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 as i get older i find myself less and less amused when it comes to assembly. i also find myself with less and less time to combat assembly problems.
i see people poopooing pre-assembled and snap fit models but i love them because i hate to assemble models.
i'm mostly speaking about small items like infantry.

i constantly battle with gluing my fingers to the piece i'm trying to assemble or gluing my fingers together. There's nothing worse than just when i think i have a piece placed perfectly i try to remove my hand only to find the piece glued to my finger.

anything with a ball joint or some kind of key is a dream come true for me. the models that are the worse are when its flat on flat, like an arm to a torso.

i've tried tweezers but that usually just ends up with me trying to find the part halfway across the room after it shoots out of the tweezers.

this weekend im going to try and pin some arms so that i have a peg to hold things in place but that seems like it may be a major time sink. ill have to try it to see.

the point of this long post...?
any tips or tricks for an old dog that struggles with fiddly bits?
i'm sure the less dexterous folk out there wouldn't mind a tip or too as well.

thanks in advance.

What glue you use? Plastic shouldn't really result in parts being glued to your finger so for plastic models I always use plastic glue(stronger bond as well).

For me what kills it is cutting pieces from sprues. Takes ages to cut and trim them. Gluing part is dead fast though.

Are we talking plastic or metal?

I find plastics easier to dry-fit than metal, and apply superglue with the tip of a paperclip. Pinning pays off well -- except when the pin's a little off center! I use the Army Painter handheld pin, under $10: http://www.miniaturemarket.com/amytl5001.html

both i suppose, metal and plastic.
i use loctite gel.

i like it because it doesnt run all over the place but i guess on the flip side of that it does ooze out of the join when i put the pieces together.

i have never been one that goes easy on the glue. applying it with a paper clip seems like it would not be enough to make a good bond.
am i using too much or the wrong glue?

For plastic I would recommend trying plastic glue. Since your hands presumably aren't plastic pieces shouldn't really stick to them and end result is that it basically melts the 2 pieces into one. Haven't ever even felt need for pinning with this.

For metals or resin...Yeah that's harder. Luckily I don't deal with too small pieces that are hard to grasp safely.

You may be using too much glue. I use loctite as well and haven't had issues with it. If it's oozing, it sounds like you're using a big glob; try using multiple small dots of glue instead.
Pinning is irritating, but on metal models I find it makes gluing so much easier and it helps keep parts from breaking off later on.

Plastics, I'd second plastic glue. It doesn't really stick to fingers and you have a little more working time to adjust your placement whereas sometimes loctite seems to set immediately.

is there a good alternative to GWs plastic glue?
seems a bit inflated dollar-wise

i have a tube that honestly ive never even tried. ill give it a go.

I just use Plastruct bondene.

vizier wrote:
I just use Plastruct bondene.

so bondene or weld?

I'm all about Loctite Gel Control super glue. The gel glue and bottle design that has a great squeeze mechanic allows you to really control exactly how much glue you want and exactly where it goes. I'll never go back to anything else. Plus you can get 3 packs online or your local big box for dirt cheap.

I will say...I've no love for plastics unless I need to make or model a special character. I'd take metals all-day if I could. For basic troopers, I've no interest in spending time assembling/filing/gluing etc.

It was a pure pleasure to paint my huge Eldar force compared to my plastic Chaos Marine force.

Hmm well i am in the opposite scale. I can sit 6H non stop building, but i cant even sit 30 min painting. get simply too booring to paint.


When it comes to building, sadly big fingers are your biggest enemy. When it comes to 10 mill and 8 mill you need to use tweezers, but 28mill you dont nessesarily need to. you can allso get tweezers whit rubber tip for improved grip.

In terms of gluing, get glues whit a brush! if offers you mutch more control.
I use these two from tamiya for plastic models:


The normal cement is good for any joints realy. It is thick and allows a few sec to adjust and dries whitin 15 sec or less depending on how mutch you use.
The extra thin has more or less the same consitency as water(a tad thicker) and is designed to glue parts already held together. The thin glue will wick into the joint for a firm bond, however since it is so thin it evaporates rapidly.
So for the models that has seperate arms, hold them together whith the torso whit 1 hand firmely, and use your other hand to apply the glue in the tiny gap inbetween the arm and shoulder joint. It will create a strong enugh bond after 5 sec that you can turn the model and glue the rest of the arm joints.
It allso allows for presision glueing as the brush is rather thin.

I dont do mutch resin and metal and what little i have done is in the 28mm scale and then i use locktite super glue whit brush, but it has some big negative side effects so i cant recommend it for big model count projects in metal/ resin.

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
i've tried tweezers but that usually just ends up with me trying to find the part halfway across the room after it shoots out of the tweezers.

I've found tweezers a big help. Your problem may be the type of tweezers you're using. Do not use the tweezers you find in the beauty department at the local mega-mart. Instead you want medical tweezers like these...

Yeah I'm using those stupid beauty tweezers.
Not good for much.

Im going to try to grab a set off those

Instead of tweezers I often use a ball of blu-tac to hold the piece(s). This extremely useful for gluing the two halves of space marine torsos.

As said above, always use plastic glue to glue plastic-to-plastic. My choice of glue is Revell Contacta Professional with needle tip.

Damn... No local stores seem too carry any of these glues.
Where do you guys buy yours?

Since you're in the US, you can find these at any hobby shop and even most Wal-Marts if they have a small model section. You want the long metal applicator tip and not the roll-up tube (zero control with that).





