Pinning help needed

[alexz3]

Hi everyone, to help me paint my minis I bought the GW drill and got some paperclips to fix them.

My problem is that I can't get the paperclip to support the weight of the figurine, and my superglue doesn't seem to hold the paperclip properly as well.

I used the smallest drill size under the feet, the paperclip fits in, I glue it, wait a couple hours and pick it up and the figurine just slowly falls over and the clips unglue... I tried with some light skavens and the Ogroid from Silver Tower, both had same result, they just can't support their weight and fall off.

Any idea how to do this properly? Otherwise I have a miniature drill that is just useless. Or is there a special size / format of paperclips I should use ?

only one that managed to stay happened because I drilled too far through the foot...

Could it also be because the pin is stuck in blue tak and not in a cork ?

View attachment 61817 View attachment 61818

 

[MAXXxxx]

any drill is ok (altough I find the GW one way overpriced).
What's important is that the drill bit should be as large as the paperclip. Most standard paperclips are 0.8mm, so a 0.8 or 0.9mm bit is needed for the pin (.8 is better, .9 is a bit loose).

What I see on the skaven:
- the part you drilled is too thin, you need a bit deeper to hold the figure correctly. Try drilling at the heels or the other foot.
- You used waaaay too much glue (altough that has nothing to do with pin holding powa'.

plus on plastic GW minis you can paint them in the hand. Unless you have some condition, where your palms sweat/get greasy constantly it won't really affect the paintjob (at the Bailey03/10Ball/Skel level maybe, but most of the time it's irrelevant)

 

[alexz3]

for the Skaven I was trying to drill in the heel but I aimed wrong and it just went through the foot

for the Glue, I was just so frustrated with this whole thing that I added more glue and hoped it would stay.

I used the smallest drill where my paperclip would fit, but perhaps its too thin ?

I hate using my hands to hold the mini while painting. I also hate more and more the blue tak as it sticks to the feet too much and sometimes doesn't hold the mini firmly so I pres it down more and the blue tak just gets on the bottom cloth / robes whatever of the mini...

 

[Zab]

if you want a strong bond on the metal to plastic then use a little baking soda. it will make the glue dry very fast and very strong. Use less glue as well.

 

[alexz3]

how do you do the baking soda thing to make a stronger bond ?

edit : nevermind, just youtubed it. does it really help make the bond stronger ?

 

[Zab]

Yep. depending on the size of the hole i'll either sprinkle some in the hole and dip the pin in a bit of super glue then put the two together or if it s tight fit put super glue in the hole and dip the pin in some baking soda and put the two together. It's a very strong bond so be careful and quick cause you only get one shot!

 

[MAXXxxx]

you only get one shot!

only one shot? what kind of pub is this? I want a refund.

 

[Thri Keen Priest]

I use 5-minute epoxy instead of super-glue. Works for me.

 

[bullfrog]

What brand of superglue do you use? I've pinned mini joints for years and never had a problem until my local store switched glue brands to another well known brand. I've found it totally useless and fifteen minutes later I pick up the mini and it falls straight off. I ordered my usual brand online and have not had another problem. Maybe it was a batch issue as I wouldn't imagine that brand being so well known if it didn't damn well work.
You do have to drill some way into the mini to support the weight especially if it's metal. I always drill as far as I can for more stability, up to a maximum depth of just over half a cm if it's heavy. It takes longer but it saves time in the end.
If you can afford the extra cost it may help to use something like a bond fastener like zip kicker to cure it instantly.

 

[alexz3]

I have Gorilla super glue gel (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CJ5EO2E), and also a Pattex special modelling glue (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X62JIS).

I tried the baking soda method but just couldn't get the baking soda to stay in the drill hole and put the glue on the pin. The Gorilla glue bottle has to be opened as the gel will just not flow at all out of the bottle.

I bought some other gel glues as well and will need to try them out to see if there is any difference. Might also be my pin from my paperclip is too light and thin. I was thinking of using a small nail which migt be a bit larger and solid.

So you recommend about 0.5cm depth at minimum ? Some minis its just hard finding a place to drill that far...

In the meantime I went ahead and ordered 2 of these GW painting handles: https://www.games-workshop.com/en-EU/Citadel-Painting-Handle-2017

Should receive them this week, along with some paints and AOS start box thing.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Pinning to hold a mini while painting does take a little time/experience to ‘get right’. You might be better off with something as fine as the shaven to leave a spur of the slot under the foot for better grip.

 

[alexz3]

Leaving a sprue from other minis is what I am doing now as well, will test this with combining with the GW painting holder thing.

 

[bullfrog]

I only drill down half a cm if it's easy to do so like up a leg or through a torso etc. If I can I'll try using a toothpick so I don't have to use superglue. I'll drill a larger hole then force the toothpick in as hard as I can without superglue. Then I push the other sharp end into a fatter champagne cork and hold that. Sometimes it doesn't work with the larger heavier metal minis but I rarely have problems with plastic and resin. You get the odd mini that won't behave. If I have a mini with a flat area on the base or decent sized feet I tend to apply a blob of Tarzans Grip on the bottom area and stick it directly on the cork. Easy to break off and clean up but be careful not to get glue up the sides of whatever you are sticking down. I think I'm just cheap!

The best superglue I've ever used is Bob Smith Industries. Has the strongest grip and protection from shearing forces I've seen so I always use it to glue different media together.