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I've got 30+ years hobby experience but I just can't seem to get Tamiya Extra thin to do its job.

I've always used Tamiya's regular Poly Cement for HIPs plastic, but after hearing so any people rave about the thin version I bought a pot a while ago ago. Every time that I go to use it always end up having to go back and use the regular, thicker version as it simply hasn't worked.

I feel that I'm doing something wrong, how can it be so bad when everybody else says it's great?

Maybe I've got a "bad" pot?

How are you applying it?

The idea is you hold the parts together, apply the glue to the joint, it'll wick its way in, wait a few seconds and the parts should be glued together. You don't need to use heaps. You can apply them to the parts first and then push them together, but if you're going to do that then I'd just use regular plastic cement rather than the extra thin.

I've tried both ways that you suggested, the "usual" way and applying it to the join after holding the parts together. There's either no bond or a very weak bond.

It's very strange!

Apply it to both parts, wait a couple seconds and then assemble.

What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

That is what it is primary ment for yes, however as you say, if we knew what minis OP is using it on perhaps we can find out why it is not working for OP.

There are two types of extra thin from tamiya: extra thin and extra thin quick setting. With quick setting you have 3-5 sec of time to work with before the glue has evaporated, the normal glue version 10-15 sec.
For our chunky gaming minis, 2-3 layers is needed for a solid glue bond. So first layer as normal, then 10 sec later a 2nd run over the joint, and be generous. If large pices do a 3d layer. Then let dry for 5 mins before attacing a new part. It is no "drop dry" before 1-2hours has passed.

I have used these glues on anything from SW legion, to AoS/40k, to Titianicus titans whitout any issues, but there is some "training" needed to use them properly.

Seems a little pointless using it in that way to my mind then? Unless there's some benefit I'm not seeing? Do you get a cleaner join or something?

I rarely use plastic glue anyway. I usually just superglue everything.

 FrozenDwarf wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

That is what it is primary ment for yes, however as you say, if we knew what minis OP is using it on perhaps we can find out why it is not working for OP.

There are two types of extra thin from tamiya: extra thin and extra thin quick setting. With quick setting you have 3-5 sec of time to work with before the glue has evaporated, the normal glue version 10-15 sec.
For our chunky gaming minis, 2-3 layers is needed for a solid glue bond. So first layer as normal, then 10 sec later a 2nd run over the joint, and be generous. If large pices do a 3d layer. Then let dry for 5 mins before attacing a new part. It is no "drop dry" before 1-2hours has passed.

I have used these glues on anything from SW legion, to AoS/40k, to Titianicus titans whitout any issues, but there is some "training" needed to use them properly.

I've found you don't really NEED to use a lot of glue to make sure the parts are well and truly stuck together, but sometimes I use a lot if the joint is large just to make sure the entire joint is filled as extra insurance.

Usually if I use an exceptional amount of glue or multiple layers it's because I'm using it for gap filling more than joining. My AI Dakkajets I applied way too much glue, pushed them together extra hard so some plastic squirted out, then after it was mostly dry trimmed off the excess rather than trying to fill the gaps. The doesn't always work well, but the way the Dakkajets are constructed it works well in that situation.

But generally I find I don't need to use much Tamiya Extra Thin, and the more you use the longer it'll take to dry. I know some people who do fine scale models have moved away from Tamiya Extra Thin because they found that weeks after completing a model their carefully filled and sanded seam lines would reappear as the glue continued to set.




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Racerguy180 wrote:
Apply it to both parts, wait a couple seconds and then assemble.

If it's the sort of model that requires glue application before pushing them together, I just use regular plastic cement, I find Tamiya Extra Thin is worse than regular plastic cement in that role.

So on my desk I have both a bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin and also a bottle of Revell Contacta. Tamiya for parts that I assemble first and then apply the glue, Revell for stuff that needs glue applied before assembly.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

Nah, plastic cement works by melting the plastic which effectively welds the two parts together, it works just as well on thin contact points as it does on big contact points, big contact points just means a bigger weld area.

Plastic cement is the permanent option when you really don't want something to fall apart, as long as it's being used on the correct material it'll be much stronger than superglue.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Seems a little pointless using it in that way to my mind then? Unless there's some benefit I'm not seeing? Do you get a cleaner join or something?

I rarely use plastic glue anyway. I usually just superglue everything.

The benefit of using plastic glue in general is that it's stronger and gives you a few moments where you can position the part before it starts to dry.

The benefit of using Tamiya Extra Thin specifically is that you can assemble the model first and then glue it, and also it wicks itself through the entire joint allowing you to easily apply just the right amount.

 FrozenDwarf wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

That is what it is primary ment for yes, however as you say, if we knew what minis OP is using it on perhaps we can find out why it is not working for OP.

