Sunday, August 17, 2014

Warhammer 40K: Working with Resin is Hard!!! ("Man! Making a Thunderfire Cannon is hard!")


Hi everyone,

Making an update to this posting from some of our first days working on 40K models.  You'll read below that we learned the hard way about working with resin - learning not to try plastic glue; trying super glue (failing); and finding success with epoxy glue.

We've since learned about super glue accelerators - and some success, while certainly finding the hazards of using it.

Here is a link to our super glue accelerator write-up.

And, below is our original posting :)

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We are certainly in need of help!
 
We heard at Bay Area Open that using a Thunderfire Cannon is a good angle for a Space Marine army.  Cool tech marine who can repair stuff.  And, the cannon does lots of damage.  (Down-side - cannon has only a 3+ armor save).

So, we ordered up a Thunderfire Cannon (with help from our Gator Games friends) and picked it up yesterday.

Challenges!  It's a RESIN MODEL!


*** How do you glue this stuff together?  Well, we know one way NOT to try (any more).  Don't try using the Testors "Liquid Cement for Plastic Models".  That doesn't work.


Read that some people use super glue.  Had thought that this Testors stuff WAS a super glue type material.  Guess not!

We had already had a bad experience with Ghazghkull Mag Uruk "the-still-unglued" Thraka.  (And, with a growing Space Marine army, the Pink Orkys could sure use help if we can figure out how to glue resin!!!). 

So, we washed all the parts very carefully.  We have read about that being very important to get glue to stick.  (We even washed them twice to remove the lotion which was added to the bathroom sink washing concoction during the first washing.)  Washing didn't seem to help.  :(

We have reached this point so far.  The Tech Marine is glued together using old-school epoxy. 





*** And, working on the gun barrel, found that it's not really straight - and have it clamped together while we wait for the epoxy to harden.



And, here's a photo of our arm repair job....


Leaves us with some serious questions....
- Which brands of glue do everyone find to work well?
- Is one of these really a super-glue?
- Does it happen often that parts are "warped" and need to be straightened out?  Does heating really work?  How hot do you go for?
- Is it easier to break resin models than plastic ones as you remove them from the sprue?

3 comments:

  1. Ok - just read this article with some suggestions....
    - Brief exposure to boiling water to fix warping
    - Some suggestions for super glues

    www.sylvanscalemodels.com/modelling.htm#WhyResin?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lot's of great suggestions on DakkaDakka - here's a quick update (will work on one with pictures):

    1) Use real super glue. YES - got some and Wow what a difference. Really strong, really fast, really easy. Some risk of us gluing our fingers together. We'll have to manage that....

    2) Water from the coffee maker to fix warping. (One person suggested 50C). YES - that is hot enough. Bent the pieces straight - then ran under cold water.

    3) We did get the whole Thunderfire Cannon together thanks to this help!!! It is tricky. Now have it primed and ready for painting.

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  3. Update a month later:
    - That Tech Marine and Thunderfire Cannon are proving to be pretty fragile. Have had to re-glue several parts.
    - On the up-side, got Ghazghkull Thraka all glued together using 100% super-glue. He did really well Friday night in battle - no need for any fixing during or after. :)

    ReplyDelete