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Not not in an emotional way, no. There are literal chunks of my finger on every model I've made. I HATE SUPER GLUE.
I need tips on how to make these guys. Also, just barely made my first metal model....hell. Never again.

Don't touch the glue.

Very model i've made has my skin on it somewhere. I see it as a artist signiture. I've left my mark on them and all the 'slipping knife scars' means they have left their mark on me too

Waethion wrote:
Don't touch the glue.

o rly?

Some people take their dedication to the hobby WAY too seriously

Hope you got out of your... sticky situation <cue CSI: Miami theme music>

Plastic glue if you're using plastic models. Revell Contacta Pro in particular. Otherwise, use less glue.

Also, disposable nitrile gloves.

And yes, metal modells suck large, hariy... brushes.

Don't use as much glue...
Superglue is superstrong!!! A good glue should only need a dot on the model. I use loctite gel superglue, and was really peed off when I went to just tack a piece in place with the tiniest spot of glue, then it snapped when I tried to remove it.

Oh god, I stuck my bottle of super glue to my thumb the other day. I've never felt like such an idiot. I pulled the thing off, my fingerprint is now on the bottle, and I have a lump out of my thumb.

My scalpel also slipped the other night and took a huge slash out of my forefinger. Blood went everywhere.

If you're getting that much glue on your fingers, you are probably using too much glue. Just a dab will do it.

I'm an old school, RT era guy, and I hate metal models. I infinitely prefer plastic.
Also, after 20 years, I still get super glue all over my fingers.

Pre-game rituals are getting waaaay out of hand these days.
All i used to do was burn dice in the name of the dice god (Loved fire when i was younger) but actually sacrificing a piece of yourself...

Price wrote:
Pre-game rituals are getting waaaay out of hand these days.
All i used to do was burn dice in the name of the dice god (Loved fire when i was younger) but actually sacrificing a piece of yourself...

Bonding one's flesh and blood to their model brings the greatest joy to the game god.

Use medium CA and kick it right away so you don't inadvertently touch it later and get stuck. CA will also stick your cut finger bits together and stop the bleeding.

CA glue is best dosed carefully. A good way to do it is to drop a little on sticker paper (you know the stuff that protects the adhesive side of stickers and labels). CA glue tends to dry out much more slowly on this so you can keep it workable for a while. Then get a CA glue applicator or mount a needle in your pinvise as a cost-effective alternative (if you don't have a pinvise, then prepare to be purged you vile heretic!) and use the tip of it to pick up some glue and apply it to the surface you wish to glue.

If you think metal models are bad, you should try photo-etch

I used to do this.....Then I found the solution.

Get a small bottle cap, or milk bottle top or spare Citadel base. Pour the super glue into the cap (1-2ml is more than enough).

Get some paperclips (cheap and plentiful), unwind one so it's straight. Then use the end of the Paper Clip, dip in the super glue, then dab on the surface you want to glue. It naturally reduces the amount of glue and makes for a superbly strong bond. You can be very precise and do intricate work with it, not have spillage or excess glue everywhere. When finished, chuck the base and paperclip away.

I've really improved my models since i started doing this, saves your fingers as well.

 mwnciboo wrote:
I used to do this.....Then I found the solution.

Get a small bottle cap, or milk bottle top or spare Citadel base. Pour the super glue into the cap (1-2ml is more than enough).

Get some paperclips (cheap and plentiful), unwind one so it's straight. Then use the end of the Paper Clip, dip in the super glue, then dab on the surface you want to glue. It naturally reduces the amount of glue and makes for a superbly strong bond. You can be very precise and do intricate work with it, not have spillage or excess glue everywhere. When finished, chuck the base and paperclip away.

I've really improved my models since i started doing this, saves your fingers as well.

Great tip! I'll try it tonight.

 soitra wrote:
Don't use as much glue...
Superglue is superstrong!!! A good glue should only need a dot on the model. I use loctite gel superglue, and was really peed off when I went to just tack a piece in place with the tiniest spot of glue, then it snapped when I tried to remove it.

+1 for the loctite gel superglue - the best product I've discovered for modelling.

so much easier to control how much glue you are putting on, and where it goes.


also, you can get superglue remover, which is useful if you do end up glueing your fingers to parts...

Also I bought a small Electric Model drill, so I now drill and pin everything, using "once again" Paperclips. I can then use small amounts of glue to just seat the pins.

I often drill out the foot then put in a pin, so I hold / Mount them on a board production style, then I can pick one up on a PinVice and work on it, never touching it.





I even do this with Big FW models.



Paperclips are so useful.

The best results take lots of extra effort, and steps. It's an investment in time and discipline, but I've gotten so used to it, I don't take shortcuts now. It was only when I started buying FW stuff that I said to myself "This Stuff is too expensive to take shortcuts and mess it up!"

