Glue

[INKS]

I've been having a heck of a time trying to find a decent glue.

What do people use?

 

I've tried a few different glues and either it seems to dry up fast, or it takes too long to cure and I end up holding the glue for far too long. 

 

I am building 1K Sons and trying to glue the legs together nearly made me want to quit.

 

I did have a gel glue that was ok, but you don't get much for the amount you are paying. (I am in Canada)

 

For Plastics*

[Ramell]

You didn't specify material, which matters, but I assume it's plastic since you're talking about multi-part Thousand Sons legs.

For plastics, I use plastic cement. The brand isn't that important, but I usually use Revell's.

For resin, I prefer to pin and use a two-component glue for larger parts. Takes a while to set fully, but it's strong. I've had some bad experiences with cyanoacrylate (standard super glue) so I only use that for small parts like holsters and grenades.

[Marshal Loss]

Revell Contacta Professional. Best brand of plastic glue out there by a country mile. I had a lot of difficulty finding some in the US, but a cursory google search shows that it shouldn't be hard to get in Canada.

[INKS]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

I've tried gorilla glue (different types) and it's just not that great.

[NovemberIX]

Loctite has been my go to for decades, the different formulations are also a plus, between slower setting gels and quicker setting liquids in multiple kinds of applicators you should find a type of loctite that works best for your project.

[Lord Marshal]

Revell Contacta Professional. Best brand of plastic glue out there by a country mile. I had a lot of difficulty finding some in the US, but a cursory google search shows that it shouldn't be hard to get in Canada.

 

This is what I use. Cheap enough off UK Amazon and does the job serviceably for the price.

[Arkhanist]

There are two main types of glue for polystyrene (plastic) GW models - Cyanoacrylate known as superglue, and polystyrene cement, also known as plastic glue.

 

Superglue is a fairly quick drying glue, which uses moisture from the air to cure. Popular brands include gorilla glue and loctite. Superglue comes in various thickness; the thicker types, like normal loctite and gorilla superglue are easier to apply. The key for application is to only apply a small, thin layer to one side of the joint. A heavy application, counterintuitively, takes significantly longer to cure (minutes instead of seconds) and results in a weaker joint. Moving the joint while it's curing can also cause a failure. A joint that is not tight fitting can also not cure easily - dry fit the joint before gluing to ensure there's enough surfaces meeting, it may need reshaping with a knife or ultrafine sandpaper (e.g. micromesh) if not. If it does fail, it's better to wait for it to finish curing, clean up the dry mess a bit with a craft knife to get a clean, close fitting joint, then try again - rather than just stick on even more wet superglue onto the half-cured mess, tempting as it is.

 

You can speed up curing time two ways. One, for normal use, is to glue one part, put them together firmly and hold, then breathe out on the joint. The moisture in your breath will help cure the superglue quicker if the air humidty is low. Another option is to use a superglue activator, which you usually spray on one part first, apply superglue thinly to the 2nd part as before, then stick together. The activator is formulated to cure the superglue quickly. Using an activator increases the chances of white marks in the surrounding area (tiny amounts of superglue vapour curing outside the joint), so is not advised for painted models, e.g. gluing a painted model to a painted base, or a transparent canopy. There are many vendors of superglue activator, and they're all pretty much the same stuff.

 

The biggest downside for superglue is that it's quite brittle, and the joint can snap later. This does make it easier to repose models if you make a mistake, but can be a drawback when gaming - a drop can end up popping the arms off, for example. Loctite and gorilla glue also sell 'gel' variants, that have tiny bits of rubber in it. This makes the joint a bit more flexible and less prone to snapping. The downside is the gel variants do seem to take a bit longer to dry, and every time I've used it the bottle has dried up well before I've used half the bottle. Putting the cap on the bottle promptly helps a bit, but it is annoying.

