Glues...

[markymark1970]

Ok, total noob question, but I am a level 25 Master Collector of miniatures and a level 1 initiate at assembling and painting. Do you guys have favorite glues that you like to use?  Plastic, resin and or metal specific ones?  Gap filling, quick and normal cure?  What else should I need to know?  Besides the various super glues you can get anywhere, there are the Bob Smith Industries which I've used and the Gale force Nine super glue.

Thoughts and opinions?

[McKInstry]

This is a poor answer but it depends. Metal on metal and most things I prefer a thin cyanoacrylate and depending on how fiddly the small parts, an accelerant as needed.

For attaching figures on bases or working with scenery, pvc white glue. Also for tacking figures on craft sticks for painting.

For building resin models, cyanoacrylate  but for plastic (as in Dropfleet or GW Blood Bowl) I prefer a thin plastic brush on glue.

I'm not big on gap filling glue preferring instead to use brush on green stuff and then sand/file etc.

[Fracas]

Loctite

[Ruckdog]

I use two basic types of glues for 99% of my modeling:

Model Masters for plastic to plastic bonds.



The small, thin applicator tube and thin consistency makes it easy to get just the right amount of glue to the right spot.

Loctite Ultra Gel Control Super Glue in the for everything else (plastic to metal, metal to metal, resin to metal, etc):



The container for this one is great; again,you can put a precise amount of glue in just the right spot. I've found that for most modeling situations, when the mating surfaces aren't perfectly even, that a gel super glue works better than the thin stuff. I also keep a small spray bottle of accelerant around for joints that prove to be particularly tricky.

One other note on super glue; it requires moisture to activate and bond. That's why they tell you to never try and wash the stuff off skin and such. Normally, ambient humidity is enough to do the trick, but in dry conditions (like in the winter here in Virginia, for example) it is more difficult for the glue to bond properly. So, I do tend to find myself using the accelerant or "kicker" for super glue more often in winter months!

[Klingsor]

While PVA is the god of glues you should use specific glues for each material. The fun bit comes when you are trying to attach disparate materials.

Plastic, the normal model kit sort of stuff. Solvent cements as they melt and weld the plastic together. Thin for most jobs, the old fashioned tube sort for big jobs. I have used Humbrol for years but the move to safety bottles has me foxed so I decant it into the old style bottles but recently I got hold of the Tamiya extra thin and it is nice and is not in a safety bottle. There are various different makes and not all are the same chemically as some are for different sorts of plastics such as ABS.

Resin and metal. Superglue or epoxy for big jobs, quite likely with pinning as well. Superglue loves resin but needs flat mating surfaces for best results and has little sheer resistance. I like the thick gel sort of superglue for most things but I am pretty rubbish with any of it.

Wood, MDF, card, anything absorbent. PVA. Buy the best you can get, the cheaper sorts have more filler and a needle nose bottle is great for fine work such as laser cut MDF kits.
You can soak superglue into absorbent materials which turns them hard but it reacts badly with cellulose to produce irritant and I believe toxic fumes.

Soft plastics, such as aquarium plants for Deep Wars. A hot glue gun and lash it on but try to avoid melting the plastic.