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I was just wondering what the greater community does when they mess up on a model's assembly. Do you sell it on ebay? Keep it around as a reminder? Use it anyway? I just wondered what people did when this happened to them...

I'd be interested to hear other's ideas. Most of the mini's that I haven't liked just sit around or tossed. Sometimes I scavenge important bits for attempting the project again.

i try to take it apart before the glue dries! With plastic glue there is also a small window of time that i can normally bend the parts in place to where i want them and hold them that way so they don't spring back. Are you having a problem with a current model? If so post pic and circle the areas that you are having a problem with maybe the community can give an idea to fix it that you didn't think of. there is also green stuff to try to fix things with.

I tend to do extensive blu-tacing on my models before the glue ever gets near them. Even then if I am unhappy with the model afterwards I normally just pry the offending part off and do over.

There has been one or two occasions though were a wonky part has inspired me to rework the models pose around the part in question.




Krungle, when you say "tossed" do you actually mean into the bin? Or do you just toss it back into your bits box?

I become sad.

And then I usually try to get it apart, and try again. If that's impossible, I use it as is.

Depending on the model I might chop it up and rebuild it. But if it was a cheap little model that would take a lot of work I would probably throw it away.

They make great 22 target's.

Take it apart, clean it up and try again.

If plastic, and I really botched it, into the tub of acetone.

Such excrescences should be erased from existence as soon as is practicable.

Are we just talking about a botched assembly before you get to painting it?

...I honestly can't remember the last time I botched an assembly to that point. Usually I see as I'm putting the model together whether I got things wrong, if it's superglue just snap it off before it dries, if it's plastic glue start wiggling and try and get it in the right position.

Occasionally I've hacked in to things accidentally with my knife while trying to clean things up or remove from the sprues, but never to the point I couldn't just fix it up with greenstuff.

Usually I spend half an hour planning the models, sorting bits, then build it. If it goes wrong recut and shape components then rebuild. This speaks a lot about me as I'm on my fifth attempt at building my legion vindicator the sides will not sit straight.

If, when it all goes together, something doesn't look right, I just pull/cut it apart and do it again. I have some minis that have been cut up and rebuilt 3-4 times over the years.

A combination of planning, dry-fitting, and the slow setting of plastic glue/brittleness of half-cured CA glue means I've yet to reach that level of disappointment.

Sometimes, the fit is bad on a particular model. If it's just one more generic model in a squad of troops, I take the opportunity to make minor conversions. Supporting arm won't align with rifle? Hmm... what to do with a cupped hand? Ah! That guy is rolling out a grenade or holding a magazine for reloading. If it's a character, monster, centerpiece, etc. model, I'll just work it with files, putty, pins, etc. until it does fit properly.

Depends on how bad it is and how late I notice. If there's time I will take it apart and try again. If everything is dried and there's no way to break it down I might try to use it as-is, especially if I can conceal the flaw in some way. If the flaw can't be covered up, and can't be made to look okay anyway, the model goes on the shelf until I get over my self-loathing enough to take it apart (with saw, chisel, and acid if need be) and either use it for spare parts or rebuild it from scratch. (Usually the second one, since I'm stubborn.)

I use super glue on all them so ice ice baby. And boom many pieces or just drop it if it is metal and there 90 pieces again.

Do you dry-fit your models? it's pretty important to make sure that everything will work before you put any paint (or even primer) onto it, because otherwise, you'll get it grimy with finger oils at a bad time. And, of course, you don't want to blow a $25 hero with 10+ pieces because you thought the arm could go further back than is possible.

This is a good reason to paint models partially assembled, by the way. If you pre-assemble them to look kind of like the Dark Vengeance push-fits (into 2-3 pieces), all you have to do is make sure the couple of pieces will fit nicely afterwards.

Incidentally, this is one of the times metal is so much nicer. It's just so easy to use acetone to un-glue metal, and change the pose (unless it's painted, of course). Then again, most metal models are much less pos-able

Soak in Awesome LA overnight.
Wash and start again.

