Modelling

Best ways of gluing/converting HaT/hard plastic soldiers?

Posted by Xantippos on 12 Aug 2017, 06:37

Well, recently I have been slightly converting some early Hat soldiers (or just giving them weapons, such as the Greek and Macedonian Hoplites) and found myself with the typical problem of the hard, slippery plastic that doesn't want to bond to anything on earth.

Of course, superglue/cyanocrilate glues to a certain extent, but a lot of times, with the slightest touch it will break.

I know this is a eternal problem, but I might have thought that somebody might have found a good technique.

I remember reading here that there was this solvent for slippery plastic, has somebody tried it? are there similar alternatives? acetone won't dissolve this kind of plastic.

P.S: I wish all sets would be like the Caesar or later Hat figures, the bond is so good with just super-glue....
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Xantippos  
 
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Posted by Wiking on 12 Aug 2017, 09:11

Xantippos wrote:
... slippery plastic that doesn't want to bond to anything ...


My way to convert soft plastic figures.

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Two times Esci soft plastic figure.

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The figure feel uncomfortable.

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The old nerve pathways must be exchanged. :mrgreen:

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Cut the old wiring. :mrgreen:

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Same here.

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Evergreen round rod. I think it is in inch not in mm the real diameter. So what?
The chosen diameter of the drill and the rod is up to you.

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The sharpness of the pic show you how he feel just now.

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Any superglue will work. The important thing is that you press slightly the 0.6 mm round rod into the 0.5 mm drilled hole. Will work with square rod too. Glue is only an addition. Gel glue is good to fill very small gaps by cutting not very well.

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Doctor Wiking present his result. A beautiful mind. :mrgreen:


:wave:
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Wiking  Germany
 
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Posted by sansovino on 12 Aug 2017, 11:07

a very good tutorial!
I am prefering instead some green-stuff to link heads and bodies (via V-cuts of both for a better contact).
sansovino  Germany
 
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Posted by Photoro Man on 12 Aug 2017, 13:17

I use a hot wire to `screw it into the head` - saves you the drilling etc.
The molten plastic insides of the head make the connection wire+ head harder than one could ever glue -
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Posted by Graeme on 12 Aug 2017, 14:11

I think the solvent you read about is the activator that comes with Loctite "All Plastics" cyanoacrylate glue:

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/overview/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System.htm

There are probably other brands of the same stuff where you are that might be cheaper.

The activator is Heptane (or n-heptane) and it can be bought separately but it might be harder to find. Loctite sells it as 770 Primer which is available in 100ml bottles but it doesn't appear to be stocked by the major hardware stores here.

I just buy the two part plastics glues with activator, either Loctite or Selleys (a local brand). And it works well enough. I find I can get the joint apart if I need to but I haven't had too many occasions when the joint comes apart when I don't want it to.

Like Wiking if I'm swapping heads or arms I use a pin vice drill and use pins with the glue for a firmer joint. Some people use steel dressmaking pins but I just use whatever plastic pins I can find, Spare flagpoles, bristles from a dishwashing brush, etc.

With HaT's old plastic I haven't done much except use some of the spare heads, which have pins of course, and glue some bits of a roman shield to another figure. No problems with these.

I've also used this glue on HaT's new plastic, and Strelets, Italeri, ESCI and Waterloo 1815 figures to change poses and change weapons. I have also cut Italeri figures in half and swapped over the upper bodies. These were glued without pins and they're rock solid.

One thing I don't use this glue for is fixing Airfix horses to their bases, I weld those.
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Graeme  Australia
 
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Posted by Xantippos on 12 Aug 2017, 16:02

Many thanks. Graeme, that looks very interesting, as I want it basically to glue weapons, maybe change arms, to make ancient conversions, or just to finish the HaT sets, as some shields the pegs are not good enough, and super glue doesn't do the trick. Of course a clip there would be quite impossible. I have tried with a bit of epoxy but it shows a bit and is a bit of a mess for a shield, and much more for a weapon.

