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Thursday, February 5, 2015

Speed gluing shields in 15mm

With our moribund ancients group coming alive again to play L'Art de la Guerre, I'm rushing to rebuild my 15mm ancients collection. This requires a bit of work since I sold all my armies last year, save one.  The upside to a collection of one is that I'll double it shortly.  I expect to double it again before the year is out.

After years of painting Old Glory, I'm finding Corvus Belli's ancient Spanish to be a nice change-up. I understand they've shut down so this might be my first and last opportunity to paint from their line. The sculpting on the figures is superb and they have some one-of-a-kind figures.  The downside is I underestimated the difficulty of gluing 200+ tiny shields.  My first go was so slow and messy I almost gave up at the start.  The backs of the shields have shallow dimples so they don't have much to grab onto.  Through trial and error and more error, I came up with a system that might be useful for anyone working with Xyston or Corvus Belli.    

Step 1: I glue my figures on Popsicle sticks, grouping like poses to speed up the painting process. My tools for the job include:

Super Glue-Quick drying version
Accelerator- described as an "instant cure."  It speeds up the curing process on metals to about 10 seconds so it's a bit short of "instant."
Sticky Tack.
Small wooden dowel to prevent fingers from being glued together.
Step 2: Spray a couple of shots of accelerator on the plastic work surface, enough to make a puddle. I resorted to the puddle method because the sprayer puts out way too much accelerator for 15mm.  It was soaking everything.

Step 3: Load up a bit of Sticky Tack on the end of the dowel. Grab the shield from the front.

Step 4:  Dip the back of the shield into the puddle of accelerator.  Holding the dowel + shield upright with your left hand, put a drop of Super Glue on the accelerator soaked shield with your right hand. You've got 10 seconds to get this on the figure before it hardens.
Step 5: Press the shield against the forearm of the figure. Count to 5 and you're done!  Now repeat about 200 more times and you're ready to prime your army.  

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31 comments:

  1. Evan HughesFebruary 5, 2015 at 4:23 PM

    Thanks Monty, these nuts-and-bolts articles are extremely helpful to painters and modellers. Although I've never seen superglue accelerator; I get precisely the opposite problem, with everything drying too quickly for me to get it right!

    And you're resurrecting your 15mm Ancients? Hannibalic Carthaginian this time, or an entirely Spanish army? At least elephants are affordable in 15mm!

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    1. MontyFebruary 5, 2015 at 6:56 PM

      Thanks Evan! There are so many good blogs and tutorials out there, I tend to forget or skip sharing. Kind of like the Barenaked Ladies song, "Its all been done." This one I have not seen before.

      I sold off my ancient Spanish last year and I want to give them a go under the new rules. So its Sertorius' Lusitantians.

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    2. Evan HughesFebruary 5, 2015 at 10:18 PM

      One of history's great might-have-beens!

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    3. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:19 PM

      He's one of my all time favorite Roman generals.

      Delete
  2. Christopher(aka Axebreaker)February 5, 2015 at 4:40 PM

    Thanks for the tip Monty and looking forward to seeing your ancients roll off the painting desk!

    Christopher

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    1. MontyFebruary 5, 2015 at 6:57 PM

      Thanks Christopher, it's going to be all 15mm ancients for a spell here. ;-)

      Delete
  3. VexilliaFebruary 5, 2015 at 5:05 PM

    Excellent article. Did you try adding the glue to the figure and the accelerator to the shield?

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    1. MontyFebruary 5, 2015 at 7:03 PM

      Thanks! First I was spritzing the shield and I had accelerator dripping off my hands and getting everywhere. When I spritzed the figure, it was soaked top to bottom and I worried it might end up affect the primer. The shields are so tiny I kept losing them too. So, out came the down and sticky tack.

      BTW, I love your blog the Waving Flag and I'm quite sorry to see FoG on the way down.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 5, 2015 at 5:09 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. thefrenchjesterFebruary 5, 2015 at 5:16 PM

    thanks for the tip Monty, 200 shields in one row !
    you're a master of patience, the king of the zen attitude, a big applause for you!

    all the best .

