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2018/09/03 00:05:16
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Splattered With Acrylic Paint
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Does anyone have any tips on speeding up the process of removing mold lines?
Due to my personality, I'm very 'picky' when it comes to cleaning the mold lines.
I'd normally clip one piece out, clean it all around and then move onto the next part.
For a 5-man space marine squad I took nearly 4 hours... :( (surely this is too long right?)
Im using a hobby knife and moldline removers for all the work.
Any tips/advice would be great.
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2018/09/03 00:18:37
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Anti-Armour Swiss Guard
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When it comes to removing mould lines, it takes as long as it takes.
It all depends on how much it bothers you when you paint them and THEN you see the lines you missed.
You can rush it, and if you are as OCD as half of my peers, you will forever see the lines you missed removing and agonise over them.
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I'm OVER 50 (and so far over everyone's BS, too).
Old enough to know better, young enough to not give a ****.
That is not dead which can eternal lie ...
... and yet, with strange aeons, even death may die.
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2018/09/03 00:54:02
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Powerful Phoenix Lord
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I clear joints, and obnoxious lines, but no...I would never ever spend four hours on five models. But, only you know how anal you are.
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2018/09/03 01:18:51
Subject: Re:I take too long removing mold lines...
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Fixture of Dakka
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I think Chromedog nailed it from the off. It takes as long as it takes.
I tend to scrape mine off pretty quickly but i'm also a little heavy handed with it, so some times it leaves me with flat surfaces i'd rather not have. But I just want them gone.
4 hours does seem a little long though, but if that's how long it takes you, then don't rush it.
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2018/09/03 20:26:05
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Unshakeable Grey Knight Land Raider Pilot
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I spent an entire week just assembling a Wraithknight while on holiday a few years ago. Not just moldlines but also the component halves that you glue together. Got every one filled & polished down to a perfectly seamless join. That and magnets.
Worth it? Nah he just sits on the shelf now :(
It takes however long it takes, put whatever effort you're satisfied with and you'll be proud to put them on the table every game when they're done.
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2018/09/04 06:23:46
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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[DCM]
Fireknife Shas'el
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Yeah, there’s nothing worse than getting well into painting and finding a mould line or gap that you’d overlooked in prep; take the time to get it right first time.
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2018/09/04 06:46:39
Subject: Re:I take too long removing mold lines...
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Pestilent Plague Marine with Blight Grenade
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Honestly I thought the GW mold line remover was the biggest waste of mine.. then I bought it lol It actually works very well. Much better then the dull side of a modeling knife.
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2018/09/04 06:53:44
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Utilizing Careful Highlighting
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The GW moldline remover is really good and is worth its ridiculous markup. Pick up a pack of needle files in very fine grits as well for quickly getting mold lines that aren’t very big.
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2018/09/07 05:15:17
Subject: Re:I take too long removing mold lines...
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Dark Angels Neophyte Undergoing Surgeries
Australia
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I use this and it works well. It should, it's razor sharp, well the
front's shaving sharp and the back is just regular sharp. I use
the back edge for cleaning off clip points and mould lines. I
use a scraping motion and it takes seconds.
It's Australian made, check out ZU Bladeworx Australia if you're
interested, this knife is the voodoo.
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No, the paper does not beat The Rock. |
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2018/09/07 05:53:55
Subject: Re:I take too long removing mold lines...
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Veteran Inquisitorial Tyranid Xenokiller
Watch Fortress Excalibris
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Are you constitutionally obligated to do the "That's not a knife; this is a knife!" thing every time you get it out?
Anyway, I agree with Badablack about the mouldline remover. I resisted getting one for years, just using my modelling knife instead. Then I saw one on ebay for around half the GW price and snapped it up. Fantastic tool. I still use the knife for narrow angles where the mouldline remover doesn't fit, but for everything else it's great. It even works on ribbed surfaces like plasma gun coils without damaging the detail.
4 hours to clean up a 5-man squad seems a bit extreme, but not massively so if you're being thorough. Especially with a relatively old kit where the sprue connection points and mouldlines are not in ideal locations. With GW's more modern kits, they seem to have been much better designed to minimise cleanup (e.g. mouldlines running along sharp edges where they're not visible).
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/09/07 05:55:11
A little bit of righteous anger now and then is good, actually. Don't trust a person who never gets angry. |
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2018/09/07 06:30:29
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Powerful Phoenix Lord
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Nah, it's "That's not a mold line removah...this is a mold line removah."