Will try to get that stuff, although locally I have never seen it. Maybe on the net.
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Posted by C M Dodson on 12 Aug 2017, 16:38

I use bond it a cyanoacrylate glue.

If you get a lump of plasticine and press it onto your work table you can then manoeuvre your victim into a position at whatever angle you need to get two flair surfaces that are horizontal.

This stops the head, musket etc reacting to the call of gravity.

Happy modelling.

Chris
C M Dodson  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by Xantippos on 19 Aug 2017, 12:36

I have bought what it looks like the similar thing, but made by a polish brand;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4ml-4g-Adhesi ... Sw3h1ZQo0s

Will let you know how it works.
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Posted by Xantippos on 25 Aug 2017, 16:14

Arrived, tested, and deemed very succesful. Really just using their gel cyanocrilate already does the job. The primer sorts of make it a bit rougher and helps. Contrary to what the instructions says, I find quite an advantage to apply the gel cyanocrilate while the primer is still moist.

Anyway, huge thanks. My solid Hat Roman Command, and thousands of other Hat soldiers, conversions and other things such as action figures or similar will eternally appreciate this discovery!
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Posted by Graeme on 26 Aug 2017, 03:50

I'm glad that worked for you.

One point, I have also found that using it while the primer is still moist gives a stronger bond but it's also sometimes an INSTANT bond with no time to line up the parts before it sets.

If I want something to stick hard and stick fast and I'm confident I can get it in the right place first time I will use moist primer. If I think I will need to carefully align the parts I let the primer dry.
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Graeme  Australia
 
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Posted by Carlos on 17 Sep 2017, 05:53

Well, I used 5 techniques to "glue" that type of plastic.

1) the technique that Wiking describes very well in his post. This technique is more for table games, wich figures will have of manipulation.

2) Attach the two parts with heat. Join the two pieces with your fingers of the free hand or with a cyano point, just to keep the surfaces together and then "welds" with the heat, like two surfaces of metal, simply melt the plastific of both parts in two or three points. For that I use a wood pyrographer with adjustable heat, this is my favorite technique, sometimes I sculpt and improve some figures with this technique.

3) Covering the two surfaces with a thin layer of modeling paste (or any putty mass, you cover the two surfaces as if it were butter on a bread, let cure and wle with cyano, the putty adheres well to this type of plastic and the cyano gues well the putty ), then, two surfaces with cyanoacrylate.

4) Same technique tan before, but wit heat, you pass a sheet of hot steel on both surfaces and melt the plastic, when the cold plastic becomes cold became hard and glue with cyanocrylate.

5) make micro scales (like a fish) with a surgical blade on both surfaces to be bonded, these micro ascales give the cyanocrylate an "anchor".

My favorite is the "2", if you exess melt the plastic you have to correct filling with putty and sculpting a little .
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Posted by Umpapa on 15 Apr 2018, 23:30

Umpapa  Poland
 
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Posted by LuiSander on 02 Apr 2021, 21:35

Xantippos, maybe you have used bad plastic glue? Because i had Hat soldiers too, they used to break, and I used special plastic glue to repair them, and everything was fine
LuiSander  Norway
 
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Posted by DavisMartinson on 08 Apr 2021, 18:32

Yeah , you are right, i think it is because of bad glue
DavisMartinson  Switzerland
 
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Posted by Mclmore on 09 Apr 2021, 10:46

I often 3D print my soldiers, but sometimes there are times when the parts are too thin and therefore break. I use UV glue because it is very handy for minor repairs. If you want to attach weapons to models, I believe this glue will work for your situation. I have used it many times and I was satisfied with the result.
Mclmore  United Kingdom
 
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Posted by Xantippos on 18 Jul 2021, 14:51

The bad thing about the glue with activator is that a pot doesn't last you very long, at least the one I bought was dry in about two months (Malta is a hot place!).

If you are very expert, melting both ends can yield good results, but is very tricky.

I must say that a good few of the soldiers I glued with the activator have broken since. Really it is better to either use a lot of epoxi in between, or just skip modifying them! the new Hat plastic is wonderful for conversion, just a bit of any brand of superglue and is enough.
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