Noob mistake...

Hello guys...

Over the past few month I have assembled a 2000pts army. But from game to game, my models ( all of them except my big vehicles ) began to loose part. The first few parts, I just glued them back but then it began to be every models.

I then asked for some advice around and I found out that I should ALWAYS wash my models before assembling them.... I have more than 3000 High elf pts assembled and I never had this problem before.

Anyone got that same problem with the Dark Eldar ?

What glue did you use? GW plastic glue had a bad batch a few months back...

your best bet is better plastic/super glue. I like Loctite for my superglue and moldmasters (I think that's the name, its in the black container with the needle applicator) for my plastic.

Also try to keep things out of extreme heat. Ive found that even the best glue loses some adhesiveness in the heat of a car.

Yeah what glue did you use? The only models you need to wash before assembly are resin. Regular plastic I have never found the need to wash and my models have yet to fall apart.

I havent washed any models either, and I have found out that some of my models (plastic and resin too) will have an arm or two fall off at some point, which means that I have to glue them together twice, and after that it keeps on. I do use citadel glues, relatively new ones.

Metal should always be washed too: quick glue explanation(if you aren't already aware):

Most glues, including superglue/cyanoacrylate and PVA, work by sticking two surfaces together, acting as a sandwich between them. Surfaces must be clean, otherwise you're just gluing the dirt together! Resin and metal may often have oil left on them to help them separate from the mold, called "releasing agent".
Some glues like to have rough surfaces, and a gap between the two pieces, to build a strong bond; Superglue is unusual in that it actually benefits from smooth surfaces, and doesn't fill gaps at all well.

Plastic cement is a different story, however. It actually dissolves the plastic temporarily, then as you push the two parts together, the soft gooey plastic squidges together; as it hardens again, as the solvent evaporates, it actually "welds" the joint, and if done well, will be pretty much as strong as the original plastic.

As such, if metal or resin is falling apart, it may be dirty parts, gaps that needed filling before gluing, or bad glue.

If plastic is falling apart, it was probably bad glue, or you didn't let the plastic melt enough before putting the parts together. If I'm building five infantry, I put glue on the arm and the shoulder of guy 1, then 2, then 3 etc, THEN come back to guy 1 to apply his arm. It will hold first time, without support, and never let go!

Hope this was useful, and not patronising! Good luck with your repairs!

(Edited for dreadful early-morning spelling and grammar!)

Mushkilla wrote:

Yeah what glue did you use? The only models you need to wash before assembly are resin. Regular plastic I have never found the need to wash and my models have yet to fall apart.

I have found this to hold true for me. I suppose on a theoretical level I can accept that some of my very rare piece popping off problems are because of some releasing agent or other - but it really rarely happens.

I use Loctite super glue for metal and plastic - works well for me.

I use the Citadel plastic glue. I bought 1 and it happened... I tried to buy a second and it did again..

So I was wondering if there was a problem with this glue...

I find that GW plastic glue used to be better. they changed the formula and it sucks. I use Humbrol precision poly cement. it's in a yellow bottle with a very fine tip for applying glue.

I've found the new GW plastic glue to be extremely bad. I recently borrowed one, because I forgot my plastic glue at home and the pieces fell apart easily, even after drying 24h the bond wasn't strong enough to support even a small magnet. This is because the new citadel plastic glue seems to be more of the super glue type described earlier in this thread, it doesn't actually melt the plastic, it just sticks it together like a weak version of super glue.

On a sidenote, I've found the GW super glue to be weak compared to the pattex one I use as well. My general advice would be to stay away from GW hobby products altogether, it's just the same stuff you can get elsewhere for cheaper and in some cases even in better quality.

Just use Locktite.

It's a super glue gel that's really easy to work with. Only problem is that if you apply too much it will frost over paint. Which can be fixed easily by rubbing it with a damp cloth.

It stays exactly where you want it, which is golden.

Use the gale force 9 glue with the activator brilliant stuff!

I use loctite super glue, but i do wash all my sprues before cutting and assembly, i was told when i first got into the hobby back in 1999 that plastic dust?? can stick to the sprues and cause glue to not hold correctly. On the old metal models there was some times a white residue left on them that you had to wash off or your paint wouldnt stick lol.

With plastic glue it shouldn't be a problem as it "welds" the joints, my problem with super glue is as it ages the bonds it creates tends to become more brittle (and as Dogmar mentioned apparently GW plastic glue is now, not plastic glue but a weak super glue of some kind).

for plastic i can really recommend the glue from "Revell", super fine tip and it takes ages before the bottle is empty.
for metall and resin i use a super-glue-gel from the german brand called "Uhu".

I use revell plastic/superglue. Blue container with a needle. It's the welding sort that was mentioned earlier ;-)