Since this is a recurring topic I thought I would weigh in and put a sticky on it. Please feel free to add your suggestions to the thread.

ON GLUE: It pains me to see anyones project warp. You spend a ton of time cutting and folding and to have it warp after all that work is a real shame. When I first started WorldWorks I was a diehard standard white glue user but I soon learned that the water content in that glue is way too high for what we do.

I am now dead set on using UHU office pens (not just any UHU office pen, more on that later), I won't touch my models with anything else. They are specifically designed with a very low water content to prevent warping, they dry super fast and they have a "no-clog" applicator that is very precise. The glue dispenses transparent and has a simular consistency to hot glue (without the heat). It takes some getting used to the speed but you'll come to appreciate that element of the pen. The only problem is that not too many stores carry them. My advice, if you plan on doing this for the long haul then special order an entire box (like I did). You deserve it as much as your models do! Here are the specifics:


Brand: UHU Office Pen No.99589
- Does not wrinkle or warp paper
- Percision applicator
- Non Clogging
- Dries Fast
- Washable
Direct Link: http://www.saunders-usa.com/uhu/?brand=104&model=105

Besides UHU glue (I use the gluesticks Denny listed above - Viking carries them individually, I believe), I use gluesticks for a variety of tasks, especially large surface areas. They are quicker to apply to larger areas than UHU is, and obviously easier to control the amount applied.

However, I don't recommend school glue (the purplish stuff) - at least, not the UHU brand. Its nice because you can see what areas you've applied it to, but its kind of crumbly, and isn't the strongest of glues. I've been using Ross Glue sticks (this one: http://www.viking.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=Q02-95500) with great success. My First Light walls were done almost 100% with Ross Sticks (except for around windows, where I used UHU). They make smaller ones (this size: http://www.viking.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=Q02-95180), which I plan on getting next time I order. Ross does make a purple gluestick, and I might try theirs to see if its better than Elmer's or UHU's purple gluesticks, but my general recommendation is not to use the school glues.


By the way, Viking sells individual UHU pens as well: http://www.viking.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=Q02-S99589 - and for slightly less Saunders. Also, I'm pretty sure if your order is $25 or more, shipping is free.

During (what has become) the lengthy process of building twin Maidens for our Swashbuckling Adventures campaign I have tried just about every glue imaginable. I seem to be unable to use the UHU properly. Whatever I glue with it becomes warped and "crunchy". And on my second (unsuccessful) Maiden build, the UHU let go of the seams in the hull after about 6 weeks.

Ships 3 & 4 are doing well so far (pictuers to be posted in the next couple of weeks). I have used Elmer's white glue, applied sparingly and spread by finger tip, Elmer's spray adhesive, and Elmer's glue stick with great results. The glue stick I use for sandwich folds only, and it appears to be working handsomly....

I plan to use a hot glue gun for the ratlines, but thus far the Elmer's has done a great job elsewhere....

There is another thread where Ghenghis_Ska tested Elmer's White Glue and had poor results. It would seem that the use of glue is part science and part art. How you use the glue. Sparingly and spreading out the glue seems to be the best bet. I am going to try UHU since Denny raves about them and their glue sticks. I love glue sticks. However, I tried building a model using just the wet glue (Elmer's Glue Pen) and it worked great!

I think my problem with the UH is I try to put too much on.... Also, if it gets on theprinted surface of your model, it dries shiny.... So it kinda throws off the look of the model....

Probably gluing is the most challenging part of paper modeling - once you have a paper model to begin with. Cutting isn't too bad, although it can be time consuming. Folding, same issue. But gluing can make or break it, for sure!

I have yet to find the Uhu Office Pen, but I have been using its big brother, the Uhu Liquid Glue Pen. I found these at my local, chain craft store.

I have also had good luck with the Pentel Roll'n Glue Liquid Adhesive. This glue has a little rubber roller for an applicator. It leaves a nice thin coat and warping seems minimal.

Finally, I also like Aleene's Tacky Glue. This is a really thick white, craft type glue. It has amazing sticking power, which is especially nice on those tricky bits. Also, you cut the applicator tip to the size you like so you can get a nice thin line of glue from it. It doesn't warp too bad, but I usually use this glue for tabs and use one of the pens for walls and other big areas. I have found this glue at my local craft store and at discount stores. Stay away from the Aleene's Quick Dry Glue. It sounds like a good idea, but it doesn't have the tacky thickness of the other glue.

I am not a big fan of Elmer's, but I have used it in a pinch.

