortunately, I don't know how much finecast differs from actual resin, but I can tell you that I have repeatedly soaked my FC Hive Tyrant in Super Clean (Purple container found in Lowes, Advanced Auto, etc) to remove paint and one of the side effects was the loosening of super glue.

Depending on what type of glue used and if anyone can elaborate on the properties of FW resin, Super Clean may be your answer.

I have read (never tried it myself mind you) on this very forum that Simple Green seems to deal with super glue but won't harm the resin. As always though no matter what you try test a sample piece first.

Iv'e seen super glue remover before but from what iv'e seen it tends to be pretty nasty stuff so might soften or melt the resin

I have 2 Tomb Stalkers. Do not fix it at all, it will look fine anyway. I think I might have done the same thing for the second one by accident, it doesn't really matter.

edit: just checked, and yes, I made the same mistake on the green and black one. It's nearly impossible to see in my opinion.

Thanks for the advice, all.
I'm going to try a couple of those things, and good to know it's not the end of the world if they don't work, though putting it together 'incorrectly' is going to be a last resort.

Acetone will obliterate super glue, but also plastic. Haven't tried it on Forge World resin but there's heaps of offcuts and sprue garbage you can test it on. Even if it doesn't damage the resin, be careful with it - it's quite volatile and the fumes on their own are enough to break up the superglue, so you barely need any of it.

there is also super glue "uncure" see if you can find it at the hobby store.

Also, as mentioned above, test some acetone on the resin spare parts.

beast of luck!

(I have one...love the model!)

By the way, Ouze, great color effect on that first Stalker. Did you do that with an airbrush?

Acetone will tear through resin like a hot knife through butter, but acetone free acetone (I know it sound ridiculous but it is a solution women use to clean their fake nails which are made from some sort of plastic-resin thing) will remove color from resin of any kind without harming it. I guess you can try it safely to see the effect it has on superglue. Also try freezing it. I have tried it many times and it works like a charm. Glue becomes brittle and it brakes right off. Hope I helped and best of luck .

Tried Simple Green, didn't do anything. Tried freezing the test piece and it did make the glue brittle enough to come apart; going to try it on an actual piece, and maybe get some Super Clean to try.

How long you left it in the fridge?

A few hours. Long enough that if it was a drink that drink would be frozen.

 Nightbringer's Chosen wrote:
By the way, Ouze, great color effect on that first Stalker. Did you do that with an airbrush?

Yes, doing simple gradients is pretty much as much skillz as I have with an airbrush currently (which is to say, very little).

Another thing you may want to consider, and this wpuld be fairly time consuming but would probably look reasonably good:

Find a styrene tube that just fits over the ball at the end of the legs. Cut them into rings 2mm tall or so.

Cut off the legs where the leg meets the ball, slip the ring over the ball, pin and glue the leg back into place. Prime and paint.

 Nightbringer's Chosen wrote:
A few hours. Long enough that if it was a drink that drink would be frozen.

You could try and exacerbate the process by leaving it in the freezer and then after its below 0, dropping it in hot or boiling water. That will maximise the temperature differentials involved and might help. Be aware that it might warp the resin a bit, but you can always straighten it again.

As we start to get into these more exotic chemical and thermal attempts to try and rectify the situation, I want to reiterate my opinion that as-is it will be nearly indistinguishable from a correctly assembled stalker, and that the best resolution for this is to simply finish assembling it and then painting it. Upon request I will be happy to deliver more images of the undersides of both of my stalkers to show you how little difference it's really going to make.

 Ouze wrote:
As we start to get into these more exotic chemical and thermal attempts to try and rectify the situation, I want to reiterate my opinion that as-is it will be nearly indistinguishable from a correctly assembled stalker, and that the best resolution for this is to simply finish assembling it and then painting it. Upon request I will be happy to deliver more images of the undersides of both of my stalkers to show you how little difference it's really going to make.

But it’s so much fun to get him to try all the exotic and esoteric fixes! I hear a good way to loosen superglue is to go down to your FLGS, and hop on one foot while quacking like a duck. The combined shocks and sonics will cause the bonds to disintegrate. It’s true, trust me.

(I’ve always heard the freezing thing, but haven’t had to deal with superglue on resin myself)

 Nightbringer's Chosen wrote:
A few hours. Long enough that if it was a drink that drink would be frozen.

Did you try twisting or just pulling? I have managed to separate a DE venom that was literally packed with super glue just by putting in into the fridge and braking the bonds. Also try the acetone free acetone staff. I think it might do the trick.

 Nevelon wrote:

 Ouze wrote:
As we start to get into these more exotic chemical and thermal attempts to try and rectify the situation, I want to reiterate my opinion that as-is it will be nearly indistinguishable from a correctly assembled stalker, and that the best resolution for this is to simply finish assembling it and then painting it. Upon request I will be happy to deliver more images of the undersides of both of my stalkers to show you how little difference it's really going to make.

