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I have dealt mainly with plastic models since I started about a year and a half ago, I recently bought some models that were metal or had metal bits and had a few questions.

1. I have heard that depending on weight you would need to add a pin to give it strength at what point do I need to look at adding a pin?

2. I have a few that are cloudy in spots, will that mess with the detail or can I get that off?

Any help would be appreciated, this is a new area for me.

When you pin is an insurance thing. I’ve built a LOT of metal stuff over the years, and pinned next to none of it. Even some things that I probably should have. But I’m very careful with my minis, so have had few accidents. And when I do, I just glue the bits back on.

Some people pin almost everything, and I can’t fault them for doing so. If I were a better hobbiest back when metal was the primary medium, I probably would have done more myself.

Is there a lot of torque on the joint?
If it load-bearing?
Is there a lot of metal with a small connect point?

If “yes” to any of those, probably use a pin. This also assumes we are talking about using normal superglue. If you are using more high-strength stuff, you might be able to get away with less.

Bun in general, when in doubt, pin. If the part is too so small you don’t think you could sink a pin in there, it’s probably OK to skip.

As for cloudy/discoloration, that happens all the time with old metals. Once you put the primer down, you should be set.

Pinning is a good idea, but the practicalites of it can be troublesome. You need good drill bits. I only tend to pin parts that desperately need it. Other times I'll reinforce a joint using green stuff, and lately I've been reinforcing joints with uv activated resin from gsw.

I've said this many times, 99% of people's issues with metal come from gak glue. Get some good stuff like Gorilla glue and you won't go far wrong.

As for pinning? I use the aforementioned glue so a lot of stuff doesn't need to be pinned though there are some times when is necessary. To mitigate the the troublesome nature of drilling metal with a hand drill as QAR refers to, what I have found is go grab a small tube of lip balm and when you drill into the metal coat the drillbit with that. The bit won't get stuck and it will drill through the metal dead easy.

Never thought of that! Good idea.. If I'm drilling metal I usually use my power drill after making a pilot hole with my pin vise.

Cool thank you everyone, the metal is weapons from an old devastator kit.

Misfittoy wrote:
Cool thank you everyone, the metal is weapons from an old devastator kit.

If it helps, I built 2 boxes of those guys, have been playing with them (unpinned) since 3rd, and have had no problems. Just put together with superglue.

You have solid contact points, and multiple places where the metal bits connect (supporting arms, backpacks) for a robust overall model.

Now, you are going to need an extra hand to get everything lined and and held together when assembling, but that’s not a structural problem...

Ugh no I hated assembling those devastators! especially trying to get the weapon feeds connected to the metal backpack connections..

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Ugh no I hated assembling those devastators! especially trying to get the weapon feeds connected to the metal backpack connections..

Yeah I am looking at some of the feed connectors and I am thinking that as well.

I'd definitely pin those feeds if you could, and get a strong glue for the/torso joins, as those big clumps of metal hanging from their fronts are going to exert a lot of rotational force. might be worth putting a counter weight under the back of their bases too.

Misfittoy wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Ugh no I hated assembling those devastators! especially trying to get the weapon feeds connected to the metal backpack connections..

Yeah I am looking at some of the feed connectors and I am thinking that as well.

You'll need a few pennies (or washers) to hand too. Those models were a bit prone to tipping so you'll need to weight them down with the aforementioned items underneath the base.

Ive never had devestators tip or break on the waist, good poly cement will make sure of that. Even the 2nd ed shoulder mounted weapons, the paint guide says to pin but a good glue makes sure of that.

For the weapons I used to fit the backpack and weapon together on the torso then add the left arm while the glue is still movable.

I agree with the greenstuff, it could be easier to assemble.
I wouldnt pin the left arm or ammo feeds because they have locating keys and their too small to drill.