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As the title says, tell me about your favourite glue/glues for plastic miniatures. Please list the pros and cons. Thanks

Revell Contacta Professional

Pros: Works great, very precise, and lasts for ages.
Cons:. The applicator tube can get blocked, but it's easily fixed.

I use revell contacta professional mini for assembly before paint, then if anything needs post paint fitting then it's gel superglue.

Contacta cons:
Needle does block but can be cleared with a flame, the needle just pulls out of the bottle.

Poly cement desolves paint so you have to extra careful when spot repairing.

Revell Contacta Professional

and to avoid problems with the needle I refill it to an old plastic-glue bottle with a brush

my second choice is Pattex Modellbau Spezial
it is may backup glue as it does not only works with HIPS but also ABS and PVC, comes in very handy for working on scale models (like Rubicon witch is ABS) and Mantic PVC (also to glue HIPS and ABS/PVC together)

Revell... you know the score here!

A short length of wire is good for unblocking the nozzle without the risk of self-immolation.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Revell... you know the score here!

A short length of wire is good for unblocking the nozzle without the risk of self-immolation.

Otherwise Gorilla super glue (both the gel and normal)

Loctite All Plastic superglue is great for joining anything weird - including PVC models and polyethylene green army men and Airfix-style 1:72 soldiers. Although those made by Italeri, Caesar and Emhar have styrene mixed in so they take poly cement and paint.

I moved away from PVA for bases and terrain. Wood glue sets faster and is more durable. PVA has many other uses though - watered down it makes a great sealer for flock

I use Testor’s Model Master, with the needle applicator tip.

The big pro is the tip. Being able to precisely apply it to exactly where you need it to be is key.

Availability is another one. Although with the internet being what it is these days, less relevant.

Hello. Without surprise, I recommand... Revell Contacta

With good shelf durability, thanks to the nozzle that helps applying the right amount of glue on the right spot. It can get clogged up sometimes, so I have a thin wire at hand, to introduce in the nozzle.
Apart from this small inconvenience, it's a great product for working with polystyrene plastics. Solid bonds, precise use.

I'll break the mould and go with Tamiya.

Revell Contact has always been my go-to for years, but I got sick of the applicator being bunged up. Tamiya is brush on, so you can apply just as much as you want (Although the applicator brush for the regular stuff does need trimmed down a bit for 28mm scale models). Their extra thin cement is also incredibly useful because the applicator is very precise and the capillary action zips along fine seams and hard to reach places.

Tamiya normal and extra thin.

cons:
Expensive and and can be hard to come by.
Glass jar, DONT drop it on the floor!!!!!!!!!
Cant get the glue from the bottom of the glass as the brush dont reach that far down.

pros:
Glues any plastic exept ABS (they do make spesific ABS glue allso)
Bottle cap brush applicator, meaning maximum controll over glue application to the surface.
Extra thin version has point thin bottle cap brush for millimeter presision.
Normal is toutch dry whitin 1 minute, extra thin at 15-20 sec, extra thin quick set in under 10 sec.
Comes in Limonene odor version for thouse who reacts to the smell and odor from standard glue.

Honarable mention: Mr Cement S.
A better product then Tamiya extra thin(thinner glue and better quality bottle cap brush), but very hard to get outside of asia (i have to use ebay to get it)

Use both Tamiya Extra Thin and Revell Contacta. Used to use Testors Model Master, that was good also and one bottle lasted me many years.

The extra thin is nice because you just hold the part together than apply the glue to the seam line and it pulls itself into the seam and joins the parts. But in certain situations it's better to apply the glue first anyway, in which case I use the Revell Contacta.

Tamiya extra thin when it comes to ordinary plastic in 95% of the time.

cons:
A bit more expensive than other brands.
As FrozenDwarf said, it’s tricky to get the last few drops out.

pros:
Bonds plastic parts together very nicely.
The brush you use from the bottle helps make it exact and controlled every time.
Dries within a few seconds.
Doesn’t have that terrible smell like some other brands.
Thanks to the jar it doesn’t dry out if you leave it for a year or two.

MEK aka Butanone

Pros:
Liquid, brush application.
Pretty much glues all types of plastic

Cons:
It's MEK, it's volatile.