But it’s so much fun to get him to try all the exotic and esoteric fixes! I hear a good way to loosen superglue is to go down to your FLGS, and hop on one foot while quacking like a duck. The combined shocks and sonics will cause the bonds to disintegrate. It’s true, trust me.

(I’ve always heard the freezing thing, but haven’t had to deal with superglue on resin myself)

Reminds me of a joke...

Mighty shaman, the rats are eating my crops!
- Well, plant your crops not in rows, but in circles.
*month later*
Mighty shaman, the rats are still eating my crops, even though they are now in circles instead of rows!
- Go forth and plant your crops in triangles, each one foot apart from the other!
*month later*
Mighty shaman, I'm ruined, the rats have eaten all my crops and I have none left to plant anymore!
- Daaaang, and I still had so many good ideas...


Oh, yeah. Almost forgot. Sometimes isopropyl alcohol can loosen up or dissolve glue. Worked on some metal chaos termies I got a while back.

Update:
Super Clear did pretty much nothing after leaving it for a couple of days. Might have made it slightly easier to come apart, but nothing major. Somewhere around freezing for effectiveness, perhaps a little less.
Going to try a few other things, but it's starting to look like I'll just leave it like it is.

If you go down the freezer route, wet it first - the water expands when it freezes so when it goes in to the gaps it will further help breaking the bond.

Acetone will eat through the resin, but it will debond the glue. Simple Green will do diddly-do for removing super glue (and thus why it makes an excellent paint stripper).

Your best, and safest, bet is to get a superglue debonder (Zap makes one called Z-7 Debonder). You can then apply it at the joints and let it sink in to remove the legs. After this is done, you will also want to use the debonder once again where the connection point were along with a Q-Tip or Cotton Cloth (not cotton ball) to clean the remaining glue out of the joints so the later bond will be strong. Finally, after all the glue is removed it is a good idea to give it a wash in soap and water again.

Just FYI, do not use CA Debonder on plastics.

Hey brother
You have seen my video soo far. To be safe I would maybe use the dettol to be safe.
Peace

 Wayshuba wrote:
Acetone will eat through the resin, but it will debond the glue. Simple Green will do diddly-do for removing super glue (and thus why it makes an excellent paint stripper).

Your best, and safest, bet is to get a superglue debonder (Zap makes one called Z-7 Debonder). You can then apply it at the joints and let it sink in to remove the legs. After this is done, you will also want to use the debonder once again where the connection point were along with a Q-Tip or Cotton Cloth (not cotton ball) to clean the remaining glue out of the joints so the later bond will be strong. Finally, after all the glue is removed it is a good idea to give it a wash in soap and water again.

Just FYI, do not use CA Debonder on plastics.

Acetone free Acetone (I know it sounds weird) is one of the best ways to get color of your minis. It might as well dissolve superglue bonds.

Currently soaking a test piece in Super Clean, another in oven cleaner (was trying for Easy Off but can't find it in the bottle rather than aerosol can), and a third in brake fluid.
Will let you know my results.
I'll check out acetone free acetone as well.
Tried Z-7 with limited success, may try again.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

I know that you said Simple Green did nothing, but it worked on my models, though I had to leave it soaking for a week or more (I think, based on your posts, that you gave it a max of 2 days). Simple Green hasn't done anything to any plastic or resin I have used it on (and I have forgotten stuff in a tub of it for a month!), but it has made Super Glue bonds really brittle on my models.

Now, if you were careful and neat gluing the legs into the wrong place, you might not have any exposed super glue (it's all in the holes, holding the pegs in). In that case, the Simple Green won't work, because it can't reach the super glue.

Da Butcha wrote:
I know that you said Simple Green did nothing, but it worked on my models, though I had to leave it soaking for a week or more (I think, based on your posts, that you gave it a max of 2 days). Simple Green hasn't done anything to any plastic or resin I have used it on (and I have forgotten stuff in a tub of it for a month!), but it has made Super Glue bonds really brittle on my models.

Now, if you were careful and neat gluing the legs into the wrong place, you might not have any exposed super glue (it's all in the holes, holding the pegs in). In that case, the Simple Green won't work, because it can't reach the super glue.

Yeah, just a couple of days.
The joints are ball-and-socket type, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem with getting the solvent into the nooks in theory. I'll give it another try, and LA's Awesome while I'm at it. Thanks!

 Nightbringer's Chosen wrote:

Yeah, just a couple of days.
The joints are ball-and-socket type, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem with getting the solvent into the nooks in theory. I'll give it another try, and LA's Awesome while I'm at it. Thanks!

Best of luck! At least, you won't waste anything but some time! The simple green will still be good for stripping paint (or, heck, washing the floors!). Let us know if it worked eventually.