 

The other main type of glue is poly cement; revell, GW, humbrol and many others make this. This is not a glue - strictly speaking, it's a solvent that literally melts the plastic of the joint so it welds the two parts together. Applied correctly, this produces a much stronger joint than superglue - so much so, the only way to separate it afterward is cutting it with a craft knife. GW poly cement is rubbish, revell contacta is good. Poly cement takes longer to dry, so you need to again ensure a good dry fit first, then apply poly cement thinly and hold the joint immobile while it welds the two parts together. You can use 'helping hands' i.e. a flexible arm with a crocodile clip, to help hold the pieces while they cure, others use rubber bands, or just hold with your hands for a couple of minutes. Once it's strong enough to hold on its own, you can just leave on your working mat to finish curing. Excess application can leave a bit of a melted mess around the joint, so don't apply lots so it squeezes out when the parts are pushed together, just a little dab.

 

Revella contacta (and others) usually comes as a bottle with a thin tube sticking out for application. This tube can get blocked with dry cement. The quick way to clear it is to use a naked flame on the end of the tube for a couple of seconds, such as a cigarette lighter, to literally burn off the blockage. Care is obviously required so that you don't melt the bottle or set fire to the whole thing! The more sensible way is to use a pin, but can be a bit laborious.

 

Other brands sell in a glass bottle with a brush applicator, such as tamiya extra thin. These are designed so that you position the joint, then wick the glue into and along the seam line using the fine brush. This provides a solid joint at the surface, and since melted plastic fills in the seam, you can end up with a truly seamless, clean joint. For particularly gappy joints (space marine jump packs spring to mind) you can press the two parts together firmer once it's part melted, and it will squish into and fill the seam line. It might need a little sanding at the weld joint, but where a joint lies in the middle of a flat plate, it can save having to go through with gap filler afterwards. Running glue along the seam while already holding both pieces can be a challenge, so I often apply it like revella by brushing a little bit on the inside of the joint, then hold the pieces together long enough to hold together on their own. Models that fit together with pegs are easy, as you use them to hold the model together initially, then brush glue along the seam.

 

When I want to disguise the seam on a smooth surface such as where the joint goes right through the middle of a shoulder pad, I apply a little more, wick into the gap, wait for it to melt a bit, and press the parts together hard for another 10 seconds or so.

 

Personally, I use tamiya extra thin these days, as it does cure a bit quicker than revella, and can give an exceptionally strong, clean final joint, and is hard to over apply. Even if you do, the model hardens back up again rather than leave a mess. Plus you don't have to clean the tube!

 

I use standard superglue (usually loctite precision) for materials poly cement doesn't work on because it's not plastic, e.g. resin or 3d printed parts.

[INKS]

wow Ark, thank you. I think I want super glue then. I want it to dry fairly fast. My hands are not steady, so the quicker it cures the better.

 

edit: next problem. they seem to come in 4g bottles and from experience I know this lasts me about 7 models. at 9-12 dollars a pop this is a terrible deal.

 

I built 4 termagants, 1 lictor, 2 1k sons. and it's empty. otherwise LePage / Loctite seems good.

 

Edit 2: Sadly I can't get to a local hobby shop. so amazon canada is more or less my best friend, except in this case it doesn't seem to be.

[excelite]

I use small clamps to fixate parts while they cure with plastic glue. Usually because I don’t want to bother with holding parts, but they also should help you with unsteady hands.

 

There are some quite cheap ones (1-2€ at my local hardwarestore) and for my working pace 5-6 are enough to be continuously glueing in an assembly line style

Edited June 30, 2021 by excelite

[Closet Skeleton]

Super glue tends to get used up way faster than polycement. It also requires holding stuff together for at least 5 seconds even with fast drying ones.

 

If you have unsteady hands, the best thing is just to prop the model up while the glue dries. I never hold a model together while glue is drying unless everything else has failed.

