How to best fill in the gaps?

[Frater Cornelius]

I have created something. Unfortunately, my hands are about as trembly as a Chiwawa, so the cuts were not clean. How do I best fill those gaps between the various bits? Just small amounts of Greenstuff, or are there better choices?

 

 

Thank you for any advice given

Edited April 11, 2021 by Frater Cornelius

[Imren]

I'd use milliput with IPA (isopropylalcohol) to adjust the thickness to get smooth surfaces, this video explains how to:

 

 

[Arkhanist]

Certainly fillable with careful application of normal greenstuff, but it'd be somewhat easier with a more fluid filler. Something like Perfect Plastic Putty or Vallejo Plastic Putty (just depends what's available locally). They are roughly toothpaste-like in consistency, are both easy to mould into small gaps with a toothpick or sculpting tool or the like, and are water soluble so you can correct any mistakes and/or smooth it down with a damp q-tip before it dries. They dry flat, stick well and don't shrink. Also can be sanded easily, though that shouldn't be needed for those gaps.

 

GW does their own version, liquid greenstuff, but it shrinks, is rather rough, and is not a very good gap filler.

 

It's not clear how rough the shield surface is between the lightning bolts, but you could also use a cheap brush to water the plastic putty down a bit and apply a very thin layer over the top, which will help smooth out the tool marks some, though sanding it really smooth is probably not viable given the small spaces. (just wash the brush afterwards, and don't risk a nice one).

 

FWIW, I would normally use micro mesh sanding sticks (or pads) on something like that shield after cutting off the original design, before putting the new one over the top. Each colour is a different grit size, so you can get things *really* smooth by stepping down the grit sizes 2 or 3 times from rougher to smoother. The very finest grits are for eliminating scratches from transparent acrylic, so you don't have to go that fine most of the time. I use micro-mesh for virtually every assembly for cleaning up mould lines or where I've cut from the sprue - much easier than trying to do the same thing with a craft knife!

[Firedrake Cordova]

Another vote for Vallejo Plastic Putty - you can thin it with water, and paint it in with a cheap brush (or apply it with a spatula, and use a damp brush to take the excess off). I used it to fill some gaps on some of the Aeronautica Imperialis models, which are a bit fiddly. :)

 

Vallejo have a how-to-use video:

 

[Xenith]

Liquid greenstuff might be the best if you have shaky hands. Just paint it into the gaps. You do get slight shrinkage, but maybe 2 coats will work. 

[Urauloth]

I use liquid green stuff and Vallejo plastic putty, and I think the latter is a better tool for most jobs - it shrinks less and it dries to a smoother finish. I prefer the green putty that Green Stuff World sell to either of them, and if you can get hold of it that's my recommendation for minor gap-filling work. It can be awkward to get right now, though. While liquid green stuff has the advantage of convenience in that you can buy it from GW, the Vallejo putty is quite readily available online and usually works out cheaper; you get more, it stays good for longer, and because it doesn't shrink as much you get more gap filled for your buck. Or pound.

 

FWIW, I would normally use micro mesh sanding sticks (or pads) on something like that shield after cutting off the original design, before putting the new one over the top. Each colour is a different grit size, so you can get things *really* smooth by stepping down the grit sizes 2 or 3 times from rougher to smoother.

 

Whoa, never seen these pads before. I use Tamiya sanding sponges, which I swear by, but it looks like these are cheaper and have a much wider range of grits. Cheers for linking them, I'm going to try these out.

[Firedrake Cordova]

On the subject of shaky hands, Terrainosaur did a series of 3 videos on painting with tremors (he has Parkinson's ) - don't know if they might be of interest?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqp76vAJu9g

 

[Frater Cornelius]

On the subject of shaky hands, Terrainosaur did a series of 3 videos on painting with tremors (he has Parkinson's ) - don't know if they might be of interest?

 

[...]

Luckily, it ain't that bad for me. I am simply tired on a regular basis, plus my arms sometimes hurt after sports. To compensate, I work at a speed of one model per one-two week(s)

 

Mad props to the dude though, Parkinson's ain't no joke.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Frater Cornelius

[Firedrake Cordova]

Luckily, it ain't that bad for me. 

Well that's good to hear. :) Occasionally, I have caffeine-/age-related moments of slight shakiness, and I've found his techniques quite helpful :)

[Ovidius Incertus]

Another vote for Miliput.  Easy to thin to the right consistency, even a brushable one.  And very easy to smooth out with a wet paintbrush so that you should need very little surface finishing after it dries.