The game will soon be getting its first models on sprues

My number one tip is to not cheap out on tools!

specifically your nippers.

I highly recommend

Wave Materials Ht389 HG Fine Nipper for Gate Cut.

They cut like the fancy god hand nippers but are way cheaper. It’s like $20.

These things are worlds better then the typical flush cutters. They cut right at the gate and leave a flush serface that requires almost no finishing work.

But they are delicate and should only be used for thin gate cuts don’t chop thick hard sprues with them.

If the new kits are styrene there are even more techniques you can use for quicker removal of flashing and mould lines.

Harder plastics are very receptive to mould line removal just by scraping with a hobby knife.

Plastic glues will allow you to weld parts together so there are no gaps to fill!

If a really thin or fragile part is attached to the sprue in a weird way or by an overly large connection cut the sprue frame itself. That way when the rest of the part is cut free you can get a better angle and more control without the rest of the sprue getting in the way. Keep you knife blades sharp.

Thank you for making a positive and proactive thread about this. I'm stoked for getting models on sprues

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. But I wanted a thread that was about dealing with the realities of hard plastic sprues.

I do think the base set pvc is great mostly because of how easy those models are to assemble, their simple design only works thanks to the soft plastic however. They are a good baby step.

I think they should keep the original core pvc and redo the original expansions in hard plastic.

Ultimately my favorite kind of model was the dust tactics style of pre assembled with waist articulation and primed for paint. They are easy to modify if you wish easy to simply paint or leave base colored for army distinction. Perfect but likely more money then they could afford for legion.

Best way to deal with sprues, apparently is...

Wailing and gnashing of teeth. Rending your garments. Clothing yourself in sackcloth and ashes. Join in a chorus of despair.

That, or, throw a party because it’s a new era of world peace and there will be no more sickness or hunger

8 minutes ago, TauntaunScout said:

Best way to deal with sprues, apparently is...

Wailing and gnashing of teeth. Rending your garments. Clothing yourself in sackcloth and ashes. Join in a chorus of despair.

That, or, throw a party because it’s a new era of world peace and there will be no more sickness or hunger

1

My local store is out of sackcloth, sadly.

It is funny the two extremes people seem to have over this news. They either love it, or think it is the end of the world.

I just use an x-acto knife and a pointy, D cross scetioned, needle file for all my hard styrene work. Once in a blue moon I pull an ordinary pair of Dollar Store nippers out of a toolbox to chop the sprue itself into sub-pieces before removing model parts. Ordinary nail clippers can also work well for tiny pieces.

Files only really worked for me on metal and hard polystyrene so far. They've made a giant mess of resin and other plastics every time I try. But on hard plastic and metal the utility of a good file cannot be overstated.

Games Workshop has really led the charge on trying to convince people that they need fancy expensive tools to do basic modelling. It's just a sales gimmick don't be fooled. You can get everything you need for under $10 probably if you go to AC Moore, Michael's or Jo-Annes and use a 50% off one item coupon printed offline. An x-acto knife and spare blades, a little pack of files for jewelery making, and MAYBE a cheap pair of Chinese nippers from Dollar Tree are all you really need.

Though I did need a drill to assemble my AT-ST mortar launcher. No matter what I did it wouldn't stay glued. Had to pin the mortar onto the side of the head.

42 minutes ago, TauntaunScout said:

Best way to deal with sprues, apparently is...

Wailing and gnashing of teeth. Rending your garments. Clothing yourself in sackcloth and ashes. Join in a chorus of despair.

That, or, throw a party because it’s a new era of world peace and there will be no more sickness or hunger

Ashes don't drybrush well. Use baking soda.

4 minutes ago, DewbackScout said:

Ashes don't drybrush well. Use baking soda.

Baking soda can yellow over time though. I'm sure some company sells a hobby alternative lookalike.

5 hours ago, TylerTT said:

I do think the base set pvc is great mostly because of how easy those models are to assemble, their simple design only works thanks to the soft plastic however. They are a good baby step.

I've seen quite a few easy build miniatures on plastic sprues. GW has lots of examples in their recent releases, even going so far as having models that they call "push fit" where glue isn't necessary for the initial assembly (but holds the models together better and helps hide gaps).

Would clippers be readily available at hardware store? And are there any easy alternative tools?

Can someone explain the diff between "Plastic Glue" and just, like, super glue? Is it really necessary to use "plastic glue" or can I keep using my Gorilla super glue?

I've put together some MG gundams, so I'm not turned off by the sprues, but this will be a new experience with such small models

Plastic glue chemically welds plastic together, thus giving a stronger bond, while super glue doesn’t.