 

Polycement can take an hour to fully dry but the pieces stick together pretty much instantly and you can just leave partially assembled models lying around unless you're dealing with extra heavy pieces which can start to sag out of place before drying. To avoid that you just have to be careful about the position you leave the parts to dry in. If a model has a long sword arm pointing outwards you can just put a paint pot in front of him to stop the sword drooping.

 

Also don't over-apply glue. Doing that will slow down drying and use the glue up faster obviously. It wiil also make bad joins with super glue since the glue mass.
 

[Arkhanist]

OK, that sounds odd. A 40ml bottle of poly cement will last me literally a couple of years. My superglue usually dries up or destroys its own nozzle with claggy bits well before I actually finish the 15 or 20g bottle, so only 7 models per bottle seems very low. Are you buying ones like the loctite "control", where you only get a 4g tiny tube inside the big plastic squeezy thing (total rip off for the price)

 

Even my tiny little bottle of 5g of brush on superglue (bought when it was all I could get at the supermarket) has done at least a dozen models on its own and isn't done yet. You do only want a tiny bit of superglue, literally a small droplet for most mini-sized joints. 

[Warbringer]

wow Ark, thank you. I think I want super glue then. I want it to dry fairly fast. My hands are not steady, so the quicker it cures the better.

 

edit: next problem. they seem to come in 4g bottles and from experience I know this lasts me about 7 models. at 9-12 dollars a pop this is a terrible deal.

 

I built 4 termagants, 1 lictor, 2 1k sons. and it's empty. otherwise LePage / Loctite seems good.

 

Edit 2: Sadly I can't get to a local hobby shop. so amazon canada is more or less my best friend, except in this case it doesn't seem to be.

 

I use everbuild HV and CP superglues and will use an activator spray to get it to dry super fast, can be brittle but works well.

 

Remember to use the smallest bit of glue and i use a cocktail stick to spread it thinly and it will bond very quickly this way :)

[INKS]

Yeah that is what I could get my hands on was those "control" bottles that are only 4g.

OK, that sounds odd. A 40ml bottle of poly cement will last me literally a couple of years. My superglue usually dries up or destroys its own nozzle with claggy bits well before I actually finish the 15 or 20g bottle, so only 7 models per bottle seems very low. Are you buying ones like the loctite "control", where you only get a 4g tiny tube inside the big plastic squeezy thing (total rip off for the price)

 

Even my tiny little bottle of 5g of brush on superglue (bought when it was all I could get at the supermarket) has done at least a dozen models on its own and isn't done yet. You do only want a tiny bit of superglue, literally a small droplet for most mini-sized joints. 

I will try this.

 

wow Ark, thank you. I think I want super glue then. I want it to dry fairly fast. My hands are not steady, so the quicker it cures the better.

 

edit: next problem. they seem to come in 4g bottles and from experience I know this lasts me about 7 models. at 9-12 dollars a pop this is a terrible deal.

 

I built 4 termagants, 1 lictor, 2 1k sons. and it's empty. otherwise LePage / Loctite seems good.

 

Edit 2: Sadly I can't get to a local hobby shop. so amazon canada is more or less my best friend, except in this case it doesn't seem to be.

 

I use everbuild HV and CP superglues and will use an activator spray to get it to dry super fast, can be brittle but works well.

Remember to use the smallest bit of glue and i use a cocktail stick to spread it thinly and it will bond very quickly this way

 

[Xenith]

Some comments below.

 

Revell Contacta Professional. 

 

I swear by this also. Thin nozzle for precise application, great value.

 

 

 

I've tried gorilla glue (different types) and it's just not that great.

 

Seems like you're using superglue (best for metals and resin) with a limited shelf life on plastic models. SG generally goes bad after a month or two, I've found. Keeping it in the fridge makes it last a little longer. For plastic models I always use poly cement, unless I need a really fast hold on something with minimal points of contact. 

 

wow Ark, thank you. I think I want super glue then. I want it to dry fairly fast. My hands are not steady, so the quicker it cures the better.