There are two types of extra thin from tamiya: extra thin and extra thin quick setting. With quick setting you have 3-5 sec of time to work with before the glue has evaporated, the normal glue version 10-15 sec.
For our chunky gaming minis, 2-3 layers is needed for a solid glue bond. So first layer as normal, then 10 sec later a 2nd run over the joint, and be generous. If large pices do a 3d layer. Then let dry for 5 mins before attacing a new part. It is no "drop dry" before 1-2hours has passed.

I have used these glues on anything from SW legion, to AoS/40k, to Titianicus titans whitout any issues, but there is some "training" needed to use them properly.

I've just checked the bottle, it is indeed the Quick-Setting variant.

I think that explains why I've been having trouble, I'm used to the reguar drying time of plastic glue and for some reason I totally missed the Quick Setting part of the label. Saying that, it doesn't explain why it's not working when I hold the components together before application.

As to what minis I'm glueing, when it comes to HIPs it's mostly GW plastics. For everything else I stick to superglue gel.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses.

Can you snip of two parts of a GW sprue (the actual sprueframe, not the model parts) and see if you can glue them together?

The softer the plastic is the better the quick setting works is my experience with it. The old kits (early last decade) did not work too well with the quick setting, but worked nice with the normal thin.

I have never read of a bad batch of this glue, you could try and buy the non quick setting variant from a different shop.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

Nah, plastic cement works by melting the plastic which effectively welds the two parts together, it works just as well on thin contact points as it does on big contact points, big contact points just means a bigger weld area.

Plastic cement is the permanent option when you really don't want something to fall apart, as long as it's being used on the correct material it'll be much stronger than superglue.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Seems a little pointless using it in that way to my mind then? Unless there's some benefit I'm not seeing? Do you get a cleaner join or something?

I rarely use plastic glue anyway. I usually just superglue everything.

The benefit of using plastic glue in general is that it's stronger and gives you a few moments where you can position the part before it starts to dry.

The benefit of using Tamiya Extra Thin specifically is that you can assemble the model first and then glue it, and also it wicks itself through the entire joint allowing you to easily apply just the right amount.

I know the differences between superglue and plastic cement. I use superglue because it's easier to find in regular shops than poly cement and I like the option of easy breaking of bonds should I want to reuse or recycle parts.

I was referring to this extra thin poly cement specifically. I'm assuming that if it's designed for thin scale model panels it might not be strong enough for Warhammer plastic pieces which are much thicker. I can't see the advantage of the extra thin over regular poly cement.

Interesting, I've had exactly the same experience with the quick-setting tamiya extra thin. Applied normally or on already attached parts, extremly weak or nonexistent bond. Good to know that I'm not the only one having issues.
Mind you, I was already using the regular tamiya extra thin beforehand, and I never had a problem with it. Great for small pieces or when you're trying to get very clean connections (what can happen if you use too much regular plastic cement)

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

Nah, plastic cement works by melting the plastic which effectively welds the two parts together, it works just as well on thin contact points as it does on big contact points, big contact points just means a bigger weld area.

Plastic cement is the permanent option when you really don't want something to fall apart, as long as it's being used on the correct material it'll be much stronger than superglue.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Seems a little pointless using it in that way to my mind then? Unless there's some benefit I'm not seeing? Do you get a cleaner join or something?

I rarely use plastic glue anyway. I usually just superglue everything.

The benefit of using plastic glue in general is that it's stronger and gives you a few moments where you can position the part before it starts to dry.

The benefit of using Tamiya Extra Thin specifically is that you can assemble the model first and then glue it, and also it wicks itself through the entire joint allowing you to easily apply just the right amount.

I know the differences between superglue and plastic cement. I use superglue because it's easier to find in regular shops than poly cement and I like the option of easy breaking of bonds should I want to reuse or recycle parts.

I was referring to this extra thin poly cement specifically. I'm assuming that if it's designed for thin scale model panels it might not be strong enough for Warhammer plastic pieces which are much thicker. I can't see the advantage of the extra thin over regular poly cement.

The advantage is that it's easier to get a smooth join and it's quicker drying. With the extra thin Tamiya you also get a really excellent application brush and you can use it to paint the cement into and over seems after gluing to help smooth them out. In terms of sticking power, I suspect there is a slight reduction in the overall bonding strength between the extra thin and the regular, but this is likely down to the fact it evaporates so quickly before you can stick pieces together. Extra applications before sticking should help that, plus additional applications over seams. I don't think there's any reason not to use the extra thin on regular sized models - and I regularly do. You just have to be a bit more aware of the bonding that's taking place. Large models, like titans, etc., I couldn't say as I never build them.

I use the tamiya extra thin and I love it. It's far easier to get a nice looking end product than with regular cement.

Fair enough. Personally I've never had any issues just using superglue for plastic. Any joins that I do have I solve with milliput and sanding. I have heard good things about tamiya plastic putty for filling though.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

AllSeeingSkink wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
What are you using it for? I'd imagine that's designed for thin plastic scale model panels with thin contact points. If you're using it for regular plastic models or figures maybe its too much for it to handle?

Nah, plastic cement works by melting the plastic which effectively welds the two parts together, it works just as well on thin contact points as it does on big contact points, big contact points just means a bigger weld area.

