Assembly - Glue and holding Resin parts together

[Morngrym]

Hey all -

So, I've been buying mostly Forgeworld parts for the past couple months and my assembly process has slowed to a crawl. As many of you know, resin seems to take a MUCH longer period of time to bond as compared to the 40K plastics. I often find myself only able to do one part on a marine in a given evening - i.e. glue on a single arm, lay the model sideways against something and wait until the next day for the next part.

Of course, I am working on several models at a time, but they are each limping along through this sort of slow assembly process. Before assembly, I am washing the models thoroughly to get rid of the release agent residue and I'm also roughing the surfaces before gluing.

Alas, it is still SLOW.

How are you doing with this? Are you creatively using rubber bands, or something else to hold multiple parts that are drying at once? Any other tricks?

Thanks!

[Ramell]

What kind of glue do you use for resin?

[Jarl of Wulfen]

I used gorilla glue super glue gel on my sicaran and had no problems. Could just be the glue you are using.

[Ovidius Incertus]

I use either Army Painter or Loctite superglues and their initial set time isn't that long, though it does require holding/pressure to expedite the process.  (Hopefully not gluing your fingers to the part in the process!)  Gel glues take longer than the liquids, as far as I can tell.

 

Some hints for working with FW resin: I've found that, if the surface you're gluing is even remotely shiny (even after you've washed it with dish soap, Simple Green, whatever), the glue takes longer to set and is weaker overall.  For that reason, I scrape the mating surfaces with my knife til they're a dull gray.  Glue sets up noticeably faster when doing so.  You could also lightly sand them.  I do this especially at the shoulders and where they mate with the torso and on the outside of the shoulder where the paulron goes.  These are the two weakest points I've found.  For larger pieces or where you want a stronger hold (like the waist), if you score the surfaces with your knife, you create more surface area for the glue to bond to.  Definitely makes a stronger joint and also sets faster.  Finally, you could pin the arms, which gives a stronger joint and also allows a bit more control when when holding a specific pose.  I sometimes go so far as to bluetack the arm, drill in from the outside of the shoulder and pin so I can keep a specific pose the whole way (I find bolter arms very fiddly).

 

For bigger things like vehicles, small clamps (find at your hobby store or in the tool section at Lowes/Home Depot) are indispensable.  

[Soldier of Dorn]

Have you tried using an accelerator? This brand is the one my buddies and I generally use, and it works beautifully. The one thing you do have to look out for, though, is to avoid touching the stuff like the plague, since the chemical reaction it generates can be rather painful (I speak from experience.)

[grimsanity]

I usually let my FW stuff soak for a day in warm soapy water and then scrub them really good and use zap a gap or loctite glue and it seems to bond real fast.

[Halandaar]

I also use Loctite superglue for resin, and find it bonds quickly and largely without hassle.

[Grim Dog Studios]

I use loctite as well, only really have a problem if i put too much on. However thats quite hard to do now I've moved to the Loctite gel stuff, a lot easier to control than the usual glue!

[OrangeBob]

The only thing I do is soak my resin for 24 hours and use Loctite. It would appear that Loctite might be the way to go.

[Morngrym]

Thanks everyone - it looks like I have been on the right track with the glue. I am already using the Loctite Gel and really like it a lot (plastics glue almost instantly). The resin arms holding bolters, or heavy weapons, are my main issue. Perhaps a bit more scrubbing and soaking of the parts is also in order.

Have you tried using an accelerator? This brand is the one my buddies and I generally use, and it works beautifully. The one thing you do have to look out for, though, is to avoid touching the stuff like the plague, since the chemical reaction it generates can be rather painful (I speak from experience.)

I haven't tried an accelerator, but will have a look at that for the particularly difficult parts. Warnings noted.