Bluefalchion wrote:Baking soda causes superglue to bind immediately?
You'd better believe it!
Immediately and ROCK solid. I have even seen it used for repairing plastic parts, like printer trays and the like. Once you have built up sufficient layers, you can cut it or file it, and it is hard as nails (though I personally would still belt and braces it by adding pins to studs and so on, even though you probably wouldn't need it but that's me).
And that allows me to link into this (kind of like a TV segue):-
While I have been working on this scenery and using the nice but venerable Caesar Adventurers on or about the models - I looked at Alliance's Southern Rangers, and re-looked at what Molder did with his. So I cut some of mine off the sprues and started to base them up ready for painting. And that gave me the chance to show how I use baking soda and superglue when I am doing bases.
1. I glued the figures to 20mm diam wooden discs, which I buy in packs from a UK high street shop called The Works. Don't know what they are intended for originally, but there are 20mm, 30mm and 50mm discs in the packs, all 2mm thick and ideal for what I need and at GBP2 a pack, good value. (I refuse to use valid currency for bases). The figures are glued using a clear glue - EvoStick, UHU or similar. A good dollop rather than a thin smear, that takes care of any irregularities underneath the base.
2. Once the figure is secure, I apply superglue to the base. The glue I use is from Poundland, another high street shop, you get three bottles in a pack with fine applicator tips. Use these and place the glue so it spreads around and across the base and the base of the figure. The point is to blend the figure bases with the base you are building up around it.
3. Dredge the figure through a tray of baking soda, and wallop! It's done. Literally as quickly as it took for you to read that, the two have reacted together and set hard.
Watch your fingers - that goes without saying - this stuff sticks like ... er ... like a really sticky thing. The reaction between the two materials generates heat, the more you are using, the more heat, but it only lasts a second or two. When basing figures it isn't really an issue.
4. Use an old paint brush to dust off any baking soda that hasn't reacted.
This is now ready for paint, though you could build up the base material even more if you wish.
I used this technique to make some un-finished stone blocks for an undead pyramid builder to hurl at his king's enemies. (All that business about ramps and winches? Everybody knows they levitated the stones into place. Which is why Bob the Pyramid builder is a useful guy to have on your side in a fight.)
I think it looks good. But boy did those get hot while I was making them!
And, yes - Bob does levitate himself about on his own personalised flying pavement. (Figure converted from the Alliance Mummies set, 72045.)
As I have said previously baking soda has a really fine grain, and it looks more in scale that most sand, though sand too has its uses.
Anyway on with the other stuff, I will come back to the Rangers another time.
The above was written last week, to save time. But I am just taking a moment to mention that an anime film based on the story of Helm Hammerhand, part of the history of Rohan, is in preparation. I hope that they get the Rohirrim right and don't go with the wimpy guys of the Peter Jackson fims.
However I have heard some things that make me less than hopeful for this, so we'll see, at least there should some more visual ideas to steal.
Okay with that out of the way - on with the builds.
One of the issues with using grass mat, (apart from all of the little green hairs) is getting the edges to glue down, especially if you have cut the card with a bevelled edge. One way of getting instant 'stick' and a good bond, is to use double-sided tape. Coupled with PVA based glue for the main part of the mat it works well.
However I decided to try something else.
I cut out an area where the paving stones would go, glued down the main area of the mat, using sticky glue, and then glued the polystyrene tiles in place as well..
I set them aside overnight, and came back with the one of those vacuum clothes bags - the ones you pack stuff away in and suck the air out of so that it shrinks the volume of the package down.
So my thinking was this - I have seen this idea used with people fabricating carbon-fibre parts. Once the parts have been assembled and epoxied together, they put them in a vacuum bag and let air pressure work on getting the liquid resin to permeate the structure.
Okay, so I thought why not use the vacuum to keep the edges down while they glued?
When I came back to the pieces the next morning, I used a brush to apply tacky glue to the edges of the terrain pieces, making sure to cover the card-board and the grass mat.
I used a piece of board, covered in baking parchment (so that any glue that oozed out wouldn't stick to the board), and placed it and the freshly glued pieces into the bag.keeping them flat.
I used a vacuum cleaner to suck all of the air out and :-
It seems to have worked. The edges are all tight to the board, but I walked away from them and left them over night.
For a first attempt it went well. It worked for most of the pieces, but some needed a second go.
These were re-done and went back into the bag with some more and they are setting up over night.
I also started tinkering with applying greenery to the gateway.
Some rubberised horsehair and Woodland Scenics Clump Foliage, and some old rather ropey grass tufts I had.
I eventually decided it needed more hanging vegetation off the tops of the pillars and walls.
Too much or not enough?
Let me know what you think.
Some of the rubberised horse hair with the wall section.
Last for this week I used some of the greenery on the Seat of Seeing
I think the Seat is done. I'm loathe to add more, except perhaps some dead leaves and the like, though I am always open to others opinions.
SO! That is another busy week, still more to come the paths need painting and 'greening' - I decided to use some clump foliage to line the sides of the paths and tufts between the paving stones. Then there are the rest of the ruined walls.
Thank you if you have looked in to read this and stay safe everyone.
Pickers.
Moderator
and I look fordward for more pics...!!