Also, what glue are you using? I had a bottle of thin glue, but I swar that damnable piece of warp filth behaved like a superfluid and it would get everywhere. Switched to medium and thick glue. Takes longer to work with, have to make sure I get a perfect amount on so it doesn't become a layer of superglue between everything about 2mm thick, but everything in my room stopped adhering to everything else around it

A few things to add:

1) Remember to score the joining areas of both surfaces of the parts your attaching to each other. This increases the surface area and thus the strength of the bond significantly. It also helps the glue to cure and get tacky a little quicker so you can spend less time holding the bits together.

2) You can use a very tiny (very very tiny!) bit of greenstuff, just place it into the socket of the joint your putting together or onto one of the flat surfaces of the parts your joining and then add the glue. Push the bits together quick because the GS will cure very fast, this also acts like a quick bond that will, again, hold bits together.
You only want a very tiny amount of greenstuff, its only there to help hold the bits together, the super glue still wants to be the part making the formal full bond between the components.

3) Runny glue is tricky to use, because it will go everywhere and even a tiny bit in the bonding area will run and flow over the model without warning.
If you're finding it trouble try switching to a thicker glue (GW makes a good thick glue but it comes in tiny tiny tiny pots sadly). A thicker glue is easier to control and any excess will clump up around the join area, making it easier to wipe/scrape (once dry) away.
I would say start with a thicker glue and work toward using a thinner if you so desire.

Adding to Overreads excellent comments, using too much superglue can be as problematic as not enough.

There should be sufficient amount for a thin film and not much more.

I used CA glue for a while, but found that it was difficult to get it to cure quickly without an accelerant. The accelerant also lead to problems when I wanted minute adjustments during the curing phase (Sometimes you want to raise that Bolt pistol just slightly my 0.5mm . or whatever) also deformation occured because the accelerant could often cause a massive exo-thermic reaction. Infact you can start a fire with superglue - I did so accidentally with a cotton (Cellulose) Q-tip / Cotton bud. I usually use Q-tips for weathering and I got one soaked in super glue and it caught fire!

I now use a thicker glue, GALE FORCE 9 - I only spread on one side of the joint - Some people suggest putting glue on both sides but I have found that glue doesn't bond well with glue, and that Rough Surface - Glue - Rough surface gives optimum results.

In my experiences glue on both surfaces is more a plastic bonding method than metal and super glue. When you've plastic glue on both surfaces the join areas start to both melt, which means after a few seconds when you push them together they bond quickly. Good for flat joint areas on arms where you've not got any guide lumps/socket/shape (such as Deamonette arms).

 mwnciboo wrote:
I used to do this.....Then I found the solution.

Get a small bottle cap, or milk bottle top or spare Citadel base. Pour the super glue into the cap (1-2ml is more than enough).

Get some paperclips (cheap and plentiful), unwind one so it's straight. Then use the end of the Paper Clip, dip in the super glue, then dab on the surface you want to glue. It naturally reduces the amount of glue and makes for a superbly strong bond. You can be very precise and do intricate work with it, not have spillage or excess glue everywhere. When finished, chuck the base and paperclip away.

I've really improved my models since i started doing this, saves your fingers as well.

This, but I use toothpicks instead of paperclips.

 Overread wrote:
In my experiences glue on both surfaces is more a plastic bonding method than metal and super glue. When you've plastic glue on both surfaces the join areas start to both melt, which means after a few seconds when you push them together they bond quickly. Good for flat joint areas on arms where you've not got any guide lumps/socket/shape (such as Deamonette arms).

If you are talking about Polycement, I would agree. Because this melts both sides of the Plastic and makes a brilliant bond, but it cannot be used on metal, cloth, resin it can only be used on plastic with plastic.



Polycement is a plastic solvent that melts the plastic and then evaporates. It's a simple form of welding for plastics.

Superglue is different, and works differently. Cyanoacrylate is the generic name for a family of strong fast-acting adhesives with industrial, medical and household uses. Cyanoacrylate adhesives have a short shelf life if not used, about one year from manufacture if unopened, one month once opened. They have some minor toxicity.

Here is a quick list from the link below..

Plastic Cement is for: Plastic on Plastic
Superglue is for: Alot of things with the biggest hobby exception being that Superglue != (does not equal) flexible.
Epoxy: There are many types, it's strong w/a bit of flex (Also, There are MANY epoxy variants, read the info!!!)
White Glue: Flexible, better with porous stuff, but it may shrink a little
Wood Glue: Flexible, better with wood.. shrinks more than white glue
Glue Sticks: Useful for paper/light adhesive work
Spray Adhesives: Large light adhesion applications
Rubber Cement: Attaching foliage to terrain (making fake boogers)

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/32553-plastic-cement-interchangable-with-super-glue/