Plastic cement is the permanent option when you really don't want something to fall apart, as long as it's being used on the correct material it'll be much stronger than superglue.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Seems a little pointless using it in that way to my mind then? Unless there's some benefit I'm not seeing? Do you get a cleaner join or something?

I rarely use plastic glue anyway. I usually just superglue everything.

The benefit of using plastic glue in general is that it's stronger and gives you a few moments where you can position the part before it starts to dry.

The benefit of using Tamiya Extra Thin specifically is that you can assemble the model first and then glue it, and also it wicks itself through the entire joint allowing you to easily apply just the right amount.

I know the differences between superglue and plastic cement. I use superglue because it's easier to find in regular shops than poly cement and I like the option of easy breaking of bonds should I want to reuse or recycle parts.

I was referring to this extra thin poly cement specifically. I'm assuming that if it's designed for thin scale model panels it might not be strong enough for Warhammer plastic pieces which are much thicker. I can't see the advantage of the extra thin over regular poly cement.

The last sentence of my post that you just quoted was specifically about the advantages I see for using extra thin.

"The benefit of using Tamiya Extra Thin specifically is that you can assemble the model first and then glue it, and also it wicks itself through the entire joint allowing you to easily apply just the right amount."

With regular plastic cement you apply it, maybe you applied too little, maybe you applied too much, the way extra thin wicks itself into the joint means the joint gets filled really well with little risk of applying too much.

Also, yeah, you can assemble first, meaning you can get the arm in just the right spot, hold it in place, apply a touch of glue to slightly bond it, check that you're happy, then apply a heavier dob of glue to get a nice fillet around the bond site. For vehicles, you can clamp the model together and make sure everything fits and is squarely assembled and then apply the glue to the assembled model rather than disassembling to get the glue on the mating surfaces.

Some people like it as a gap filler, I'm a bit "meh" on using it as a gap filler, in some situations it's good but most of the time I think it's a poor gap filler.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who's had trouble with it.

Anyway, I did the sprue test a few times. Simply applying the glue to one part and then immediately sticking them together had little or no effect, as expected.

I am getting a better bond (but still not great to be honest) when i put the two sprue parts together before applying the glue, I suspect that is down to the greater surface area of the parts being put together, as I was mostly using it on very small connection points beforehand.

I think I'm going to give the regular thin variant a try, not sure if I'll find a use for the quick drying version, unless I'm trying for a weak bond

 Undead_Love-Machine wrote:


I think I'm going to give the regular thin variant a try, not sure if I'll find a use for the quick drying version, unless I'm trying for a weak bond

For thouse minis who holds a two hand weapon and dont have arm sockets/pegs to the torso, a weak bond is better then no bond. Then use the normal extra thin to finish the job.
A weak bond helped me alot on doing the arms on old 40k IG grunt and the SW legion B1 droids.

That's a good call, thanks

I use the regular extra thin. I always apply glue first and push together later, for some unexplained reason I fumble the "hold together and apply to join" technique when I've tried it and its nearly cost me the enitre model.

Can anyone point to some video tutorial as on how to succesfully pull off "hold together and apply to join" moves? hehehe

(Could be my eye injury at play too I suppose)

 tauist wrote:
I use the regular extra thin. I always apply glue first and push together later, for some unexplained reason I fumble the "hold together and apply to join" technique when I've tried it and its nearly cost me the enitre model.

Can anyone point to some video tutorial as on how to succesfully pull off "hold together and apply to join" moves? hehehe

(Could be my eye injury at play too I suppose)

Finger controll is a factor more then eye sight, sight is just to get the parts in the right location in the right position, and it is a fact that the smaller hands you have the better finger controll you have. Its all in learning to pinch two parts with just 3 fingers. But perhaps for you the best solution would be to use revel contacta if you are not allready using it, as it follows the "normal way" of gluing while beeing fairly thin glue.

 FrozenDwarf wrote:

 tauist wrote:
I use the regular extra thin. I always apply glue first and push together later, for some unexplained reason I fumble the "hold together and apply to join" technique when I've tried it and its nearly cost me the enitre model.

Can anyone point to some video tutorial as on how to succesfully pull off "hold together and apply to join" moves? hehehe

(Could be my eye injury at play too I suppose)

Finger controll is a factor more then eye sight, sight is just to get the parts in the right location in the right position, and it is a fact that the smaller hands you have the better finger controll you have. Its all in learning to pinch two parts with just 3 fingers. But perhaps for you the best solution would be to use revel contacta if you are not allready using it, as it follows the "normal way" of gluing while beeing fairly thin glue.

Yeah I mean I'd love to learn the proper thin cement glueing technique as it sounds like a superior way to glue small hits together without risking having too much glue making a mess at the seams. But perhaps I should also get a regilar Tamiya cement to complement the thin one - much much prefer the excellent brushes in Tamiya glue bottles over Revell Contactas oft-clogging "needle"