Today's bit is a small rant about technique and market choice. My focus today is on the practicalities of using that most ubiquitous of the modeller's tools: model glue. It won't take long, and I just have to sound off on a topic that's actually become more of a concern to me in recent months. There may not seem like there's much to talk about in regards to a person's selection of glue, but there are a few practicalities and considerations I want to point out.
What are these considerations, you ask? What about the glue I'm using, you exclaim? Hold on, I'll get there.
First of all, lets talk about glue types and why it even matters to me. There are two major types of glue you should be concerned about as a modeler, and most of you already know this. Those types are: plastic glue, which actually melts plastic to form a polymer weld; and normal "super" glue, which simply forms a chemical bond without making a weld. This is an important distinction. GW sells both of these types of glue, in both a "thick" and "thin" variety. They are pretty pricey as well. So what's the issue, Bone? Is this another price grumble? Well, not today.
In the course of cleaning up those metals and plastics I've run across all sorts of different materials and construction techniques. I've seen people use the wrong glue for the wrong project material. I've had to cut and chop and slice through every sort of botched conversion, and even a few normal soldiers that somehow went wrong. Yet I've pinpointed the culprit here - GW themselves have contributed to more ruined models than any other single factor.
You see, plastic glue is PERMANENT when used on a plastic model, for better or for worse. It literally melts the plastic it comes in contact with, and it isn't very good on metal. In the hands of a novice modeler, this almost always ends in disaster when they bring home their first plastic kit and bottle of awesome, expensive GW glue. Then someday the novice gains experience and realizes that he must replace these old models for aesthetic reasons, and that's more money for GW.
It used to be that you could only get plastic glue from GW. That was what they sold - the whole plastic/super glue differentiation came in at the same time they started offering the "thick and thin" varieties - which is to say, not very long. When novice modelers buy into GW games, they naturally got sold a bottle of plastic glue - they they proceed to melt everything with. This is absolutely (without a doubt) the number one cause of model death at the Wargate - I've gotten to the point where I just chuck models that had plastic glue smeared all over it, much to the chagrin of some gamers hereabouts.
First, buy super glue. Super glue is best. Super glue is very cheap - the pack on the right is the one I always buy. It's the cheapest, most generic pack my Wal-Mart carries. It's so generic, I couldn't find it on the Wal-Mart webstore. I don't remember how much it costs - it's like $2 for a 4-pack. It dries quick and strong, and it doesn't damage the material directly. It works on any material - plastic, resin or metal. The tubes keep forever, until opened - then they can last up to a month as long as you don't leave it open overnight. Then it loses a lot of it's "quick-dry" property. But hey, you have a 4-pack so you can just open another one.
Aside from a few cases where plastic glue is required, you will use super glue for almost every single job you could think of. You will even use this where you would normally need to pin a large metal piece - with the pin, super glue is still the best choice.
The only time you will use plastic glue is when you need a large plastic piece fixed in position with a very strong bond. That is all. That is it. Instead of pinning a plastic piece, just use plastic glue.
In conclusion, buy the cheapest, generic glue you can find. You might have to experiment, but if you can find that black and yellow blister in your Wally World's home improvement section you just found the best, cheapest tool I've ever found in my twenty-plus years as a modeler. If you can't, you might have to play trial and error by grabbing a few types and experimenting with them. Just stay clear of super glue gels - those really suck for our purposes.
Also, pick up one vial of GW thick plastic glue and use it very sparingly for your large and awkward pieces. There are cases where plastic glue is preferable, but these will usually be only sections of a model - there's no need to use plastic glue to construct the rest of your daemon prince, only to attach the wings to the body (for instance). Keep this in mind, because I hate cleaning plastic glue off old models. It's a nightmare, and it usually ends badly.