Testors tube cement and liquid in a jar when thin is necessary.

Tamiya Thin for plastic here as well. I used to be in the Revell contacta camp but eventually got fed up clearing the clogs. I also find the Tamiya thin to be easier to apply without getting too much glue onto the bit, sometimes the Revell "burped" on me hehehe

Current superglue fave is AK Black Widow. It has some rubbery stuff mixed in which makes the glue not so sensitive to cracking, resulting in a slightly more elastic joint.

 Paint it Pink wrote:
MEK aka Butanone

Pros:
Liquid, brush application.
Pretty much glues all types of plastic

Cons:
It's MEK, it's volatile.

MEK. Aka "Cancer in a bottle". Carcinogenic, teratogenic and not only flammable but explosive (evaporates at a relatively low temperature, and the vapour is rather tetchy). But when it comes to bonding certain plastics, there's nothing better.
It also removes paint from metal surfaces and leaves no residue. You can literally spray it on and wipe the paint off. (Airlines used to use it when repainting parts of the aircraft here).

I use Revell's contacta pro, but my bottle has a 16a fusewire length left in the tube between jobs. It's just the right gauge to fit down the tube and prevents it clogging.

I was using the Contacta, but for some reason that I can't recall, it wasn't performing well and I started using the GW stuff, which seemed to work better.

Only complaint about the GW is that the needle is too long, when you put the cap on, it sinks about 1cm into the bottle and i have to pull it back out each time i want to use it.

Also have the Tamiya Extra Thin, great for small or precise jobs due to the brush.

 Paint it Pink wrote:
MEK aka Butanone

Pros:
Liquid, brush application.
Pretty much glues all types of plastic

Cons:
It's MEK, it's volatile.

It also causes nervous system damage.

I use zap-a-gap in conjunction with citadel glue.

Citadel glue for areas I need secured (stronger bond because its plastic glue). It's con is that it actually melts the plastic, so repair work is required whenever I need to disassemble.

Zap-a-gap for general purpose, in case I need to disassemble the model. Con is due to it's formula, it can cloud fine details if used improperly.

For plastic, as others have said, I use Revell and Tamiya thin, depending on the pieces and location. I've definitely switched to Revell for push fit models like in Indomitus recently, as it gives me just that little extra time before setting just in case they don't fit quite right and I need to trim somewhere or whatever.

Regarding the last bit of glue in Tamina thin: start a jar of sprue goo. Any extra in my bottles just goes into my sprue goo bottle with some sprue. Sprue goo is just so good for conversions and fitting large panels where you don't want a seam to show.

I'm another for Revell Contacta Professional. As has been noted the only downside is the needle clogging. I used to just grab the needle in a pair of pliers and burn the clog out on the gas hob on my oven, but I've since taken to using an offcut of guitar string that's just the right gauge to prod any clogs out without having to resort to fire.

For superglue, until recently I used Loctite, but it had a habit of clogging the lid and even gluing the lid on, no matter how carefully I tried to stop it from happening. I'm trying a bottle of Gorilla gel superglue at the minute, to see how well that bottle lasts.

 harlokin wrote:
Revell Contacta Professional

Pros: Works great, very precise, and lasts for ages.
Cons:. The applicator tube can get blocked, but it's easily fixed.

I picked Revell up on a trip to Germany last year and now it's my go to. Hard to get in the US though. By hard I mean impossible. I had to order it from Europe.

Testors is good too but I feel like Revell gives a strong bond.

And yeah, I keep a wire bit taped to the bottle to clear it.

Revell Contacta Pro for plastics (which is 95% of the models I build). It does get clogged but I have a bit of fuse wire to poke into the nozzle, and holding the nozzle against the daylight bulb in my lamp is enough to melt the dried glue if it's being stubborn.

Any old Loctite superglue I see at the shops for metals, as it dries out too easily/I use it too rarely to worry about it in any more detail.

PVA for basing.

 Momotaro wrote:

I moved away from PVA for bases and terrain. Wood glue sets faster and is more durable. PVA has many other uses though - watered down it makes a great sealer for flock

Sorry, but aren't PVA and wood glue the same thing?