somewhere17 Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello, I just bought the Operation: Ice Storm box and now am attempting to assemble the miniatures. Yikes! It's been a long long long time since I assembled miniatures (since WH 40k 3rd Ed), so I'm basically a beginner. The trouble I'm having is getting the metal miniatures and the glue to cooperate. I'm using some older Zap-A-Gap glue which I place a small dab on the body of the miniature and then hold the appendage to the designated area, wait to a count of 30-40 and .... well, no luck (unless my goal is to affix my finger to metal ). I've also attempted to use the "Green Stuff"(?) to help hold the bond, but that also isn't working very well. Any suggestions on why I'm having such problems? Do I need to hold the two gluing parts together longer? The Zap-A-Gap does work (I kept it in the freezer), but maybe it gets old? Any advice on basic technics of assembling Infinity models is greatly appreciated? Thank you! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeaverBeliever Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hi Jim, I'd suggest a few things: 1. New glue; it does get old for whatever reason and a tube of glue is pretty cheap. I like using the gel super glue, rather than the super liquidy stuff, as it gives you a lot more control. I've also found that it sticks nearly instantly but does have some cure time for 100% effectiveness. Not sure what that time is, but if you leave it over night I'd think that'd be plenty. 2. Wash your models before gluing and painting. Metal models have mold release agents that help them not stick to their casting molds and this needs to be removed, otherwise things don't like to stick to them. Warm water and soap with an old toothbrush will do the trick. 3. Green stuff has always worked for me with metal, so hopefully the above two points make the difference. A small amount to interface between the two metal surfaces will increase the glue bonding surface area. Hopefully that helps (and hopefully I'm not forgetting anything)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Might just be a zap-a-gap thing, I think I didn't find it to be that strong when I used it. Try another type type of glue maybe? And green stuff can definitely help but just use a tiny bit in addition to super glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torg Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I run into this sometimes myself - but the steps above are typically my steps as well… I also wash the figures when i wash my hands sometimes help (warm water and soap) to remove the casting stuff. I also like to "rough up" the area to be glued slightly - just a light fine grit sanding or file - just enough … not to much. sometimes that helps me. But typically a new tube of glue takes care of it as well. -d 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don't Panic Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 yea as BB said make sure you wash the area and it is dry afterwards. the releasing agents can cause issues. personally, regular super glue(including zap) has always been frustrating for me. the only one ive gotten to work is P3 super glue which is amazing. stupidly expensive as all other miniature glue but for some reason this one has been just amazingly better than the rest ive used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justjokin Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Zap a gap with a little zip kicker did the job for me. I started with super glue, but fell back to Zap. I've seen people turn their noses up at me for using it ("That's not real glue"). I never understood why. +1 on washing your models, you need to do that before you paint anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raindog Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I am never a fan of zap gap on metals. Plain super glue always does the trick for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 I use Loctite Gel control. It seems tough and does the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kremmet Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 I use all types of glue, but gel is definitely easier to start from. The Maxi-Cure is an excellent gel and comes in a big enough bottle to give a bit on the savings. The above suggestions are good, but you can also increase the surface area you're gluing by cross hatching some decent cuts with your knife. This will give your glue more area to adhere to and promotes a much stronger bond. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don't Panic Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 I use all types of glue, but gel is definitely easier to start from. The Maxi-Cure is an excellent gel and comes in a big enough bottle to give a bit on the savings. The above suggestions are good, but you can also increase the surface area you're gluing by cross hatching some decent cuts with your knife. This will give your glue more area to adhere to and promotes a much stronger bond. nice tip! you playing infinity now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kremmet Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 nice tip! you playing infinity now? I've played for a few years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisetiger7 Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 Also Quick Hold by E6000 is pretty awesome. I picked it up at Michaels for MDF terrain building, and used it on models too. Worked great in both cases. I also had the same problem with Zap line and metals. Quick Hold cures fairly rapidly, but takes overnight to bond fully. Best stuff I've used so far. I also tried it with unwashed infinity models (I usually scrub them with warm water and soap and a toothbrush, as stated above), and the Quick Hold worked just fine. I think Infinity models are 'cleaner' with regards to release chems than other companies' models. PP, for example, is horribly notorious for leaving a white filmy release chemical, so when you scrub, it looks completely different. Infinity models don't look that different after a scrub. Maybe it's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kremmet Posted October 27, 2015 Report Share Posted October 27, 2015 They definitely care far more about their models than PP does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewhere17 Posted October 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Thank you all for you responses! You were all right on the nose for solutions to the issues I was having. The process went much smoother once I washed the minis with a warm soapy water and used new glue rather than 10 year old glue (imagine that). I also found pinning the models along with a little green stuff to be very effective to combat my fumbling fingers and get the models in just the right pose I wanted them in. Pan Oceania is fully assembled; Nomads washed and getting prepped for assembly. Now I get to figure out how to paint these tiny little guys/gals . Should be...interesting... (I might have to play a game or two before I actually start trying to paint). Thanks again, Jim 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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