The UHU Liquid glue pen (the fat one) does NOT use the same glue as the UHU office pen mentioned at the beginning of this topic. Its water content is way too high (Take it from me after destroying a few prototypes with it).

The trick to using the "UHU Office Pen No.99589 " is to use a thin coating of glue across your glue area. As with any glue spreading too much of it on will warp your model. You only need an extremely thin bead of glue to establish a bond. If you overdo it with UHU and spread it in huge gobs your models will "crack" and come apart. Use it sparingly and your models will last you ages without warping.

Really? Wow, I have had good luck with the big UHU pen. That must mean that the Office Pen is the shizzle (as the kids say).

I just tested the UHU Office Pen and reisting not using my glue stick, and once I got the hang of it, there is no turning back. Wow. Very nice. Almost the best of both worlds - liquid glue and glue stick. Use it sparingly, in fact, it doesn't flow heavy at all. While I will still use my glue stick for certain items, UHU is here to stay. I love the applicator top!

At first, I really hated the UHU pen. I'd gotten used to some cheap Office Depot branded glue pens. They worked pretty good, but they definitely had a lot of water in them and could cause warpage, but their applicator was really good. Now I've started to get used to the UHU pens, and I find them to be pretty good. My only issue with them is that if you're not careful and get a little seepage on a seam, it dries really shiny, which screws up the appearance a good bit.

Try a matte finish paint. I've used some on my models when I got "glu-fingerprints" on my models. I just painted a light coat of a matte finish I use for my minis and it hit the "shiny" part of my fubar..

I tried the MonoAqua this weekend... very nice... I had no warping problems, but I press all of my pieces after glueing.... Either with clothespins or wood and clamps...

I was in Office Depot a few days ago and saw a card with two UHU Office Pens. The part number on the card was 99570. I took a chance and bought it anyway since the price was under $3.00 US (I think it was $2.87. I forget the exact price. As stated it was a few days ago, the receipt is circular filed, and I am lucky to remember to zip my fly most of the time).

Here is the good part. The part number on the individual glue pens is 99589, like the ones that Denny highly recommends. So, check out your local office supply store and see if they have the carded UHU Office Pen, two units, part number 99570. The 99589 pens are there.

Despite others neg comments on MonoAqua in other threads, I too have had very good luck with it.

Large pieces like walls I often put between sheets of wax paper under my cutting mat to dry for a few minutes while I work on the next piece. Everything stays pretty flat.

Denny, this is just brainstorming, but with all the work that you do with cardstock modeling there may come a point where you can define requirements and perhaps some formulation for a new glue that could be developed in conjunction with a company that does such things. (After all, Post-Its were fairly obvious once someone had identified the need and someone else developed a low-tack, low residue adhesive.) For example, it would be nice to have a glue sheet where you can remove a backing, to adhere it to a surface, then remove backing from the other side and use a slip-sheeting method to adhere to another surface -- no fumes, no warping, no mess, and can be shaped with nothing more than scissors.

I'm not asking you to do something like this and I really don't expect that you would make this a project with everything else you have going, but at some time in the future an idea that is incidental to your main focus may come along out of the blue and provide a good capital source for WWG. (But not so good that you quit making models. )

I have seen these glue sheets at Michael's hobby store.

Do you remember anything about them (brand manufacture, cost, ...)?

Has anyone tried them with cardstock models? Does the bond last?

[Years ago when I was into wargaming I thought I had found a solution for gluing large areas of paper counter sheets to illustration board using thinned rubber cement and slip-sheeting. It went very well: very tight bond, smooth, no warping -- and then about 5 years later they all fell apart.]

Do you need them to last longer than five years? I love rubber cement too, but the relatively short life is a problem. Still, some art collages I made more than five years ago are sticking pretty well. Apply rubber cement to both surfaces, let dry, place carefully together and rub, and there you have it. Grips like death and, as you say, no problems.

Has anyone tried rubber cement for their WWG models? Gotta watch the fumes too.

I used rubber cement when I put together Mel's fortress. It works well as long as it is a part that is easy to line up and can be pressed together. When you do the "cement on both sides" thing you don't get much of a chance to reposition. They have held up well, but it has only been about 6 months.

