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Hi guys,
Is it dangerous to cut, sand, glue etc the models ?
I mean, I'm doing this in my apartment, and with no mask or any protection. The paint is IIRC non toxic, but what about breathing resin and plastic ?

Breathing dust in general is bad for your health. On an absolute scale, it can damage your health and there is protective equipment available to reduce your exposure. Anecdotally, I would.suggest that the vast majority of people who enjoy this hobby, and similar hobbies like building model.railways etc, will rarely if ever wear any protective kit, and it's hard to say what impact it has I a real.sense.

Some things like extensive airbrushing and doing loads of sanding or resin such that you can clearly see the dust hanging in the air are probably worth the effort of wearing a dust mask. Scraping mould lines off a resin model, not so much.

In general,yes. The only one you need to watch out for is resin dust. Try to avoid sticking the knife in your fingers.

Im no doctor but generally you dont want particulets in your lung.

even if they are non toxic or inert. properly made plastics and resins pieces will be inert.

ymmv with china/russia stuff.

but its honestly probably not so dangerous as to worry about it unless you are sanding and spray priming in a 4 foot by 4 foot cube with no ventilation for over 10 years straight.

You probably get exposed to worse particles standing behind a running car or just walking through a busy town on the roadside.



In general there's a few areas to be aware of when it comes to safety, but by and large this is a very safe hobby. Dangers include:

1) Fine dust from sanding resin models. As already noted - however an open window is a good protection. A face mask if you really feel you need to. It doesn't have to be complex.

2) Spray cans and spraypaints - again particles and again you want ventilation. You can easily spray models outside for the undercoat; whilst a spraygun you can use a spraying station with some simple ventilaiton built in - these are more expensive but not into silly monies. And, again, you can use a mask (at which point the risk from spray is paint particles getting everywhere, which is often why people use a ventilated spraying station because it keeps the paint in a confined space and sucks out what it can.

3) The scalpel/blade - probably the item you will do the most immediate harm to yourself with. Slips, scrapes and the odd stab. We've ALL done it. Just be sensible and careful and try not to rush. Also keep your desk and work area as tidy as possible. Most times I've cut myself its because I've either been rushing a process or my work area is a mess and I've knocked it over the edgeof the table into myself (scalpels will always land blade down even though the bottom end of them is heavier - and they always find their way blade down if your leg is under them!)

4) Saws etc..... Small jewellers saws do come out for really thick resin cutting and sawing through plastics or even making terrain. Basically same as the scalpel.

5) Lack of physical exercise - probably the only serious long term health implication if you're REALLY tied to your gaming chair is a lack of exercise because you use your free time to sit and model. Of course reading, gaming, TV, etc... all come under this same risk.

Just as a side note, cured resin for the most part is not toxic unless ingested in large enough quantity. Water is toxic if ingested in large enough quantity as well.

I would guess that getting to clubs/shops/events would be the most dangerous part of the hobby for most of us because of the risk of car crashes etc.

The only health effects I've noticed is if I glue too much plastic in one sitting the plastic glue gives me a headache and makes my asthma worse for a day or two, and the odd minor cut with my craft knife when I'm tired. I wear gloves when handling epoxy putty just to be on the safe side as I have very sensitive skin and odd allergies, but that's the only ppe I use.

I think it's more about knowing what you're working with, how you react to certain things, and taking whatever steps you feel appropriate to stay safe rather than the hobby being dangerous - especially for the majority of people.

Most of that plastic glue is n butyl acetate, so drowsiness, nervous system effects ,headache etc can happen. WIth enough ventilation it's not as much an issue. I would avoid skin contact with the glue as well. The worst offender though IMO is the xylene/toluene and other solvents in the rattlecan primers. I've decided to get a full face respirator for priming from now on.

I've seen people using the citadel glue indoors in a GW with no open doors or windows though. It got to the point where I didn't want to be in there very long when you can smell that stuff from across the room.

Generally though this hobby is not as dangerous as most others.

Ok I see. I have been doing this since I am 15 I guess so almost it has been some time. That's why I was getting curious about this.
Thanks !

You can mitigate resin dusts by using a dustmask and by WET SANDING the stuff where possible.

ALWAYS lubricate saw blades. A simple spray of wd40 or even running the blade through a candle will work wonders.

VENTILATE. ALWAYS VENTILATE. Breathing particulates of any kind is bad for you. Talcum powder (especially in the USA - where J&J have got into serious trouble for allowing asbestos particulates into the talk) is usually a more serious risk factor than most paints, glues or even plastic or resin dust.

 chromedog wrote:
You can mitigate resin dusts by using a dustmask and by WET SANDING the stuff where possible.

ALWAYS lubricate saw blades. A simple spray of wd40 or even running the blade through a candle will work wonders.

VENTILATE. ALWAYS VENTILATE. Breathing particulates of any kind is bad for you. Talcum powder (especially in the USA - where J&J have got into serious trouble for allowing asbestos particulates into the talk) is usually a more serious risk factor than most paints, glues or even plastic or resin dust.

