How to glue tiny rivets

[Robzilla]

Hi!

 

So I've just started a sculpting project and I've hit a bit of a roadblock.

Need to attach a bunch of tiny rivets to armour, but after spending hours and hours sculpting said armour, I'm quite scared of wrecking it by using too much glue, or batching the rivets application.

 

Some to put it in context, it's some true scale mk3 torsos: most of the sculpting is green stuff and there is a variety of rivets, from a press mould (between 0.5 and 1mm in size range) also green stuff.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Vairocanum]

I personally have used a tiny drop of super glue instead of regular plastic glue to secure rivets. There's a smaller window of time for adjustment but I don't have to worry about other rivets shifting. I took a toothpick and dipped it in superglue and then touched lightly to the armor where you want your rivet and then put on the rivet and adjust position quickly. Not much excess glue from this.

[Kierdale]

I would hold the rivet from the top with a bit of Blu-Tack and put a little superglue on the bottom with a needle. Once you put the rivet in place the superglue will be stronger than the Blu-Tack and it'll stay in place.

[Major_Gilbear]

What I do is similar to Vairocanum, and is an old scale modellers' trick:

 

1) On a scrap of plastic (like a blister pack), squeeze out a little blob of superglue.

 

2) Using a brand new blade, lightly pick up a prepared rivet.

 

3) Touch the rivet to the blob of superglue, and then transfer it to the model.

 

The trick is to pick up the rivet firmly enough with the knife that you don't drop it into the glue, and that you refresh the glue regularly to stop it getting too sticky as it cures - hence why I don't put a big blob of glue out to start with. If you use a fresh knife blade, the scar left on the rivet is invisible once you prime the model.

[Stoic Raptor]

It's easier to apply the rivets before building, depending on how you do it.  When I was an armor modeller, we used to use these Grandt Line rivets from railroad stores.  You'd drill a hole in the styrene panel, apply a tiny drop of liquid cement into the hole, and pull the rivet through with a tweezer.  That would weld it to the surface, then when dry you'd snip off the shaft.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

What I do is similar to Vairocanum, and is an old scale modellers' trick:

 

1) On a scrap of plastic (like a blister pack), squeeze out a little blob of superglue.

 

2) Using a brand new blade, lightly pick up a prepared rivet.

 

3) Touch the rivet to the blob of superglue, and then transfer it to the model.

 

The trick is to pick up the rivet firmly enough with the knife that you don't drop it into the glue, and that you refresh the glue regularly to stop it getting too sticky as it cures - hence why I don't put a big blob of glue out to start with. If you use a fresh knife blade, the scar left on the rivet is invisible once you prime the model.

 

This is the way I've always seen scratch-built rivets being added in videos by military modelers. You can also use precision tweezers to pick up the rivet provided the plasticard is thick enough and you are doing flat rivets and not rounded ones. Just lightly brush the back of the rivet to the surface of a dab of superglue you've already squirted out on a surface and then press it onto the armor panel. Major Gilbear is usually on top of the game when it comes to hobbying techniques.

[Venerable Jazzman]

Have you seen nail beads? Probably not, unless you've got teenage daughters..

They're glass, so get a tiny drill bit, blob of superglue on a pinhead, use the pinhead to stick the bead in place, sorted.

I bought a lifetime's supply for about a fiver from eBay - they're the silver things connecting the axe-head to the handle, but you can use them on shoulder pads, mk4 greaves, (Orkz ), pretty much anything that needs a round rivet.

The second picture below shows how to use an auto-reactive Dreadnought shoulderpad as a fashion accessory

[Grotsmasha]

Also sold as "Microbeads" in plastic.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Robzilla]

Thanks to all!

 

I hadn't figured about using a pin or toothpick to apply the glue. I'll give it a spin in the next few days when the endless sanding comes to completion.

 

As a side note since we have been mentioning the various different types of rivets I thought I'd mention these for everyone:

 

http://www.greenstuffworld.com/2191-thickbox_default/2x-rivets-rubber-molds.jpg

 

Very fiddly, but handy! Helps with having a variety of sizes, and there are quite a few different shapes too (round, spiked, nut and bolt).

[Major_Gilbear]

Some good ideas for making rivets here. :)

 

Two more for you:

 

1) Use fine plasticard rod (round, hex, square, etc), and carefully slice a few pieces off with a sharp blade - instant rivets in various sizes. I find these even better for bolts though, with a round rivet placed onto a slightly larger square or hex rivet.

 

2) Roll out leftover GS putty into long thin sausages and let them cure. Not only do these make good cables, but you can slice off little discs to use as rivets too.

 

Speaking of bolts, if you want some longer bolts that haven't been trimmed there's an easy way to do this. Put a little slice of hex rod onto the model and let the glue dry. Then drill though with a very fine drill bit, and glue in a little bit of wound guitar wire. When that's dry, trim the wire to the desired length. Looks great on Ork vehicles, or for hasty repairs on Imperial ones. :)

[Claws and Effect]

If I ever have to glue really tiny pieces I do the following:

 

Use a gel super glue instead of a liquid.

 

Squeeze the bottle until a tiny bit is just sitting at the tip of the nozzle and touch the piece to it.

 

When you release the bottle the glue will suck back inside, eliminating both mess and wasted glue.