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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Zozimus on 26 February 2025, 02:38:44 PM
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I've recently bought some cavalry figures from Ebor Miniatures and was surprised to find that the sword arm and carbine are separate items and therefore need to be glued on. I'm not concerned about these items needing to be attached, because I like the figures and, even with my painting, they should look good(ish) when I get around to finishing them.
What I'm unsure about is the best glue to use. I've tried one of Loctite's superglue products (repositional gel) but that was useless. Is there a better glue to use than superglue, or is my inexperience to blame?
Thanks in advance for any recommendations /advice.
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What you're missing is Zip Kicker. Its a spray to instantly harden super glue. Put glue on one side, spray the other side. Push the parts together. 1,2,3. Glue is solid and you can move on.
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100%, use an accelerant.
Don’t get glue on your skin and then spray the accelerant, though. It will feel like your skin is on fire lol
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Gel superglue has been my go to for metal on metal and plastic on metal glueing for over 30 years. I myself stay far away from those accellerants though. I bought a bottle once, because all the cool kids use 'em and hey; you don't want to be left behind, right? But one squirt was enough for me to take a good hard look at the safety labels on the bottle (after airing the room) and then binning it because that stuff is all kinds of toxic!
I realise there are different types out there, but most are actually quite harmful, and to me, the benefit of having my superglue cure a bit faster does not weigh against developing COPD in a couple of years' time.
An other effective kicker is either a simple spray of tap water (or even blowing over it), or baking soda. That has the added benefit of hardening in such a way that you can actually sand the glue down. It can even be used as a filler in this way.
But what you really need though, is also a good set of metal drills of very small diameters, either a handvice or small electrical drill (I use a WowStick almost exclusively these days) and a healthy amount of paperclips.
Because for actual stability and a secure attachment, you'll need to pin the parts together. Especially when we're talking about limbs or weapons that stick out away from the body. My assumption here is that your arms are flaining around waving some sort of bladed weapon and the carbine is slung from the saddle?
Then I would pin the arm and glue the carbine flat onto the side of the horse...
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I do wear a respirator (P100 cartridge) when using the accelerator, pretty much wear one through the priming stage of painting, these days - yeah, it’s nasty! Also, I transfer it to a spray bottle that doesn’t blast it out in a cone that will fill the room, or, I will pour a small amount in a lid or spare base, and dip the part I want sped up in it.
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Many thanks everyone for all those answers. I've seen videos of all of those techniques being used but they never sank in as I didn't envisage needing to use them. I'm going to have a think about which to use: it all depends which one is more achievable with my eyesight.
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What I often do is glue a very thin bit of toilet paper or newspaper between the parts. Perhaps it's just a belief but I feel it helps.
That, and/or drill a hole in both and put a very short bit of wire.
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I use two-part epoxy (5 minute) and use blue tac (or the less effective white tac) to hold the parts together till then. Superglue and I generally don't get along. For more than a decade, the only thing I was able to successfully superglue together were my fingers... lol
I can use superglue off and on, now. I prefer epoxy, though.
Mike Demana
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What I often do is glue a very thin bit of toilet paper or newspaper between the parts. Perhaps it's just a belief but I feel it helps.
That, and/or drill a hole in both and put a very short bit of wire.
Thanks Patrice
The toilet paper idea seems a good idea and I might use that in whatever I do. The drilling of holes may be a little bit beyond my abilities now but I'm not ruling it out
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I use two-part epoxy (5 minute) and use blue tac (or the less effective white tac) to hold the parts together till then. Superglue and I generally don't get along. For more than a decade, the only thing I was able to successfully superglue together were my fingers... lol
I can use superglue off and on, now. I prefer epoxy, though.
Mike Demana
I was thinking of using epoxy glue although the only one I have isn't the 5 minute one. The blue tack is another good (and obvious) idea. That's always the worry with superglue, which is why I thought the repositional one might be safer
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1. ZAP, with our without kicker. Available in thin, standard and gel.
2. Icky Sticky Medium CA.
Both provide superior bonds to most CA glues like Loctite. The only time I use other CA's is for some basing and terrain work, where cheap is just as good.
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Here in Canada there is “brand Bob Smith Industries - BSI” that is nearly universally found. It’s NOT Zap brand, but does come in thin, medium, gel. With accelerant in the same brand packaging.
It’s all I use. I trust Bob Smith!