Hmmm isn't a hot blade wayyyy less effective ? I'm pretty sure it is
Wait what: talcum ? The thing we use with babies etc ?

Glue bottles, be careful. One was falling off my table and I grabbed the extremely pointed side and gouged myself.

 Overread wrote:

5) Lack of physical exercise - probably the only serious long term health implication if you're REALLY tied to your gaming chair is a lack of exercise because you use your free time to sit and model. Of course reading, gaming, TV, etc... all come under this same risk.

On a related vein to this: keep an eye on the ergonomics of your workspace. Hunching over a table in a bad chair for hours with crappy posture WILL make your back/neck/shoulders/etc. unhappy

Same holds true for computer workstations etc, so not unique to our hobby. But something to keep an eye on.

You should wear a painter or mold prevention mask while cleaning your models of mold lines, especially resin. The rest stages should be fairly safe, unless you’re accident prone with xacto knife.

The only thing it's dangerous to is your wallet.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
You don't want to be breathing in any dust as above, but you can mitigate this easily. I file all my resin outside. Do all my rattle can spraying and airbrushing outside also. If you have to do it inside, aim a desk fan towards an open window near your space.

Very dangerous for your wallet.

Actually, in seriousness, my wife and I looked into the chemical compounds for the paint. The paint IS technically non-toxic... but after delving into the MSDS (material safety data sheets), we found that a chemical within the paint CAN INDUCE LABOR! So if you're pregnant, don't suck on your paint brush if using GW paint.

If you aren't pregnant though, go nuts on the brush-sucking. Just don't down a full bottle of Ultramarine Blue. It's been reported to induce heavy vomiting.

 godardc wrote:

 chromedog wrote:
You can mitigate resin dusts by using a dustmask and by WET SANDING the stuff where possible.

ALWAYS lubricate saw blades. A simple spray of wd40 or even running the blade through a candle will work wonders.

VENTILATE. ALWAYS VENTILATE. Breathing particulates of any kind is bad for you. Talcum powder (especially in the USA - where J&J have got into serious trouble for allowing asbestos particulates into the talk) is usually a more serious risk factor than most paints, glues or even plastic or resin dust.

Hmmm isn't a hot blade wayyyy less effective ? I'm pretty sure it is
Wait what: talcum ? The thing we use with babies etc ?

CANDLE: the WAXY PART, not the fething flame. I didn't mention heating the fething blade at all. Run it through a cold candle (NOT A LIT ONE, and not through the flame. Reading comprehension may help you here.)
Candle wax/paraffin wax, etc are quite good at preventing blade stick from the friction with metal and/or resin cutting.

Yes, talcum. the thing you put on baby butts. Johnson & Johnson got into some serious legal issues in the last 6 months over talc products contaminated with asbestos. It made the news HERE, in Oz, the ass-end of the planet.

Causal modeling isn't dangerous, except in very specific situations, when you work with actually toxic/flammable materials or tools (power saws, drills, etc...) that can cause serious harm when mishandled.

Things that are generally bad for your health are mostly related to dust or particles. Airbrushing, spraying and resin dust.
Also, sniffing glue isn't exactly brain and mucous membrane friendly, but like everything, it depends on the exposure time and amounts. You might feel a bit lightheaded in the evening after you spent all day gluing things, but gluing a few models together will really do nothing. Unless you do it literally every day for several hours.

Licking your brush twice won't make you give birth instantly either. Maybe if you chugged down a few pots, then there is a chance it might happen.
Dressing into a hazmat suit and a gas mask for a 15-second long sanding or gluing together a few parts is rather pointless either.
And the occasional finger cut is something you just have to count with.

tl;dr: It's the amount that makes things poisonous.

Pretty sure that if my wife found out how much my Heresy armies cost I would be dead, other than that as long as your not snorting the resin dust daily by the oz you will be fine.

Just be sensible.

Undercoat outdoors, or using an extractor booth (they're surprisingly affordable, just make sure you change the filter as needed).

The sharper your hobby knife, the safer it is. Requires less pressure to cut, so reduces the chance of it slipping.

If you're working with Resin, again wear a face mask.

There's no reason not to take basic safety precautions. Just because something is reported to be safe, just because other people weren't affected by it, doesn't mean it can't have a nasty effect on YOU. You don't necessarily know what undiagnosed/underlying health problems (or potential problems) you may or may not have.

Something to consider as well as yourself, is people and pets who share your space. My cat spends a lot of time in the room I hobby in, so since I got her I've become more careful about fumes and particles because while I might be fine, I dont want to hurt her accidentally.

Smelling the glue too mutch is about the only thing you have to worry about, and ofc do not use rattlecan primers or airbrush indoor unless you have a spray booth.

(side note, some super glues might sting your eyes if you are gluing directly below the face)

I spray indoors. Don't have an extractor or booth, just a cardboard box and some bin-bags.

Open the windows, put fans on, spray, then take doggo out for an hour or two. Most particulates get caught in the box, smelly fumes blow out the window.

I come home smelling of roses.

If you're doing it to an industrial capacity yes.

However no it is not