No, I don't, but I will drop by there today or tomorrow and let you know.
They might be these http://www.michaels.com/art/online/disp ... channelid=

Found a new glue option: the Adhesive Tech Glue Runner. It is a small hand-held unit that dispenses a strip of permanant adhesive similar to what is used on double sided tape. The bond is very strong once it starts to cure (after 15 minutes, the paper separated as much as the glue did). The only down side is you have virtually no time to reposition. I was working on Chunky Dungeons, and it was cutting my build time significantly. I just put a strip on the tabs, carefully positioned, and squeezed. Here are some reviews.

I picked it up at Wal-Mart with 4 other glue products by the same company for about $5. The other products were not as good. The glue pen (sponge tip) caused major warpage. The fine line glue was better, but I could still see minor warpage. It allows a few seconds for repositioning and held well, it would probably be good for small surfaces. The small gluestick and rectangular gluestick were very similar to the Uhu gluesticks, no significant warpage, both held well.

I just discovered this thread, and thought I'd chime in (that's what I get for just checking "new posts").

I use Zap-A-Gap CA+ (basically superglue for miniatures) exclusively.

All of my original Dungeon Works stuff is still holding strong, so no fears of longevity as of yet. I use varying amounts to form bonds (depends on how much I'm paying attention, too ), and I find that any amount works well. I've had some not quite "grab" during application, but as that takes a whole 5-10 seconds, it's really easy to just drip more into the seam with the syringe-like applicator. If there's too much, just use a Sharpie to re-edge over the shiny bits.

Easy, quick, and durable. About the only negative is I tend to get some on my fingers, but it washes off quicker than Sharpie. Besides, that's mostly my spazticity to blame.

Having said that, I did just get my pack of three UHU 99589 pens from that eBay auction. I'll be trying those out soon, as I recently discovered a quite buried file (I sense a trend. Ah, well, I'll find it later.) in my old PC: Village Works! I bought it ages ago, and never did anything with it! I'm having a blast putting it together, so I'll be posting a review soon on that, too.

Rubber cement is easy to use if a slip-sheeting technique is used: coat both surfaces with thinned rubber cement, wait until slightly tacky, place a sheet of tracing paper between the two surfaces, position the sheets and then carefully slide out the tracing paper while burnishing where the sheets are coming into contact. This makes a very nice tight bond.

The problem is that I've only had a rubber cement bond last a few years before the glue loses its hold. By that time it can also show some discoloration on the paper in some cases.

I haven't used it on WWG models but I've used rubber cement in the method you described for collages and it grips like iron. I have one collage that is still intact after more than 20 years, and it's not even behind glass. I may experiment with it again, this time with WWG models. And frankly, who of us thinks to be using the same exact models in a few years? They are kind of ephemeral, but I bet they'd last. I'm going to try it as soon as I can find my rubber cement bottle!

Offce Depot has 2 packs of of the UHU No. 99589 Office Pens for US$2.67.

I would agree with Denny. Over-application is the biggest problem. You don't need very much at all. I squeeze a thin amount on and try to spread it to the corners, then make sure I squeeze the two pieces tightly together and hold for 5 - 10 seconds to get a good bond. If you over apply, you get seepage, and the hold isn't as strong. It causes warpage, and it's 'crackly'.

Maybe over-application has been my problem.... Cause crackly has been my biggest comlaint....

If you have the crunchy issue with Uhu, I've found the best thing to do once you've applied the glue to the desired surface, take a paper towel and blot over the glue. It picks up any excess, but leaves plenty to make a strong bond. Once I started doing that I've gotten consistently better bonds.

Doesn't anyone use double-sided tape? I'm new to WW but I've built loads of card models over the years and I've found DS-tape to be excellent for certain purposes...

EDIT BY MAGSMAN:-

I've decide to delete a large portion of this post, not because of particular invalidity but because, on reflection, any techniques which depart from the advised instructions had best be supported by proper step-by-step photographs and text, so that advanced builders can decide for themselves. Otherwise, beginners might be confused and this would be a shame.

Having just downloaded my first WW piece: UCW, I shall carefully consider any alternatives relative to the procedure as presented. The instructions provided are entirely suitable for a straight forward build. I have to say one thing though: it is quite startling to see the sheer quality of the artwork before you. The website photographs can't do the art full justice. I look forward to many stimulating hours.

(Only very minor threats were required before I made the above statement )

MAGSMAN

PS: Hey guys, call me 'Mags' like Lord Abb does. It trips off the tongue a little easier

Despite being one of the main perpetrators, I agree...

So back on topic, has anyone tried double sided tape for model building? I have examined it once or twice, but I have hardly ever seen the thn variaty, almost always the tick 'foam backed' double sided tape.

The Auld Grump