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I use either Loctite Gel, or if needed, the BSI five minute epoxy (which is a god send as it comes in separate tubes and not the terrible twin-tube-plunger mess that you see more often in hardware stores).
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I've found JB Weld to be the most effective epoxy adhesive and have used it almost exclusively since I discovered it a decade or so ago. It contains steel and is optimized for metal parts. It forms a thick paste that sets very hard. The downside is its long curing time, which is several hours for maximum strength though this could be reduced by using a larger proportion of the hardener. It's not really practical to use it for small parts as this leads to wastage due to the need to mix a reasonable amount.
On the other hand, the long curing time and thick consistency mean it can be used as a filler, particularly when mixed with additives such as the particles from used water filter capsules. I sometimes use this as basing material if I happen to have some left over after completing the job I've mixed it for.
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I must be weird, in that in 40 years I've never had a problem with just plain old superglue for sticking metal to metal (or metal to plastic).
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I'm sure you're not weird, Jemima - or at any rate no more so than the rest of us - but you may have been quite fortunate in not being plagued by one or more of the various frustrations surrounding super glue. In addition to those previously alluded to, the major one I've experienced is its propensity to dry out in the bottle, often before the package has been opened. I had to throw out several unused bottles as well as some barely used ones a couple of years ago because of this. Most of these were one of the most recommended brands, Gorilla, and all had been stored in my fridge. (Nor had I had them a particularly long time, though I've subsequently revised my expectations as to shelf life).The opened ones were tightly wrapped in a small plastic bag with little packs of gel to absorb any moisture from the atmosphere, all without effect. (I live in the English Midlands, BTW, not a sub-tropical region as this might lead you to suspect).
I now only buy thin CA, and only one at a time.
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I tend to use those really small really cheap tubes from discount stores and the like. With some pinning and the like, that works pretty well. Sure, they sometimes dry out in the tube, but then it's just a few cents worth and I throw it out. The biggest issue is that it sometimes takes some time to dry, but if you keep pushing it, that will at most take half a minute.
The other big issue is gluing my fingers together. I still haven't found a way to deal with that.
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The advice I have received from the shop where I buy my glue, be it ZAP, Bob Smith or Ickysticky is to store it in the fridge. That might be because it gets up to 40 degrees Celsius in summer.
The problem I find and the reason why I tend not to buy the bigger bottles is that inevitably at some point some excess glue will seal the cap to the nozzle. With screw bottles you can use the remainder but it's a pain and requires a brush applocator or toothpick handy.
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Try Weetabix.
When that stuff dries out you can never shift it.
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I'm amazed no-one has suggested Marmite (or Vegemite in Carlos's case). There must be something it's good for.
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I'm amazed no-one has suggested Marmite (or Vegemite in Carlos's case). There must be something it's good for.
Vegemite sandwich? If you come from the land down under.
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Depends. Uhu in ‘contact’ mode, or any super-glue and ‘blow’ on it. Pinning helps. My bugbear is glue where it doesn’t need to be.
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Vegemite sandwich? If you come from the land down under.
As a food product, both iterations of the tar-like paste are about as palatable as a yeast infection, of which they are surely a byproduct, and constitute a crime against humanity.
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Super glue gel, use cocktail sticks as a 'brush' to get it just where I want it.
If I want it to stick quickly, a little bit of water on the bits to be stuck speeds the process up.
Accelerator is nasty nasty stuff
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Vegemite requires too much faffing about. Respirator, NBC suit, overboots and dosimeter. It's adhesion qualities are fucking negligible once cured anyway.
Now, if you want something really nasty, there's a Kiwi version of Marmite, sold as Marmite that tastes fuck all like the original. It's got an almost sweet after taste which is quite an unpleasant surprise.
I will readily admit to actually enjoying Vegemite but my favourite spread will forever remain Patum Peperium. Gentleman's Relish is about as close to toast heaven as it is possible to get.
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Another thank-you to everyone who has replied to my question about glueing metal bits together. I have lots of approaches to think about (although I was hoping to have done it all by now, but that's how life goes). The food(?) based alternatives will take me a little longer to face up to, although they seem to have potential for terrain building or landscaping.
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I'll admit I haven't personally used Marmite or its southern hemisphere equivalent as an adhesive and have no idea how effective it might prove for the task under discussion. It is, however, unquestionably dense enough to serve for temporary adhesion, and has been employed by some modellers for masking purposes. I am of the strong opinion, however, that its true metier is likely to be as a paint stripper.
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One point I forgot - clean surfaces are a must.