Miniature Painting

[pogre]

I've been thinking about adding plastic bases to some plastic animal toys I bought to use as miniatures. What kind of glue works best for this?

I have super glue that I bought at Target to fix broken plastic minis. But it never seems to be that super. Is there some special type of glue for this sort of thing?

Loctite Ultra Control Super Glue Gel

 

[Mark CMG]

Loctite Ultra Control Super Glue Gel

Have you tried any of the Gorilla Glues?

http://www.gorillatough.com/

 

[Oryan77]

Have you tried any of the Gorilla Glues?

http://www.gorillatough.com/

That Gorilla Super glue is what I have now. I have several plastic minis (and 1 metal mini) that keep coming apart after I used that glue. It's the thin bits that keep breaking off again (like ankles or weapons). But I assume there is a glue made to fix even those tiny parts.

 

[Oryan77]

Loctite Ultra Control Super Glue Gel

Thanks, I just ordered two bottles of that stuff.

 

[Mark CMG]

That Gorilla Super glue is what I have now. I have several plastic minis (and 1 metal mini) that keep coming apart after I used that glue. It's the thin bits that keep breaking off again (like ankles or weapons). But I assume there is a glue made to fix even those tiny parts.

I see. I was wondering though if pogre might compare what he has to that. With hard plastic to hard plastic, I like Cyanoacrylate glue which essentially melts the two pieces together so they literally become one piece of hard plastic. My hobby store gets it from Bob Smith Industries (which puts the store's name on the label). But I don't know if you get the same strength of bond with hard plastic on softer plastic like you get with dime store animals. I still do use it with those, since they are both plastics, and with rubber rats or spiders onto wood or plastic bases. I also use it with metal to plastic, like with GW metal minis to plastic slotta bases.

http://www.bsi-inc.com/

And here is an adhesive chart they display on their website -

http://www.bsi-inc.com/Pages/hobby/adhesive.html

 

[pogre]

I have used the "regular" Gorilla Glue super glue. It was OK. I prefer the Loctite gel. I have no doubt there are several very functional glues for the task. Loctite is just readily available and seems to work well for me.

 

[Ulrick]

Second to the Loctite Gel. It bonds both metal to metal, plastic to plastic, and plastic to metal well. Make sure you get the gel and not the really runny superglue.

If you want a really great bond (say for glueing a wing to a large dragon miniature) use a combination of Loctite Gel and Green Stuff.

 

[Mark CMG]

I'll pick up some of the Loctite to keep on hand. Always good to have multiple options.

 

[pogre]

If you want a really great bond (say for glueing a wing to a large dragon miniature) use a combination of Loctite Gel and Green Stuff.

Yep - I've been using this method for a number of years myself. You can see an example of it in my construction of the Gauth Dragon by Reaper.

 

[Aluvial]

@Aluvial - I'm actually very interested in seeing pics and if you wouldn't mind posting the link to the video you watched that would be awesome as well. Thanks!

Well, just like the pile of unpainted lead I have... here are the pictures that I promised a few months back.

There are 3.

The first is of the mess that is my painting table.

The second is of the "Snapware" that I use. I think this is the one.

http://www.snapware.com/products/rectangle-airtight-foodstorage-container-1098434

The third is of the palette. You can see the "foam pad" under the parchment paper. THE PAINT IS STILL WET! You should also see the blue seal and that you can snap down the lid on all four sides.

This is after months! I just had to add a drop of medium on the black, and it sprang back to life. Under the crust that eventually formed on top is perfectly good paint, undiluted, and still ready to go.

Now, you might see a few issues. First, the thin washes have dried. The "globs" of paint, which are really only a drop or two, are still intact. In the bottom right, there is a blue-grey mess. This happened when I added a yellow to the brown... it is as if the medium seperated from the pigment, or the pigment settled lower. Just mixing it back up does the trick.

You can see the shine in the black right in the upper right of the blob... I used that at least a month ago for the second time, and MONTHS after I first used it.

The green in the top left is still good...

In many instances, like the blue in the middle, a drop of medium, or even just a drop of water, if you want to thin the paint a bit, is good to "resurrect" the paint.

I only use distilled water, so there is little chance of mold growth in the air tight container. If I ever find one this size that allows for a vacuum, I will go for it. That might stop the paint from drying at all.

I've added so little water. It is almost to the level of the pad. All four things make the paint perfect for use. The container for the seal, the pad to absorb water and keep the parchment paper damp (but that isn't the correct word, moist is too wet for the paper, and damp is as well. "Not dry is the only way I can describe the paper), the parchment paper, which really is the miracle here, because it keeps the paint wet, but does not let water soak through, and the distilled water, which keeps mold (and other contaniments) away.

Hope you like the idea. It has raised my miniature painting skills by a factor of 10. This is after doing this for 20 years. The new water based acryllics and this system make magic on the mini.

Aluvial