 

I would say no - for plastic models, use plastic glue. There are no load bearing parts on TS so the stuff will dry fast. Ark saying poly cement takes longer to dry doesnt mean it takes ages. It'll hold like an arm in place after seconds, but takes a bit longer to form a solid permanent bond. 

 

edit: next problem. they seem to come in 4g bottles and from experience I know this lasts me about 7 models. at 9-12 dollars a pop this is a terrible deal.

 

Seems to be a case of using too much glue. All you need is a tiny droplet, too much will take longer to dry. I'd expect a 3g tube of SG to last 40+ models. My 25g revel contacta poly cement, unlike superglue, never goes off, and will glue hundreds of models and tanks, generally lasting about a year. 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Xenith

[INKS]

I mean, I am using one tiny droplet per joint for the gel stuff. You just don't get a lot in the bottle. 0.14oz or 4g. 

I put together 5 Termagants, 1 Lictor, and 2 1kSons and the bottle is empty. 

 

Either way, that way isn't viable in the way I am using it. It's too expensive I guess.

 

the gorilla glue was super glue, two different types. 1 bottle dried up on me. and the new one are these mini packs, which does pop out too much glue and I end up wiping it off and so on, it's a mess and wasn't holding well honestly. It was more sticky than glue like. But there was probably too much on the model.

 

The revel seems like a no go. No one near me sells it, and amazon wants 16 dollars plus shipping for 1 bottle. 

 

I am going to try the Tamiya cement. It's going to cost me 12-13 dollars after shipping for a 40g bottle. It has a brush, so maybe that will be better for me? I don't know.

 

Honestly I dislike building the models. It's frustrating. Why the heck are the legs on TSons 2 pieces!!! 

I am not looking forward to painting them either, the models are so small. ugh. This hobby thing isn't really for me, but heck do I like "playing the game" and I do want my models to look good. I might just pay someone to build and paint the darn things. I am resisting because 1: It's expensive. (heck I don't blame anyone for charging what they do) 2: I've already got a bunch of paints, and brushes, tools etc. Feels like a waste not to use it.

 

Maybe I should just stick to large models for building and painting but I am doing my best to avoid resin models all together. I've not built one in years but I remember it being a miserable experience with bent pieces and so on.

 

Apologies for the rant. Just trying to express my frustrations after spending so much money on this stuff. I appreciate all the advice.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

A lot of people complain about super glue and that's because it has a learning curve, just like painting. As stupid as that sounds, it's exactly the reason people's models fall apart before the glue cures, why they over glue, or why they get glue everywhere. As you've found, super glue also generally comes in smaller sizes and they have limited shelf life due to the fact that they cure upon contact with air and moisture.

 

I used the blue cap Gorilla super glue which is a great glue, but it's slower setting, can be runny, and the bottle isn't the best. They have a green cap gel formula that I've never tried. I switched entirely to gel Loctite in hard triangular bottles with squeezable sides. The squeezable ones are gel instead of runny and the black one is more durable than the silver one. I recommend this brand because the bottle should last you longer due to being able to squeeze out more glue (it's a foil pouch of glue inside a squeezable frame) and it has a thinner needle tip for precise application, and it's a gel so you really can do one tiny droplet per joint.

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Tyberos the Red Wake

[INKS]

Yeah I used this glue, but I didn't get a lot out of it? Like you said, it's hard to over use but I was able to put together less than 10 models. It's possible that maybe it dried up some but I squeezed the hell out of it and I think I got every drop.

A lot of people complain about super glue and that's because it has a learning curve, just like painting. As stupid as that sounds, it's exactly the reason people's models fall apart before the glue cures, why they over glue, or why they get glue everywhere. As you've found, super glue also generally comes in smaller sizes and they have limited shelf life due to the fact that they cure upon contact with air and moisture.