Remember, regarding fitting, etc...plastic glue sets faster the less you use...so use it sparingly. It does not take much to create a permanent chemical bond.

I usually drill a hole inside the joint, then stick the part on a pin if it's too difficult to paint otherwise. I paint in pieces though, which I take it you don't want to do. It does, as folks have said, sound like you're using too much glue. A small bit combined with a pin hold my parts on well enough to survive anything, so far.

So i bought some of the testors stuff with the orange/red label.
It's such a treat to not have glue sticking to me and the parts.
Its a little weird the way it joins though.
It kind of melts it at the joint.
The jury is still out on the cure time though.
They stick together quickly but are still wiggly a good while later.
I'm not sure if i like that or not.

Yep, plastic cement will not cure fully for perhaps 24 hours, but will "hold" within a very short span. It does exactly as you said - it melts the plastic and creates a chemical bond essentially.

For this reason it's also nearly impossible to separate once it's set and finished - so make sure you have the stuff where you want it.

Also because it's doing a chemical bond, use it very sparingly...that's actually really key with most glues. Apply a very thin amount on the surface you wish to glue (making sure that both sides of the surface are clear/flat plastic --- it will melt through some paint, but it's best to have a clean sanded surface - fitting flush.

i hope that this thread helps somebody out there.

i am a new fan of the plastic glue where before i would have never given it a chance.

it has its pros and cons but i was actually able to assemble some stuff this weekend without wanting to hulk smash anything.

the simple fact that it wont glue my fingers together or to the model that i am trying to assemble is enough of a pro to outweigh the con of the dry time.

another pro that i was happy about was that i actually dropped a few models and the only ones that came apart were the models that i used super glue on. the plastic cement models stayed together fine.

this has definitely renewed my interest is assembly again.

i guess its like they say... use the right tool for the right job.

i still need to try a few things out like the brush applicator and the super thin glue.

im not 100% sure where i would use the thin but i think i know. i have some infantry whose hands arent glued to their guns. the shoulder join holds the hand in position so that it looks like it is holding it but there is actually no glue there. i suppose that i could use the thin in a spot like this to join the hand to the gun just to secure it.

Just keep in mind that some people prefer super glue precisely because it can snap off (some people like to change load-outs or change models frequently). So both have their uses. However to create/build a permanent plastic model? Plastic cement every time.

I just use Loctite Super Glue and tweezers for tiny bits, otherwise I don't worry about glue in the fingers. Rubbing alcohol fixes that right up.

 usernamesareannoying wrote:


im not 100% sure where i would use the thin but i think i know. i have some infantry whose hands arent glued to their guns. the shoulder join holds the hand in position so that it looks like it is holding it but there is actually no glue there. i suppose that i could use the thin in a spot like this to join the hand to the gun just to secure it.

On wargame minis infantery the place you would use it on is arm to torso joint and arm to hand joint, as you kinda have to glue 2 arms to the torso at the same time to get the correct fit.
You can allso use it on vehicles and larger models if you want a more cleaner look whit less glue spill.

You prolly need to find a hobbyshop that is dedicated to standard plastic kits. if that shop has lots of revell or tamiya building kits, the odds that they allso have glues and paint from thouse companys is very high.

hi again guys,
quick question.
so after gluing a bunch of stuff together i am happy with the results so far.
what i'm finding out though is that the unbreakable bond that i keep hearing about isnt really happening with my guys.

i believe that i am getting a good join but it seems just as fragile as say super glue.

for example. i am gluing arms on to torsos and had to adjust one so i started to pry on it a bit and of course it eventually broke at the join.

what i found was almost like a honeycomb formed where the pieces met.

am i not using enough glue, expecting too much from the glue or something else entirely.

on a related note... is there any way to accelerate the curing process?

If you're prying on anything small and plastic it's going to break. An unbreakable join is slang for "will never come apart without you trying".

No way to accelerate the curing process but you shouldn't really have to. The models should be holding in place within a minute or two and done within a 24 hour period.

I guess I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to achieve.

If your still using the testors maybe you dont have the right kind of plastic cement?

Dedicated plastic model glue sticks the parts togeather whitin 5-10 sec but takes about 1 hour before you can toutch the glue seam whitout leaving fingerprints.
The thinner the glue is the shorter the wait time will be but it will allso be less strong as it dont melt the plastic as effectivly so you need to apply more of it.

I know nothing of testors glue if that is what your still using, but to me it sounds as if your not applying enugh glue.

This is pure solvent cement in pure liquid form no filler or gel er

probably one of the strongest bonds for welding plastic without actually welding. especially on 2 perfectly flat pieces

But you are never going to get a 100% unbreakable joint.

(you need a syringe bottle to use it though)

thanks guys. i guess i was reading too much into that unbreakable bond, lol...

@elbows - im seeing exactly what youre saying. after a second or two the parts are joined and stuck. i moosh them together to try to get as much of a bond as possible and wiggle them a little if needed.

my problem is that i'm too impatient and try putting the second arm on too soon so i end up screwing up the alignment on the first arm. usually i assemble in batches so i can put all of the left arms on and then the right arms the next day but sometimes i dont like to wait

it sounds like im ok but my expectations are a bit off.


thanks guys.

Well not glue. But always dry fit n check beforehand. Work put contact points and such.

Saved me a ton of time having to pull apart and such