    Gilles

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    1. MontyFebruary 5, 2015 at 7:05 PM

      Gilles! You wouldn't say that if you were a fly on the wall when I started this project. I almost gave up and put them for sale on Bartertown. Then I calmed down and figured out a better way to do this. ;-)

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    2. thefrenchjesterFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:15 AM

      the only place you could find me as a fly would be in the milk ;-)
      ( I don't know if it's the same meaning in American or English) in French it means somebody or something you preferred not to see arriving. ;-)
      Never give up Monty! Never! the hardest is the training , easer will be the fight ;-)
      Remember : " no pain , no gain !"
      don't turn around Bartertown, Mad Max will not be there and the thunderdome is open 7/7, 24h a day like Wallmart ;-).

      All the best.

      Gilles

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    3. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:21 PM

      LOL! I have to be careful about translations. I told one of my German friends that something was "sweet" and in German, it has negative connotations. This is why I should study abroad. :-)

      You are the best, Gilles!

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  6. DeanMFebruary 5, 2015 at 6:47 PM

    Nice technique, Monty. I have a hard enough time handling 28mm stuff.

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    1. MontyFebruary 5, 2015 at 7:07 PM

      You and me both Dean. Last week, I'd been grumbling about assembling a bunch of plastic Russians. This was quite a bit more annoying. When I was young, I liked the "putting things together part" of modeling. Now that I'm older, I'd rather paint than do fiddly assembly. It seems I've become a grognard!

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  7. Jonathan FreitagFebruary 5, 2015 at 8:14 PM

    That looks like a tedious process but you persevered. YOU are a problem solver!
    Can;t wait to see your latest incarnation of the Spanish army in 15mm.

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    1. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:19 PM

      Thanks Jonathan! If I worked in 28mm more, I wouldn't have this problem.

      Delete
  8. Jonas MFebruary 6, 2015 at 5:29 AM

    Nice tutorial Monty. But 200 shields in 15 mm – yikes!

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    1. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:22 PM

      Thanks Jonathan. You don't need armies quite this big for ADLG but I want to have all options when I'm done. :-)

      Delete
  9. PhilFebruary 6, 2015 at 9:49 AM

    Nice tip...Ouch, 200 shields, couldn't do that! And Corvus Belli is really excellent...

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    1. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:22 PM

      Thanks Phil and I notice your club fields them quite frequently!

      Delete
  10. john de terre neuveFebruary 6, 2015 at 11:10 AM

    I have to laugh Monty, glueing drives me crazy, I do use an accelerator sometimes, I wish it would come in a non spray version. But 200 shields, I have been trying to put together some 1/2400 ships, I have to do 15 ships, there is one piece to glue, I ahve only the patience to do one per day, 200 would drive me crazy.

    John

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    1. MontyFebruary 6, 2015 at 4:23 PM

      I agree about the non spray. I thought maybe I got a defective bottle but its probably the standard.

      What era are the ships?

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  11. Paul WFebruary 7, 2015 at 12:30 AM

    Now that is a useful thing to know, and adaptable to all manner of assembly problems. Just think of how much skin I could have saved from my fingers over the years! Thanks :-)

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    1. MontyFebruary 8, 2015 at 12:45 PM

      Thanks Paul! Good one, it might be helpful for Flames of War assembly.

      Delete
  12. Moiterei_1984February 7, 2015 at 2:35 AM

    Gluing on shields in 28mm already makes me go crazy but in 15mm I'd go up the walls. So your tutorial might save some lives one day Monty ;-)

    Looking forward to follow your progress on the new project.

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    1. MontyFebruary 8, 2015 at 12:49 PM

      Thanks Moiterei! I love painting but assembly is a drag. It takes away from painting time!

      Delete
  13. Iowa GrognardFebruary 8, 2015 at 10:56 AM

    Nice guide, Monty. I do the same thing with 5 sec superglue, but only a tiny amount. This way I can also use a slow cure super epoxy while the superglue holds it in place. I use the 5 sec glue so there is no need for an accelerator.

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    1. MontyFebruary 8, 2015 at 12:51 PM

      Jeff, thanks again for the trade! I should have thought of reaching out to you for advice on these. My glue says its 5-15 secs but that's just not true.

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    2. Iowa GrognardFebruary 8, 2015 at 1:06 PM

      It was my pleasure! Remembering all those tiny shields makes me feel guilty as I look at my lovely painted Saxon Warlords and Flemish Mercs.

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    3. Iowa GrognardFebruary 10, 2015 at 9:54 PM

      Forgot to mention, the only glue that I found to be true to its 5 sec claim is the fast cure by Loctite. It still needs to be used in a very thin layer, but does the job as per what I mentioned. Can't wait to see you get paint on these fellows.

      Delete

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