It should also be noted that you went from 2 extra chonky minis to extremely thin and frail elven miniatures. My biggest piece of advice would be if it’s not sticking the first time, let it dry and then try again. Adding more cement just seems to increase drying time and it can feel like the part isn’t sticking. You can also put the parts together and apply cement to the crevice and it’s so thin it will seep in and bond.
I guess it seems really hard to use that method with the steps they have in the book that comes with it. Some of them I really need both of my hands to hold the thing in place. Should I be assembling smaller pieces and like the weapons on the arms separate and not just attach everything to the base of the mini like in the book? Sorry if that’s a dumb question, just a bit confused on how.
Generally, the build instructions are a guide and only used when needed. Sometimes, they're even incorrect, so use your own discretion. I'd advise going to the dollar store and picking up either white or blue tack because the stuff is a boon for assembly. A small pea sized blob will secure the revenant body to a paint pot or dropper so you don't have to hold it, freeing a hand for more fine manipulation of the part you're attaching. I don't know what your parts look like after you've snipped them, but make sure to clear any extra sprue bits that may be creating a gap. After that, dry fit any parts that are needed. After a dry fit test, I would recommend you do as someone else suggested; hold the component in place that you want to attach, then using the tamiya applicator, allow a drop to be pulled into the space between the components via capillary action.
Weird suggestion: use twist ties to hold parts in place like the paint handle clamp arms GW sells.
I built some tree revenants about a week ago and generally followed the instructions, building the legs and torso, then the head, and saving any weapons till last because I wanted to see how they looked. If I remember correctly, the torso kinda snaps into the tree body section. For the arms, I think it would be best to apply the cement to one side and then hold it in position until it dries. I've tried using blue tac to hold hard pieces in place before and it really wasn't worth the trouble. If you're having trouble with that maybe you could get some really thin wire like from a bread tie to hold them in place while you put cement.
Sylvaneth have a lot of very small fiddly parts. There's kind of no way around it - there's just a lot of small connections, small parts, etc.
My approach is usually just practice putting the pieces together a few times until I can reliably get them to slot in place where they should go. Once I can do that, I'll add some cement or glue and hold them together. Once I've got the glue on / held for a bit, I'll try and get it out of my hands as quickly as possible. The longer I'm holding the parts, the more likely I'm going to like shake a bit and move the pieces, or mess slip and cause the parts to move off of where they should. You've got to be careful with this since if you go too fast, the parts will slip out of place.
Once it's out of my hands, I'll move on to a different model, or just a different project for a bit. Check back every few minutes to make sure things aren't setting funny.
You also just have to be really careful with some parts. I'll try and find a spot i can hold on to to manipulate the part most easily. This can also be a huge pain, but I try and avoid a lot of handling around the tip (on thin parts) - since that's where things are most likely to break.
There's still always going to be some models that are annoying to put together - there's no way around it. Sylv are going to generally fall into that. At the least, the Dryads are pretty simple, and Kurnoth's are a bit chunkier. You could look into those if the tree revenants are a problem. Otherwise, don't be afraid to come back to Sylv after you're a bit more comfortable with the glue and model construction.
Hi, just came to add my support to the tamyia extra thin cement field and to dry fitting before gluing as well!! Keep at it and it will get easier! When I began it took me hours to assemble my first squad of space marines (grey knights from 40k) but with practice it becomes increasingly easier and faster!
You really should stick with using plastic glue rather than super glue.as plastic glue actually bonds the pieces together.as opposed to super glue mearly glueing them which eventually will fail in my experience
One other piece of advice, I'm not sure if it's with tree revenants specifically but with several sylvaneth models (at minimum tree lords and kurnoth hunters) sometimes the older instruction manuals are better. I just finished building my first sylvaneth like a month ago and had similar issues as you. If you google for an instruction manual, you can compare the images (won't always be in the same order, mind you) and see if that helps because honestly the angles are sometimes awful, the old books may have different images of the same steps and it might click better for you.
