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last week I bought my first box of Warmachine (Cygnar btw) and am currently working on them. but they're hard to assemble. right now I'm using Greenstuff which seems to hold now, but I don't know how this will work if they are moved around more than on my working table. the glue I normally use for smaller metal miniatures just won't work. at least not metal on metal, but it does stick on my finger.
do you guys have any Ideas how I could fix this?

and one other thing: how do you transport those guys?

1) My greenstuff + glue or toilet paper + glue holds out so far. If not, then
you're going to have to pin them, especially weedy parts like wrists with single
contact points. I dropped some of my Temple Flame Guard which are attached
at the wrist, and their spears went a flying.

2) Thick foam in an army transport (for the warjacks). Specially cut-out foam
for the rest. Some of the warjacks fit in the thick foam standing up. Some have
to lie down. People usually have specific trays set up for specific units.

green stuff + toilet paper?!

Nonono. toilet paper plus superglue. Waaagh Gonads told me to try it
and while it's kind of tricky to apply toilet paper without getting it stuck
to your fingers, it seems to work. I think he said the trick was to use
as thin a piece of tp as possible, but I'll wait for him or someone else
to explain it; it works because of the added surface area (contact points)
between the two sides.

I'd suggest pinning your figs. The technique requires a Pin Vise and a lengh of wire (paperclips will work). A good tutorial can be found here: http://www.brushthralls.com/banethralls.php

Agree with Breotan. Get some 1/16" brass rod, a pin vice, and the right sized bit for your dremel, and have fun

I have the citadel handdriller. does it work for metal

Manual pin vises work on metal, but take a lot of patience and effort. If at all possible, invest in a dremmel.

Brass rod is not required for pinnng.  I find sections of paperclip work just as well - and are generally cheaper / easier to cut.  Fill the joint out with greenstuff for a tight fit.  I also use a manual pin-vice, and have not yet had any of the small bits snap on me (I did have a 1/16" bit snap, but it was because I was applying too much pressure).  The secret to drilling metal IMHO, is to apply a gentle but steady pressure.  If the bit feels like it is stuck on something, reverse it out of the hole.  More likely than not, it has caught on some spoil.  If you continue applying pressure, the torque will snap the bit.

And I'll insist -don't ever ever EVER use a dremel for pinning.  It is extremely dangerous to use bits small enough for miniature work and you're just begging for a serious accident.  For example, a 1/16" hole all the way through your hand, burns to your fingers holding onto fiction heated metal, or a broken bit shaft to the eye.

 

Use a hand powered device for pinning.  May take an extra ten minutes, but orders of magnitude safer.

You sound very new to minature modelling, remember to wash your model thoroughly they use a spray on coating to get it to come out of the mold, so much of the time your glue and paints won't stick to well, so you may wish to try using the glue again. . .

Oh and a green stuff weld works reasonably well if you cut some thin lines into the concealed part of the joint. . . (Green stuff welds are made by using Green stuff - a modelling putty, and applying it then adding some super glue to it and holding the model together for a few minutes. . .

Bob, have you ever done this to yourself (as in eye patch?) or are you simply using rumours? Sorry to doubt you but so far the only injury any of the people my gamers and I have seen was a severe cut from a dull exacto knife will trying to trim excess flash on a war machine model?

(All thanks go to Rueben for showing me Greenstuff welding)

actually I'm playing and minature-modeling for over 5 years now. I assembled some Inqusitor Miniatures but beside that, I use plastik most of the time. and I did wash them before I first tried to glue them together and was surprised that it didn't stick together at all

Let me echo: NEVER USE A DREMEL FOR PINNING. If using a manual vice is too much, then get yourself a normal drill that can take the pin-vise bits. These spin much slower and have the advantage of having a lot more torque (for all its RPMs a dremel does not actually have much power).

If you use a dremel you are going to be breaking drill bits left and right, sending metal flying at high speeds every which way, melting your miniatures (the heat generated from the friction between your drill bit moving at a minimum of 6000rpm and pewter will melt the metal), and probably at some point slipping and drilling through your hand.

That being said, Warmachine models are very easily assembled by pinning & super glue. The brushthralls site has some good guides.

For pinning, I just use paper clips. 1/16" brass rod is a bit too thick for some joints; drilling the hole will be difficult. I've also heard people using hanging wire (the stuff used to hang pictures). Some Cygnar models (I'm looking at you, Centurian) seem to even have guides molded into the model.

One thing you'll find difficult with pinning is that your drll bit will tend to "slip" over the surface of the metal before catching - so it's hard to get the hole exactly where you want this. Get around that by starting the hole off with a knife or something - just use the tip of a hobby knife to create a small indentation in the model for your drill bit to catch onto.

Another nice advantage of pinning is whne it comes time to paint - I do not fully assemble warmachine models before I paint them (I find arms often get in the way of the model). So I leave the pins on the arms at least an inch or so long and then after priming I stick them into a wine cork - it gives me a convenient way to hold and manipulate the arms of the model without having to touch them while they're covered in fresh paint (which is often vulnerable to chipping)

JD