Shavings. Useless?

[GooseDaMoose]

Hey all,

 

I just have a general question. What do you do with your plastic (or resin) shavings? I do a lot of conversion work and as such often end up with a lot of little plastic chips and shavings, which I then just brush into the bin, but I was thinking that there must be some use for it somehow. Any suggestions from more experienced modelers or peeps out there?

 

Thanks,

 

Goosey

[dswanick]

Flock your bases/terrain.

[Ammonius]

Flock your bases/terrain.

This.

I keep all clippings, shavings, etc in a cup, and I keep leftover sprue to be chopped up for use on bases and terrain.

 

Mixing in parts that have still-recognizable details, like the back ends of guns, or extra vehicle parts (cut to a manageable size), make your debris more realistic as your eye picks out details amid the random shapes and textures.

[AdeptusDavidus]

You can also use shavings to make a gap-filling paste. Plastic shavings mixed in with one of the good plastic cements that slightly melts the stuff creates a thick goop that's actually pretty good for filling gaps. You can do the same with superglue and plastic or resin shavings, though that'll require a little more sanding afterward. If you like to build up shapes with layers of thick superglue, shavings can be handy as a filler, so that you can use less glue.