 

I used the blue cap Gorilla super glue which is a great glue, but it's slower setting, can be runny, and the bottle isn't the best. They have a green cap gel formula that I've never tried. I switched entirely to gel Loctite in hard triangular bottles with squeezable sides. The squeezable ones are gel instead of runny and the black one is more durable than the silver one. I recommend this brand because the bottle should last you longer due to being able to squeeze out more glue (it's a foil pouch of glue inside a squeezable frame) and it has a thinner needle tip for precise application, and it's a gel so you really can do one tiny droplet per joint.

 

[Arkhanist]

Yeah, the inner pouches in the "control" brand are small; for the same price as a 3g "Power Flex Control" (gel in the plastic squeezy thing) I can instead get a 10g precision max at ~ £3 inc VAT from amazon, cheaper on ebay. Which is about $5 CAD. That that same bottle costs  20 CAD!! on amazon.ca is pretty scandalous.

 

Standard gorilla superglue seems slightly more sane; 20g for $8.48 CAD.

 

Revell contacta is wow, definitely not worth $16.

 

Tamiya extra thin is $6 plus shipping on ebay (canadian sellers) for 40g and lasts longer than superglue, so definitely worth a go I think. Quick demo of use. I use a little less than this guy on the seams, but it's a reasonable approach.

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Arkhanist

[Subtle Discord]

*Subtle ungracefully falls out of a shadow and quickly snaps to his feet while shaking a bewildered expression from his face*

 

Oooo... glue, a favorite topic of mine.

 

Save the 'Super' glue (Cyanoacrylate) for resin models, and even then I would try to use two-part epoxy when I need/want the strongest possible join and it's practical. For when you do want to use 'cyano' do yourself a favor and either buy the small 'single use' multi-packs (each mini tube has plenty of glue for many uses, but if it does go hard you don't waste nearly as much and a fresh tube is ready to go as long as you're stocked up) or buy a large bottle of the stuff that you can get from many hobby suppliers; from the labels it looks like one producer supplies several companies that put their own name on the bottle, in my case it's called Insta-Cure but I've seen the exact same bottle and label with different names. It takes a lot longer for a large bottle to harden up if you keep it sealed up properly. The ones I have now (one thin and one thick) are at least two years old and still flowing fine.

 

When it comes to bonding styrene plastic, look no further than the Tamiya line.

 

1) Standard White has 11% plastic resin in it to add to the strength of the bond and when it's fresh it's about as viscous (thick) as a light syrup or cooking oil. For large joins and places where I need/want strength I'll use this but you need to be careful because it can make a real mess if you apply too much, however the other products in this list can be used most of the time to clean stuff like that up unless it's a really ugly mess; if it keeps oozing out if the seam when you bring parts together you're using too much. With this you'll brush a bit on each surface you want to bond and bring them together and hold for a minute or so (maybe less, maybe more depending on the nature of the parts being joined) after which you should be able to carefully put the piece down and let it finish curing, but in some cases it can be useful to gently clamp parts in place as they cure. On larger models like vehicle assemblies I'll also paint this on seams inside where the mess doesn't matter, for added strength. Give it at least an hour or two as a minimum to dry but better yet let it set-up overnight or 12+ hours, especially if you're going to apply any serious pressure and/or do further significant building and/or do any sanding of the join/seam. It takes time for the plastic solvents to completely evaporate and the plastic remains slightly soft and weak for several hours. Once you get the hang of it you can know when it's ok to continue to build if you're careful or if you should let it cure longer, usually with smaller models you can work on a squad of 5-10 models and just do them assembly line fashion and when you're finished doing something on the last one, the first is cured enough you can carefully do the next step but if anything is noticeably shifting too easily it just need more cure time.