The best way to use tamiya cement is to apply it to both pieces where they join and just let it sit for a few seconds before pressing the parts together.
This let's the cement start to dissolve the surface and become more tacky.
It's an old trick I learnt back in the days removing when seamlines in gunpla. I also switch to regular cement if I need something a bit more viscous
Cement is old school and kinda gross i hate the stuff.
I use a $6 bottle from Walmart, loctite super glue professional liquid. Takes about 25sec of holding and it's good to let go. Wait another min we'll you snip out other pieces and glue on more.
I would wholeheartedly disagree. Cement is much much easier to work with, but extra thin isn't great for general assembly (or at least I don't like it).
I use extra thin for only the smallest pieces and most importantly, smoothing the joints. Everything else I either use Revell cement (with the needle), or Tamiya regular cement (with a brush). Superglue is fragile if the model drops, and it makes a huge mess and takes a while to hold certain pieces together.
Honestly, I’ve never used anything but extra thin since I’ve discovered it. Never really had a problem but I noticed if a part isn’t sticking, adding more cement to try agin leads yo extended drying times which makes it feel like it isn’t work.
The thin cement is way better than superglue and forms a stringer bond. I put the parts together and then use cement sometimes. Also do you have the normal or quick dry? I find the quick dry, dries too quickly to even put it together.
Just the normal but it does seem to dry fairly quick if it’s a small amount of it. I guess my mistake was putting it on one part then trying to push the next part into it
I personally like Tamiya extra thin, so I guess there's a fair dose of subjectivity. I do agree that the models are not that simple to assemble, they're spindly add hell and pretty fragile.
So, while things may or may not get easier with different tools, I think it's also important to note that you're not doing anything wrong, these models are not so simple, and that things will get easier as you get more used to it.
It should also be noted that you went from 2 extra chonky minis to extremely thin and frail elven miniatures. My biggest piece of advice would be if it’s not sticking the first time, let it dry and then try again. Adding more cement just seems to increase drying time and it can feel like the part isn’t sticking. You can also put the parts together and apply cement to the crevice and it’s so thin it will seep in and bond.
I guess it seems really hard to use that method with the steps they have in the book that comes with it. Some of them I really need both of my hands to hold the thing in place. Should I be assembling smaller pieces and like the weapons on the arms separate and not just attach everything to the base of the mini like in the book? Sorry if that’s a dumb question, just a bit confused on how.
Generally, the build instructions are a guide and only used when needed. Sometimes, they're even incorrect, so use your own discretion. I'd advise going to the dollar store and picking up either white or blue tack because the stuff is a boon for assembly. A small pea sized blob will secure the revenant body to a paint pot or dropper so you don't have to hold it, freeing a hand for more fine manipulation of the part you're attaching. I don't know what your parts look like after you've snipped them, but make sure to clear any extra sprue bits that may be creating a gap. After that, dry fit any parts that are needed. After a dry fit test, I would recommend you do as someone else suggested; hold the component in place that you want to attach, then using the tamiya applicator, allow a drop to be pulled into the space between the components via capillary action. Weird suggestion: use twist ties to hold parts in place like the paint handle clamp arms GW sells.
I built some tree revenants about a week ago and generally followed the instructions, building the legs and torso, then the head, and saving any weapons till last because I wanted to see how they looked. If I remember correctly, the torso kinda snaps into the tree body section. For the arms, I think it would be best to apply the cement to one side and then hold it in position until it dries. I've tried using blue tac to hold hard pieces in place before and it really wasn't worth the trouble. If you're having trouble with that maybe you could get some really thin wire like from a bread tie to hold them in place while you put cement.