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2018/09/07 07:05:52
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Xeno-Hating Inquisitorial Excruciator
London
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Elbows wrote:Nah, it's "That's not a mold line removah...this is a mold line removah."
Yep
Auzzies: confirming our expectations since 1788
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2018/09/07 13:51:02
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Powerful Phoenix Lord
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Personally, I just clip off the pieces and scrap off only the obnoxious mold lines (i.e. ones that will mess with the fitting of the pieces when glued) with the back of my hobby knife. Then I assemble the model and remove further obvious mold lines in the process. This does 2 things for me: 1) It means I only spend time removing mold lines that are visible on the model once assembled. Those in crevasses won't be seen, so why spend time on them? 2) It makes it "feel" like I am not spending as much time on them. Bitz have to be clipped and the model has to be assembled, so by incorporating the mold line removal at these steps, it doesn't feel like a whole step onto itself. -
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/09/07 13:51:40
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2018/09/07 14:17:07
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Decrepit Dakkanaut
UK
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A few thoughts
1) I agree it takes as long as it takes. Some models are also a lot easier than others. Much newer models with new moulds will often have way fewer and finer mould lines that are quick to remove or might not even have any in some spots; whilst a much older model might have older moulds that have more wear on them and thus more mould lines to remove. It's one big advantage to getting new models when they come out as they should be the cleanest to work with.
2) tools I use:
a) A scalpel - I use the older chunky GW scalpel mostly because I like its easy to hold handle, but any blade will do. The bonus with a scalpel is that the thin end lets you easily get into tight spots; tough they can be a little rough on some edges when freshly sharp (there's a sweet spot between dull and super sharp where they work best).
b) Mould line remover - this is a great tool BUT its big and chunky and thus I find that it can't get into all the little tight spots on a model - its the only downside to it really and otherwise is a very fine and good tool
c) Diamond Files and a rubber. Diamond files are great because they will cut in any movement direction (whilst regular toothed files only cut in one direction); so are great in tight spots. The grit value is how fine they are and I'd say get a half-circle one in as fine a grit as you can find. This lets you smooth over and remove mould lines on areas where a blade might not work well such as on the curves of tails and wings.
Plastic, however, builds up fast on the tool and it will get dulled very fast so what you do is take an ordinary rubber that you'd use to rub out pencil markings; and rub the file on the rubber. With a diamond file this cleans out the gunk (you can normally see the rubber bits change colour from dark to light* as it cleans out the gunk.
If you use a regular toothed file then use a brass metal brush and brush with the grain to clean out the channels.
4) Music, DVD, film, TV show, Audiobook - something on in the background that you can dip in and out of whilst you work; can slow you down, but at least gives you something else ot focus on when the cleaning gets too much.
In general I'm like you in that it takes me ages, I can't profess to being great at it and it is easy to over-do it; but in general once I learned to "see" mould lines I couldn't "unsee" them and thus am stuck with the slower cleaning phase.
Note I tend to clean up the parts and then assemble and then revisit the model a few days later before priming. Sometimes fresh eyes can spot other areas to clean up (or greenstuff fill) bfore that first coat of primer. Sometimes its also worth after the first coat to wait for the model to fully dry and then check it over again - paint (esp white) will show up fine errors or problems again and at that stage its not too bad to scrape away a little area and touch it up before you get the second coat of primer on and move onto proper painting.
*assuming a white rubber
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2018/09/07 14:32:23
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Omnipotent Necron Overlord
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I just cutt off the obnoxious ones with a steady hand with my modeling knife.
Usually I use assembly line techniques - I cut out all peices - then do mold lines and cleaning - then assemble all at once. The mold lines takes the longest....
It's the obviously mold lines that are the issue - I wouldn't spend 4 hours trying to make it look perfect. That is insane.
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If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced.
- Fox Mulder |
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2018/09/07 15:26:50
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Powerful Phoenix Lord
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There are also some cases in which I intentionally leave the lines there as they break up flat areas in a nice way. Thunder Hammers, for example, have the mold line right in the center. I leave the line on top to break up the flat space. I do shave off the line on the business end of the hammer though, as that should be flat. I think GW has gotten much better at either hiding mold lines entirely, or making them less noticably -
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/09/07 15:27:40
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2018/09/08 06:33:57
Subject: I take too long removing mold lines...
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Lord of the Fleet
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Possible strategy for speeding up (although whether this will work depends on why it's taking you so long).
Clip out all of you pieces for the squad (put each model into a pile).
Clean all of the legs, clean all of the torsos, etc.
This way you aren't looking for attachment points and mould lines every time - after the first one you know where they are and the repetition will help you to speed up.
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