ETB - Indomitus

[Inquisitor lorr]

Hola.

 

So, I’ve got my hands on Indomitus. This is my first experience with an ETB kit - do people generally find that they need to glue and fill/green stuff the models (despite their ‘ETB’ nature) to get the best results, or do they hold up well, just push fitting?

 

I’ve built a few of the Necrons, and they seem a touch on the flimsy side!

 

Cheers!

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I have been building them with glue, as I have been doing since basically I started (except maybe my AoBR, which i may have pushfit). So far the only things that I have come across that are better left unglued are the outrider handlebars, so that you can adjust them into contact with the arm that connects to the hand on the bar. I also had to glue one of the outer hulls together, as one of the two long sticks snapped off of the outer hull, but the second was stil there, I just glued it for completeness.

 

The necrons I would definitely do glue, because as you said they are quite flimsy, and some of the connections require turning the pieces 90 degrees, or similar. I may end up doing some GS filling (for some connections that didn't quite go seamlessly) but I don't think GS is entirely necessary.

 

Dryfit everything that looks tricky, first, though, to make sure you don't run into any issues, as I almost did with the 10 warriors I assembled the other night.

 

Good luck with the rest of Indomitus, and if you need encouragement to paint some of the Necrons, don't forget to come down to the Tombs and participate in NTaW's Royal Awakening painting event for fun and profit(what is this, Feringinar?) glory!

[Arkhanist]

As a rule, I trim pegs down a bit (usually length, sometimes width too) with my craft knife so I can push the parts together firmly all the way - they've got a bit of a habit of leaving a pretty noticeable gap otherwise, particularly where there's a split running through a plate or flat area, like neck collars. It's handy to dryfit parts together first to ensure you've got a good fit and there's not some leftover gate (where you cut it off the sprue) blocking it - trimming the pegs a little will also make it easier to pull the parts apart when you're dry fitting!

 

For things like heads where several models share the same basic setup, I usually cut that peg off completely so I can swap them around and fit the head facing the direction I want; it's a quick and easy way to make models where you have duplicates e.g. the assault marines, not be complete clones.

 

Given I have glue I generally use a little to secure the joint, particularly on thin or flimsy joints, or where I've drastically trimmed the peg.

 

For glue, I can really recommend tamiya extra thin cement. This is a very thin glue that comes with its own little brush in the lid. Basically, you get some on the little brush, then run it along the outside seam of the joint, so it gets sucked into the little gap - it slightly melts the plastic together inside the joint over the next few minutes then hardens, and gives a very strong connection.

 

If you put on way too much so it overuns the joint, it's no great problem, just leave it alone - it will soften the plastic a little where it runs onto (so don't put a fingerprint into it!) but once it dries, the plastic will harden up again and not leave a visible trace. If you've got a bit of a visible line, pressing the two pieces together hard after it's started to work (a minute or two) will often fill the gap with slightly melted plastic, it's very clever. It's much easier to use without making a mess than plastic cement like the GW plastic glue.

 

Between getting a good fit and the tamiya, I usually need to do very little if any gap filling; sometimes things like robes need it. You can use greenstuff, or my usual goto now is vallejo 'plastic putty' - it comes out as a semi-liquid 'goop', so you just put some in the gap and smooth it down with a wet finger then let set - quite often, it doesn't even need sanding.

 

Here's  a useful assembly guide that advises you which parts are particularly tricky to cut off the sprues and clean up with your scraper/craft knife without damaging them - the necron warriors for example are pretty fiddly!

Edited July 30, 2020 by Arkhanist

[Inquisitor lorr]

Ah fantastic - thank you both very much for the replies chaps! That guide is very helpful Arkhanist! Edited July 31, 2020 by Inquisitor lorr

[Fajita Fan]

 

 

As a rule, I trim pegs down a bit (usually length, sometimes width too) with my craft knife so I can push the parts together firmly all the way

This this this this.

 

If you put too much glue in the hole and push the peg in sometimes the trapped air pressure will push it back out.