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So buying a model the other day, I had run out of glue so bought some super glue as well, and the guy at cash said "Are you going to use that glue on this plastic model? You'll never get it apart if you need to".

I've been in the hobby for 16+ years, and have pretty much always used super glue on plastic. It seems to bond faster, and, it never comes apart (and I don't want it to!). Keeps me from needing to have two types of glues hanging around for metal and plastic.

So what do you guys use? Any reason why you'd advise against super glue on plastic? Do you use both for different reasons?

Thanks!

The guy giving you advice had it all backwards... you won't get a model glued together with plastic glue apart easily because it welds it. Generally a knife is required.

Superglue bonds will snap with a lot of force, and will come apart in simple green etc.

It's the main reason why second hand pre-assembled/painted plastic is pretty much worthless compared to second hand metal.

Cannot place a vote for you; I use both, as and when is neccesary.

Taking into accouint the stripping to repaint process, I plastic glue anything that will never ever need to come apart e.g two halves of a bikers wheel...
But superglue anything that I may want to come apart to be stripped and repainted.
Also theres times and places to liquid super glue, gel superglue, using pins and epoxy sometimes too if needed.
Its not actually as simple as saying .. 'YES mate plastic glue!' or whatever you were expecting,

Yeah I've never had issues with my plastics coming apart with superglue, and they would generally break before coming apart via force.

True about the melding with plastic glues, that's what I thought myself! Especially with that highly volatile stringy plastic glue.....can't remember what it's called :/ But it really melts the plastic good.

Yeah, plastic glue is the one that never comes apart, superglue can typically be snapped apart or put in a freezer for a while and then snapped off.

As for which I use, plastic glue, I simply find it easier to use. Bonds better, fills gaps better, gives a few seconds for you to perfect the fit before it starts to dry. But I've also been using plastic glue since I was 7 and I'm now 28, some people complain plastic glue is harder to use but I just don't see it.

There are times when I use superglue, but it's more rare.

HairySticks wrote:
Cannot place a vote for you; I use both, as and when is neccesary.

Taking into accouint the stripping to repaint process, I plastic glue anything that will never ever need to come apart e.g two halves of a bikers wheel...
But superglue anything that I may want to come apart to be stripped and repainted.
Also theres times and places to liquid super glue, gel superglue, using pins and epoxy sometimes too if needed.
Its not actually as simple as saying .. 'YES mate plastic glue!' or whatever you were expecting,

That's why I gave the option to select both

It sounds counterintuitive, but I use super glue when I want a weaker bond Plastic glue is like a marriage - it's forever, unless you have some whacky chemicals and/or knives. Super glue is much more like a whirlwind romance. Sticks hard and fast, but brittle and prone to snapping.

Please don't ask me about my love life.

I use plastic glue for permanent bonds, but tend to use small (tiny!) dobs of super glue to hold things in place while I'm posing/painting/whatever. For example, right now I have 20 Wraithguard models awaiting painting. They are all constructed using plastic glue, but have small dabs of super glue holding them to their bases, so I can paint them easily then snap them off to model the bases themselves.

Super glue in small amounts is easily broken, but be careful with it. It's also handy if there are small parts that need to be attached but you don't want to interfere with other pieces that might need to move, for example. Thin Super on a brush can be applied very precisely, which is much harder to do with plastic glues.

Also, while I'm on the topic, don't buy the Citadel glues... So expensive!

You could always use Games Workshop plastic glue if you want them to come apart again

 Flippa wrote:
You could always use Games Workshop plastic glue if you want them to come apart again

Hehehehehe

Model Masters Glue for plastic and Super Glue for resin based models for me. Or Superglue when I can't wait long enough for the plastic to bond.

No Vote from me either. I use both when needed.

Plastic cement for me, that stuff stays!.

I use plastic glue for plastic models.

Was that a trick question?

For hundreds of years I stuck rigidly to polycement for plastic, nowadays I use locktight accurate superglue on everything.

SUPERGLUE!!!!

I never use plastic glue.

 scarletsquig wrote:
The guy giving you advice had it all backwards... you won't get a model glued together with plastic glue apart easily because it welds it. Generally a knife is required.