 

2) Extra Thin Green has no plastic resin so it's only a solvent and it's as viscous as water, which is a serious feature. This is my go-to glue for styrene models for the blend of control, strength, and speed of drying. It can be used like the White applying reasonable amount to each surface, letting the surface plastic soften a bit, and bringing them together to create the join. However the real magic is when you use the capillary action to pull the glue into a join in a very controlled way; hold the parts together, brush a small amount onto the seam where the parts touch and thin nature of the glue lets capillary action 'pull' the glue into the join very cleanly. Additionally, this glue can also be used in many ways to flood cracks and seams to create a 'soup' of plastic can can be blended and fill tiny gaps and clean up minor messes created by overdoing it with the White product and in general to smooth seams and surfaces if you paint it on lightly and let it evaporate away. I also use both together when want a small join to be as strong as possible; apply a tiny bit of the White and bring the parts together and then brush a bit of the Thin Green on the seam to ensure it's clean of any glue that might have oozed but also to soak into the seam and really make sure the fusion of the two surfaces is as complete as possible. This stuff dries much faster then the standard White cutting it in half or more which is great for assembly but I still recommend letting a final build cure up for at least 24-48 hours before priming.

 

3) Extra Thin Quick Set is much like 'normal' Extra Thin but as it says on the bottle this stuff dries really fast, in fact it's almost too fast for my liking. You can't really paint it on two surfaces and bring them together, unless you're very fast or liberal and work the surface to make a puddle of plastic the damn stuff dries as you try to apply it to each surface and simply try to bring them together; sometimes it works, but usually it creates a weak join and you're just painting more on to finish the job or the damn components simply fall apart. Do it with the capillary action method (touch the parts together and paint it on the join) and it works well enough but it takes a bit more practice to add enough to get the desired join and not under doing it because it's evaporating so quickly. Once you get the hang of using it this stuff dries in under an hour and even in 15-20 minutes depending on how warm it is, how large the join is, and how much you applied. I still prefer the normal Extra Thin Green for most of my general assembly but there is one last place where this Quick Setting product excels and that's joining final painted sub-assemblies; this stuff dries so quickly that you can join parts together, hit the paint job with this solvent, and it evaporates away so quickly it won't harm the paint job but it will soften the plastic and create the desired join. When you start using it this way it's almost magical to watch the paint wrinkle if you apply a bit too much but if you don't panic and simply blow gently on the join it just smooths back out like nothing happened and the parts are now fused and assembled.

[NTaW]

I use this stuff. Works wonders on everything I use it on across several brands of plastic and resin models. Also pretty easily accessible in Canada I find, several stores carry it nearby and I find it's easy to find a pot of paint or some other hobby supply to make the couple dollar's shipping worth it.

 

https://bsi-inc.com/hobby/insta_cure_plus.html

[Subtle Discord]

↑ Yep, that's the stuff I'm using but I've seen the same label and bottle with another name. Personally, I've been getting most of my hobby supplies from Sunward Hobbies here in Canada for several years and I've been very happy with their selection and service.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Happy user of the Tamiya glues here. Whilst they take a while to "fully dry", they're "dry" within a short period of time, if that makes sense - think of it as being the difference between paint being "touch dry" (~minutes) and "fully cured" (~a day). I've assembled most of my Aeronautica models with it (20+ models), and the bottle still looks full.

 

If you're worrying about drying time, Andy's Hobby Headquarters on YouTube uses it for all his builds, so ... here's a video of someone gluing a tank together

 

You can also use it to make "plastic slurry" by adding bits of sprue to it (personally, I'd rather use Vallejo's Acrylic Putty, but...):

 

Revell Contacta's a good alternative to the GW plastic glue (i.e. it's cheaper), but I find it hard to control the amount coming out, and it's quite "hot", which isn't a good combination - it can lead to "oozing" which tends to result in loss of detail, which is more of an issue with smaller parts/surfaces. Not really a problem for you, as it's not an option due to being unfortunately expensive in Canada, but thought I'd say anyway.

Edited July 3, 2021 by Firedrake Cordova