I recomment Tamiya Thin plastic glue, as it has a fine applicator, and is perfect for fiddly parts.

Also, a good x-acto knife, with replacement blades, small files.

19 minutes ago, manoftomorrow010 said:

Can someone explain the diff between "Plastic Glue" and just, like, super glue? Is it really necessary to use "plastic glue" or can I keep using my Gorilla super glue?

I've put together some MG gundams, so I'm not turned off by the sprues, but this will be a new experience with such small models

You certainly can keep using super glue, but as joewrightgm mentioned due to the chemical reaction with polystyrene plastic, plastic glue is better suited to the job.

57 minutes ago, joewrightgm said:

Plastic glue chemically welds plastic together, thus giving a stronger bond, while super glue doesn’t.

I recomment Tamiya Thin plastic glue, as it has a fine applicator, and is perfect for fiddly parts.

Also, a good x-acto knife, with replacement blades, small files.

48 minutes ago, Caimheul1313 said:

You certainly can keep using super glue, but as joewrightgm mentioned due to the chemical reaction with polystyrene plastic, plastic glue is better suited to the job.

Thanks y'all. I will check if I can find that Tamiya stuff around here.

1 hour ago, Jabby said:

Would clippers be readily available at hardware store? And are there any easy alternative tools?

I use cheap made in China wire cutters from Dollar Tree to chop up sprues. To remove parts from sprues, the X-Acto knife and sometimes a cutting surface is what I use. Frankly, you can use a small disposable box cutter if you are looking to scrounge free tools at first.

1 hour ago, manoftomorrow010 said:

Can someone explain the diff between "Plastic Glue" and just, like, super glue? Is it really necessary to use "plastic glue" or can I keep using my Gorilla super glue?

You can use either. I keep any old brand 2-part epoxy, any old brand super glue, Testor's plastic glue, any old brand epoxy putty, Elmer's PVA glue, and any brand vinyl spackle on hand at all times for all kinds of hobby purposes.

I actually pick and choose which glue (super or plastic) to use for hard polystyrene depending on the nature of the two pieces being joined but this is not strictly necessary. If I'm out of one or the other I don't worry about it and revert to what I have on hand.

2 hours ago, Caimheul1313 said:

GW has lots of examples in their recent releases,

And their not-so-recent releases. I'm convinced they phase things out on purpose just to have something to tout as "new" a few years later. The newer ones push and stay together better than the older ones mostly, but the intent was previously there.

I don't think people realize there are multiple formulations of pvc, including those that can be described as "hard plastic".

Nobody buy any plastic cement. You'll just make a mess.

10 minutes ago, Tvayumat said:

I don't think people realize there are multiple formulations of pvc, including those that can be described as "hard plastic".

Nobody buy any plastic cement. You'll just make a mess.

I did specify polystyrene plastic.

We'll have to wait until the Clone Wars release to see which plastic they used, although by and large kits on sprues tend to be polystyrene, personally I don't know of any PVC sprue kits, but I will admit I am not an expert on every single miniature manufacturer. Wait to buy glue until after the previewers (many of whom probably already have plastic glue for testing purposes) can let the rest of us know which kind of plastic FFG is having the sprues made with.

17 minutes ago, Caimheul1313 said:

I did specify polystyrene plastic.

We'll have to wait until the Clone Wars release to see which plastic they used, although by and large kits on sprues tend to be polystyrene, personally I don't know of any PVC sprue kits, but I will admit I am not an expert on every single miniature manufacturer. Wait to buy glue until after the previewers (many of whom probably already have plastic glue for testing purposes) can let the rest of us know which kind of plastic FFG is having the sprues made with.

The current line of FFG PVC figures are cast in sprues, they're just clipped before packaging because the sprues aren't designed for the end consumer and the individual components are fairly large.

You have the right answer though. Wait and see. A lot of people are getting way ahead of themselves. Anyone who has handled the Bones Black material can tell you that there are PVCs out there that are very, VERY stiff, which is what I hear them saying when they say "hard plastic".

41 minutes ago, Tvayumat said:

Nobody buy any plastic cement. You'll just make a mess.

If in doubt, cut off two pieces of the "frame" part of the sprue as opposed to actual model pieces. Glue them together, and see what happens. If the results are bad, cut two more and try another kind of glue. This applies to all model kits. And also to testing new brands of glue you've never used.

2 minutes ago, Tvayumat said:

The current line of FFG PVC figures are cast in sprues, they're just clipped before packaging because the sprues aren't designed for the end consumer and the individual components are fairly large.

