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Hello all,

So I have been assembling and painting quite a few of my guardsmen for the past month. Removing mold lines is time consuming but (usually) easy. The heads in the Cadian infantry sprues are connected at the top of the helmet. I can never seem to clean up that connection point right. Either I don't work it enough (leaving a bump) or work it too much (causing horrendous looking scrapes and pitting on the top of the helmet). I have the same issue with some of the lasgun arms, many of which connect to the sprue at the shoulder pad.

What am I doing wrong? I'm using GW's mold line remover, but I've also tried using an X-acto Knife.

Maybe someone else has a special technique, but I don't think there is much you can do except be especially careful and try to blend that sprue connection into the helmet.

The only thing else I could think of is maybe trying some really, really fine grain sanding films or an sanding stick. Like the kind of stuff the Revell sells along with their plastic models.

Sorry, I can't be of too much of help.

Emery nail boards (come in a pack and have a fine and coarse side). Use the fine side and go slowly.

You can find them in the large discount stores here for a couple of $$ usually for 10-12 (at the most).

Or you can go "big bucks" and get GW's seam scraper.

 chromedog wrote:
Or you can go "big bucks" and get GW's seam scraper.

Sounds like he's already got one.

For the sprue attachment points, you don't really want to try and scrape them off. Use clippers to remove them from the sprue, then use a good sharp knife to whittle the stub down until it's smooth. For my 40k stuff I usually find that's good enough, but if you want to put some more effort in to get a really nice finish I suggest going to a hobby store - the type that sells plastic model planes and cars and ships rather than the wargaming variety. They'll usually have a bunch of options for sanding with various grits, they'll probably have sanding sticks and sanding sponges as well, but they do take more work. In the end I like to finish up with sanding it with something in the 1000 to 1500 grit range, that seems to be smooth enough that you don't see any sanding scratches after priming it, but before that I might use something rougher just to get the overall shape better.

Sometimes you can't help but get a small divot because sometimes the actual attachment point sinks slightly during the casting process. In that case you can either just keep sanding the bugger until it's smooth (but you may end up removing too much material) or use a filler to fill the divot in then sand it back (but that's much more time consuming, time I don't usually bother wasting on a lowly Guardsman).

Use a really good pair of flush ground cutters so that the cut is as clean as possible to begin with.

 Scott-S6 wrote:
Use a really good pair of flush ground cutters so that the cut is as clean as possible to begin with.

I've not yet met a pair of cutters that cut so well that I'd gamble cutting within 1-2mm of where the sprue connects to the model. I always cut a bit away from the join then whittle.

Yeah, leave a bit of the attachment point on the piece then use your knife to cut it down smooth, get either sandpaper or a set of needle files, and use that to smooth it down after cutting off the bit of sprue left. Its tedious work, but this is the point were you need that, since if you don't get the model just right, it will show up when you start painting.

One trick I've learned with cadians after assembling 50+ of them and having this same issue is to twist the heads sideways off of the sprue. This causes the connection point to break basically flush with the surface of the helms, and makes it much easier to clean off the mold line.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Scott-S6 wrote:
Use a really good pair of flush ground cutters so that the cut is as clean as possible to begin with.

I've not yet met a pair of cutters that cut so well that I'd gamble cutting within 1-2mm of where the sprue connects to the model. I always cut a bit away from the join then whittle.

There are plenty out there. Just make sure they're good quality flush ground, not your normal cheap wire cutters / side cutters.

Needle or jeweler's files do the trick quite nicely.

I second the thing with getting decent cutters. Used to use old citadel cutters - had problems with them leaving holes. Bought the new GW ones. Now I'm using the old ones for cutting wire ant stuff, and don't even want to remember when I used them to cut models.

 Scott-S6 wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

 Scott-S6 wrote:
Use a really good pair of flush ground cutters so that the cut is as clean as possible to begin with.

I've not yet met a pair of cutters that cut so well that I'd gamble cutting within 1-2mm of where the sprue connects to the model. I always cut a bit away from the join then whittle.

There are plenty out there. Just make sure they're good quality flush ground, not your normal cheap wire cutters / side cutters.

Well I bought the newer GW cutters on the advice of people here on Dakka who said they're similar quality to Xuron cutters.

They cut smoother than my cheap ones, but not smooth enough for me to try and actually try and cut flush up against a model. The smoothest cuts I get are when I use a chisel bladed hobby knife and a block of wood (which is what I do when the sprue doesn't have the clearance to get the clippers in), but still I always find it better to cut some distance away from the model and then smooth it out because it's a much bigger pain in the arse trying to fix a damaged part.