He might have meant that because Superglue dries faster, you have greater chance of needing to get it apart because it set in the wrong position, but you won't be able (even though you will).

Personally I prefer plastic glue. You usually get a nicer (seamless) join, and edges don't need to be perfectly flush because any irregularities in the surface will melt, and you have a bit more wiggle room. It is certainly a lot better for conversions and things.

The other thing I like about plastic glue is it has a much better shelf life than super glue, and doesn't spontaneously stop working one day.

Depends on the kit and pieces.

There is no "wonder solution" glue for all purposes. There are different glues for different jobs (and different plastics).

For styrene kits, though - it's generally polystyrene cement. It's NOT meant to come apart, and I will reserve superglue for tacking together larger pieces so that I can get the cement in there to hold it.

I use a mix of plastic and superglue - for smaller things i tend to use plastic glue, but larger things I use superglue because it usually won't smash apart after getting dropped accidentally. Plastic glue will make sure certain parts will NEVER come off without a knife, but the extremities will be able to break off while the join stays.

I have used super glue for ever. I have some old old models that have never fallen apart, but at the same time if I pry at it I can break the parts off if need be.

Im weird and like upgrading my men if they do something out of the ordanary and worthy of an upgrade. Like an old sergeant that took the last wound off a Carnofex in CC with a chainsqword. Made it easy to rip the arm off and give him a powerfist as a reward.

With plastic models, you only really ever need super glue if you're pinning something.

Plastic glue. I like my models to stay together. I put together my entire guard army with superglue years back and every time I go to pull them out there are at least one or two that have a head or arm that has fallen off. I really hate super glue. I put all of my nids together with plastic glue and I could drop them off of a 5 story building and nothing would happen to them.

I personally can't stand plastic glue. It's always been too messy and not-worth-it for me. I've always stuck by super glue because I can use it for metal, resin, and plastic. I understand that plastic glue helps with durability when playing games, but seeing as I mostly paint and model miniatures for display and my own satisfaction rather than playing games with them, this doesn't really affect me.

That being said, I also like the fact that if I ever want to change an option or go back to re-convert an old, plastic model, I just have to pop it in the freezer and break the piece off rather than carefully cutting it apart because the plastic glue has bonded the piece together.

 Darth Bob wrote:
I personally can't stand plastic glue. It's always been too messy...

It can be messy when you have the nasty thick stuff in a tube that leaves strings everywhere. I use Tamiya extra thin plastic cement though, which is really designed for fine modeling. It's thin like water, and it comes with a brush applicator. It's really very precise and tidy (and no strings attached!).

With a needle applicator there's no reason to be messy with plastic glue.

i use super glue...
my models are painting in seperate pieces, all pinned, and are usually a mix of metal and plastic parts...
super glue works just fine for me, until it starts to get old, then the the bond sucks...
i save the old stuff for basing...

cheers
jah

Perfect timing on this post. I'm just starting on my first models ever and I was wondering about this very thing. Going to go with plastic cement on my first build after reading this and other posts.

Really depends on what you want to achieve. I personally use both: plastic glue for things I'm sure will stay forever and superglue for things that'll be painted separately and/or I'm not entirely sure about 100%.

Even with bonds that I'm 100% sure, I use both: plastic glue on the outside ring and superglue on the centermost part. It's because I build quickly(lots of dryfitting before I glue things up) so I'm sure of how to pose the model and I don't like waiting for plastic glue to dry up. The superglue is there to hold things neatly fast while I glue other parts. The plastic glue will make sure it'll stick there forever.

I keep a few different glues around for different applications:
normal super glue
gap filling super glue
extra thin super glue
gel plastic cement
liquid plastic cement
90-sec epoxy
5-min epoxy
carpenters glue
white craft glue

They all get used from time to time.
90% of what I've been doing recently has been resin so it's been probably 50/50 with super glue and epoxy.
For plastic kits I use plastic cement probably 3/4 of the time.

When I finish models I use heavy duty exterior clear coat on them and don't really have any intentions of repainting them. The only times I've needed to take models apart is when I buy used ones.