Fair, there is definitely signs of the parts being trimmed off of something.

I thought PVC casting was more akin to resin or metal, where there isn't really a traditional "sprue" just some small amount connecting each of the "sub-molds" together. It would make sense to use some kind of sprue containing multiple of the same torso for mass production though.

What I mainly meant was a PVC hard plastic sprue sold to the customer, since I wasn't sure if it was more prone to breakage or more problematic for removal from sprues for the customer than polystyrene, since my limited experience with PVC hard plastic it felt more akin to some resins than polystyrene in brittleness.

1 minute ago, TauntaunScout said:

If in doubt, cut off two pieces of the "frame" part of the sprue as opposed to actual model pieces. Glue them together, and see what happens. If the results are bad, cut two more and try another kind of glue. This applies to all model kits. And also to testing new brands of glue you've never used.

Wisdom.

Always be in doubt. Always test everything on scrap before you apply any chemicals to your models.

If you aren't sure what's going to happen and you're holding an irreplaceable (or at least difficult to replace) part in your hand, STOP.

3 minutes ago, Caimheul1313 said:

Fair, there is definitely signs of the parts being trimmed off of something.

I thought PVC casting was more akin to resin or metal, where there isn't really a traditional "sprue" just some small amount connecting each of the "sub-molds" together. It would make sense to use some kind of sprue containing multiple of the same torso for mass production though.

What I mainly meant was a PVC hard plastic sprue sold to the customer, since I wasn't sure if it was more prone to breakage or more problematic for removal from sprues for the customer than polystyrene, since my limited experience with PVC hard plastic it felt more akin to some resins than polystyrene in brittleness.

PVC in general is very durable. It definitely would not be more brittle than polystyrene, however it also tends not to cut or break as cleanly so, we'll see.

If you can, take a look at some of the new models from the Reaper "Bones Black" line. They, too have been moving to denser/stiffer PVCs for a while now and the new stuff is tough as heck.

Just now, Tvayumat said:

PVC in general is very durable. It definitely would not be more brittle than polystyrene, however it also tends not to cut or break as cleanly so, we'll see.

Which is potentially a significant problem when providing a product for a customer to cut/break. So hopefully they don't go with PVC, but time will tell!

1 minute ago, Caimheul1313 said:

Which is potentially a significant problem when providing a product for a customer to cut/break. So hopefully they don't go with PVC, but time will tell!

I see a lot of "sky is falling" posts about it being hard to work with and I have to say...

They're not TOTALLY off base. The B2 Battle Droid has such super duper spindly parts that I can see them becoming damaged quite easily during clipping. Flattening details, tearing out divots, and accidentally clipping extremities are all very real risks of fine parts still on the sprue.

Anyone who has built Malifaux can attest to this. We apparently have some sprue wizards out there, but I've been clipping plastic for the better part of 30 years and I still make mistakes sometimes.

All speculation and supposition of course. We will need to actually see the sprues and get hands on before we'll know.

1 hour ago, Tvayumat said:

I see a lot of "sky is falling" posts about it being hard to work with and I have to say...

They're not TOTALLY off base. The B2 Battle Droid has such super duper spindly parts that I can see them becoming damaged quite easily during clipping. Flattening details, tearing out divots, and accidentally clipping extremities are all very real risks of fine parts still on the sprue.

Anyone who has built Malifaux can attest to this. We apparently have some sprue wizards out there, but I've been clipping plastic for the better part of 30 years and I still make mistakes sometimes.

All speculation and supposition of course. We will need to actually see the sprues and get hands on before we'll know.

Personally, I prefer sprues since they frequently provide more modelling options than only the bits you need in a baggie.

While I haven't had many outright breakages (and those have been in great part due to the connection point being in the STUPIDEST LOCATION POSSIBLE), I have frequently had divots when I clip directly next to the part for expediency's sake, all of which are fairly quickly repaired or hidden. I've clipped many thinner polystyrene parts than the B1 parts will be (some 28mm rifles are very thin, and historicals often have a lot of fiddly details that need to be clipped off a sprue and glued on) with little to no problems.

I've seen lots of people say PVC hard plastic sprues are a possibility, but I still do not have an example of a company that sells hard PVC miniatures on a sprue. I know some of the Warmachine figures are hard PVC, but they didn't come on sprues, but baggies like Legion's soft plastic miniatures. Mostly I'm curious as to how likely the PVC spruemageddon (:-P) is, but we shan't know all of the issues until the previews start happening, so everything is just speculation at this point.