Oberron wrote:
i try to take it apart before the glue dries! With plastic glue there is also a small window of time that i can normally bend the parts in place to where i want them and hold them that way so they don't spring back. Are you having a problem with a current model? If so post pic and circle the areas that you are having a problem with maybe the community can give an idea to fix it that you didn't think of. there is also green stuff to try to fix things with.

I don't know how to post pics but I can describe it... The Kreoss I just got from the starter box has a backpack, and when I assembled the backpack, one of the attachments doesn't look perfectly aligned between his shoulders... (Anyone who has assembled this model can tell me if I screwed up I guess). I'm not even sure if I did it wrong, because it looks like the little cog between his shoulders is modeled at a tilt, but I'm such a perfectionist I always notice the 1 mm difference from being on center

I chop it up and use it for parts.

When I have no options left? Dremel cut with fine disc blades. I have done this only once to a superman action figure I had from the 80's .I had broken it as a child and glued it as a teen with plastic cement... I thought it would be cool to glue on a different toys arm on. Luckily I had the original pieces and I managed to cut and patch it back together.

I imagine with the cost of minis, I wouldn't throw it away, but dismantle it and use it for basing parts or frankenstein creations.

Yesterday I glued the body of my IK backward.
Thank god I used an ungodly amount of glue, cause once its dried, theres no going back.

And here's me getting anxious over 1 mm of supposed damage.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

would a bit of green stuff or a nice thick layer of paint fill in the crack? or would that be to much?

I tend to cover up and mitigate mistakes by applying battle damage, covering with stowage, or other items.

I'm confused by the question. If I'm not happy with a model's assembly, I fix it.

I've always just chopped it up and rebuilt it.

With polystyrene cement, you have no choice but to cut it up proper. Krazy glue - well you can dissolve that stuff.

Add holster, combat knife w/krak and frag grenade glued to the blade, using metal gold/silver wire to cover up a unGodly seam and hang those little "dammit" pieces to it (dammit being used in reference with those metal clasp used for metal pin on ranks. Lose one and its the first thing you say) That' s just a miniature figure. My Dakka Chaos SM thread in OT had many examples of cover up. Espacialy IronToe figure where I sleep and drill a #30 drill dent in his boot and I used spikey horns to cover it up

Vehicles I use the camouflage netting roll for vehicles on regular model vehicles or slap the anti penetration explosive blocks or extra track pieces to a jack up area

I don't think I ever do mess up a model's assembly. Sure, I make mistakes all the time, but I just fix them. That's what Green stuff, files, and bits are for. Though sometimes a little 'creative' painting is all that is needed. You can pass off no end of stuff as 'battle damage'. A model would have to be pretty damn fethed up for me to not be able to rescue it with some TLC.

There have been a few occasions where I have damaged models so badly, I felt they were beyond repair. Most of these were miniatures that I deliberately hacked up for parts, or the melted victims of my early paint-stripping experiments. If there really is nothing to be salvaged, then I might just use them as dead (half covered) bodies in scenery.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Are we just talking about a botched assembly before you get to painting it?

...I honestly can't remember the last time I botched an assembly to that point. Usually I see as I'm putting the model together whether I got things wrong, if it's superglue just snap it off before it dries, if it's plastic glue start wiggling and try and get it in the right position.

Occasionally I've hacked in to things accidentally with my knife while trying to clean things up or remove from the sprues, but never to the point I couldn't just fix it up with greenstuff.

Oh, I've done it. Not in many years, but to say that I hadn't would be a lie.

The acetone I had has evaporated - to give you an idea of how long ago it was. It WAS in a can.

If I stuff things up these days (I'm mostly a metal modeller, and do this with infinity figures) and I snap a limb or whatever (not uncommon with infinity stuff if you try to force them) and I can't be ***** pinning them to fix them, I just toss them into the crucible and melt them down with the offcuts and leftover parts for reuse in other casting endeavours.

Occasionally melt down models I don't want, too (if I can't get rid of them otherwise). The threat of the crucible is often enough to get someone calling about them.