Hey all, quick question about flash/mould lines. Do you remove them from all models? Plastic and metal? How do you remove it? Any tips. I've finally decided on a scheme for my lizards and started putting the models together but noticed they ALL have loads. On one model (old carnosaur) the pieces don't even fit. Any help would be appreciated.
I can't speak for metal ones, but plastic I use a razor and then a soft or wet sand paper/sanding sponge to smooth it out. Don't go too nuts with the sanding though. Could end up losing a lot of detail.
I had the same problem with my Zoat not fitting together, I ended up filling the gap with green stuff. I usually clip or carefully pick them off the pieces of metal. I find picking a bit easier so the pieces don't fly into the face. Then I sand a bit to remove excess.
Plastic use a craft knife and scrape the line off, metal carefully snip of large pieces and then cut slowly and always away from yourself with a craft knife, sand with modelling files these are great as they come in a set and have different profiles and will fit into almost any gap. Poor fitting metal, dry fit and try sanding to get the best fit then use araldite glue or similar then when dry fill with green stuff.
Cheers for the help and advice bought myself a craft knife set, modelling files set and glass paper today. Knife works great on plastics and im finally starting to put them together. Hopefully get some painted soon.
Ok so I've put all my models together and now I need to fill in the gaps. When mixing green stuff what ratio is best for gap filing? I have lots of gaps and some of them are quite big. Also can anyone give me advice on how they would sculpt wind, fire and water (idea for my slann) Thanks in advance.
50/50 and do it in layers let each one dry before you do the next, you could get some liquid green stuff for the final fill just paint it on with a small brush. Regarding sculpting you need @Rikard for that.
I'd avoid liquid green stuff like the plague, it's clumpy, messy and awful for gap filling, you're far better of using regular green stuff. EDIT: Pin your models first, after you're happy you've done everything you can to minimize the gaps, use standard 50/50 for gap filling, but make sure the putty is nice and warm so it's easy to apply to the model and push into the gaps. Allow it to set in the gaps before you try to hide the joins with detail over the top (you can of course simply fill the gaps and do the detail at the same time, but if you're not hugely confident of your skills, then the former is the better option). I wouldn't sculpt wind because you can't really, not unless the look you're going for is similar to the ogre breathing fire.
I like the liquid green stuff but only for the final line fill, I'm not a very talented modeller like @Rikard so ignore my post and follow his advice.
Cheers for the replies, I'd never even heard of liquid green stuff. When I've tried green stuff before it tends to stick to me rather than the model. I was thinking of making the wind look like a cyclone elemental from wow.
A tiny amount of petroleum jelly on your fingertips will help. Water and dampness also works. Dip tools and shapers in water to keep GS from sticking. Was this thread split away from another one? (The first post seems to refer to previous material that is gone.)
Yeah it was originally about flash and mould lines but changed it to general advice I needed rather than making new threads. Thanks I'll give that a try. Hopefully get some models finished up this weekend ready for painting.