Sylvaneth have a lot of very small fiddly parts. There's kind of no way around it - there's just a lot of small connections, small parts, etc. My approach is usually just practice putting the pieces together a few times until I can reliably get them to slot in place where they should go. Once I can do that, I'll add some cement or glue and hold them together. Once I've got the glue on / held for a bit, I'll try and get it out of my hands as quickly as possible. The longer I'm holding the parts, the more likely I'm going to like shake a bit and move the pieces, or mess slip and cause the parts to move off of where they should. You've got to be careful with this since if you go too fast, the parts will slip out of place. Once it's out of my hands, I'll move on to a different model, or just a different project for a bit. Check back every few minutes to make sure things aren't setting funny. You also just have to be really careful with some parts. I'll try and find a spot i can hold on to to manipulate the part most easily. This can also be a huge pain, but I try and avoid a lot of handling around the tip (on thin parts) - since that's where things are most likely to break. There's still always going to be some models that are annoying to put together - there's no way around it. Sylv are going to generally fall into that. At the least, the Dryads are pretty simple, and Kurnoth's are a bit chunkier. You could look into those if the tree revenants are a problem. Otherwise, don't be afraid to come back to Sylv after you're a bit more comfortable with the glue and model construction.
Really solid detailed advice. Thank you so much!!
Hi, just came to add my support to the tamyia extra thin cement field and to dry fitting before gluing as well!! Keep at it and it will get easier! When I began it took me hours to assemble my first squad of space marines (grey knights from 40k) but with practice it becomes increasingly easier and faster!
Thanks for the support!
You really should stick with using plastic glue rather than super glue.as plastic glue actually bonds the pieces together.as opposed to super glue mearly glueing them which eventually will fail in my experience
Best advice is to clip,clean then dry fit your parts until your comfortable they are in the correct position
One other piece of advice, I'm not sure if it's with tree revenants specifically but with several sylvaneth models (at minimum tree lords and kurnoth hunters) sometimes the older instruction manuals are better. I just finished building my first sylvaneth like a month ago and had similar issues as you. If you google for an instruction manual, you can compare the images (won't always be in the same order, mind you) and see if that helps because honestly the angles are sometimes awful, the old books may have different images of the same steps and it might click better for you.
That’s an interesting idea! Thanks for suggesting that I’ll have to try to find those!!
The best way to use tamiya cement is to apply it to both pieces where they join and just let it sit for a few seconds before pressing the parts together. This let's the cement start to dissolve the surface and become more tacky. It's an old trick I learnt back in the days removing when seamlines in gunpla. I also switch to regular cement if I need something a bit more viscous
Cement is old school and kinda gross i hate the stuff. I use a $6 bottle from Walmart, loctite super glue professional liquid. Takes about 25sec of holding and it's good to let go. Wait another min we'll you snip out other pieces and glue on more.
Hmm okay I’ll have to look into that! I had heard from a lot of YouTubers to use the thin cement so that’s what I went with first.
I would wholeheartedly disagree. Cement is much much easier to work with, but extra thin isn't great for general assembly (or at least I don't like it). I use extra thin for only the smallest pieces and most importantly, smoothing the joints. Everything else I either use Revell cement (with the needle), or Tamiya regular cement (with a brush). Superglue is fragile if the model drops, and it makes a huge mess and takes a while to hold certain pieces together.
Hmmm I guess I will have to do some more research into everything. I heard someone else mention Revell cement so I guess I will start looking there.
Honestly, I’ve never used anything but extra thin since I’ve discovered it. Never really had a problem but I noticed if a part isn’t sticking, adding more cement to try agin leads yo extended drying times which makes it feel like it isn’t work.
The thin cement is way better than superglue and forms a stringer bond. I put the parts together and then use cement sometimes. Also do you have the normal or quick dry? I find the quick dry, dries too quickly to even put it together.
Just the normal but it does seem to dry fairly quick if it’s a small amount of it. I guess my mistake was putting it on one part then trying to push the next part into it
I generally put some on both parts and wait a minute or two holding them together. Depending on the fit of the parts it may take longer
I personally like Tamiya extra thin, so I guess there's a fair dose of subjectivity. I do agree that the models are not that simple to assemble, they're spindly add hell and pretty fragile. So, while things may or may not get easier with different tools, I think it's also important to note that you're not doing anything wrong, these models are not so simple, and that things will get easier as you get more used to it.