Best allround model filler advice?

[Jackofalltrades]

Guys,what is the best all round model filler out there in your opinions,which one do you always rely on and keep coming back to?,any advice would be richly appreciated,thank you.

[Dads203]

Tamiya basic putty is my choice, but it depends on what you are filling, I use CA glue for large long areas such as fuselage sides

and I use Vallejo plastic putty on figures. for small imperfections I use Mr Surfacer.

For the best all round filler I'll plug with Tamiya's own.. Try to avoid Squadron Green stuff and white stuff, it carries on shrinking for up to 10 months after you apply it.

Tamiya's own does shrink a little but not as much as Squadron's stuff and not for as long. I always have a tube of Tamiya putty on the desk handy.

HTH

Dan

[pigsty]

I don't think there is a single best all-round filler. Different types have their pros and cons for different problems. At the moment I'm using Mr Dissolved Putty for some quite extensive seams and steps, but this works because they're relatively narrow. If they were much wider I'd either go to Milliput; or pack them with trimmed plastic card, then use the putty to clean up the remaining gaps. Very narrow gaps are often easiest to sort out with a couple of runs of liquid cement. Superglue is also a good filler if you want to combine that job with reinforcing the gap - although it sets very hard, so it needs to be managed quite carefully.

[spitfire]

Plastic and CA (don't leave it to cure) are the only fillers that I use apart from tiny gaps which I fill with Mr Surfacer.

Cheers

Dennis

[russ c]

My favourite all round is Isopon P-38 car body filler, it`s two part, dries in about 40mins no matter how thick it is, sands and feathers easily. For very small jobs iI just use Squadron green stuff as it`s not worth mixing the other stuff up and as long as it`s a small job it dries quick.

Hope this helps.

[kev67]

Milliput

[Test Graham]

I would have said Milliput, but for the problems of time and wastage. I tended to use whatever proprietary filler was on sale at my LHS, usually Revell or Humbrol, but have recently discovered Mr. Dissolved Putty and am very impressed.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Funnily enough I'm looking for another filler, been having probs with Squadron white stuff which I've used for aeons. Maybe the tube's got old but it's flaking and difficult to get a smooth surface with it.

What I need is a pre-mixed, squirt it out of the tube and go, filler. I found that on the web the general consensus seemed to be Tamiya. Whenever I've placed orders online the retailer never seems to have Tamiya filler in stock. I will get it ... eventually

I do use milliput and CA but sometimes they just don't suit the job required.

[spruecutter96]

Hello.

For a lot of applications (pun intended), I reckon Johnson's Klear mixed with varying amounts of talcum-powder is the Dog's Danglies. You can clean it up with tap-water before it has started to set and it sands very well. Also, it doesn't shrink as it dries.

Hope this helps.

Chris.

[modelmaker]

Guys,what is the best all round model filler out there in your opinions,which one do you always rely on and keep coming back to?,any advice would be richly appreciated,thank you.

The one I keep coming back to is, as many others, CA(superglue) but mixed with talc to make a thin but substantial filler that sands easily and quickly especially if accelerator is used. Mr Surfacer or even correction fluid are my choices for scratches. Much to choose from, you'll find a favourite

[jenko]

The one I'm getting onto is..... "Perfect Plastic Putty" by Deluxe Materials. I got mine from Sprue Mart. (£4.50p)

Says it doesn't shrink and you smooth it out useing a damp cotton bud. Down side you cannot wet sand.

Does what it says on the tube.

[Nigel Heath]

I agree with Pigsty, its horses for courses. If I was washed up on a desert Island (along with tools and stash) and could only take one it would probably be Milliput white as its arguably the most versatile.

I am also very fond of the Squadron green and white stuff, green for first choice followed by the white. Don't ask me the difference apart from colour, the white is supposed to be finer but I can't tell. I also use black Milliput for more specialist roles. I also use Mr Surfacer 500 for things like panel lines, wing roots and such. I have had good success with super glue mixed with talc where I wanted some structural strength across the joint. I have recently acquired some of the Vallejo water soluble putty but have not had cause to try that yet.

Oh yes and I also use Mr Dissolved Putty, I'd forgotten about that.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Nigel Heath

[MarkVX]

Squadron green filler for me. Have used the white aswell. Havent had problems and i apply with a cocktail stick

[Nigel Heath]

I apply mine with this:

Appart from the liquid ones where I use a brush followed by clean up with acetone and cotton bud.

[Catbird]

Squadron green and white for me. Wood glue for thin gaps and mr surfacer for tiny gaps.

[Rizzo]

Tamiya basic putty is my choice, but it depends on what you are filling, I use CA glue for large long areas such as fuselage sides

and I use Vallejo plastic putty on figures. for small imperfections I use Mr Surfacer.

For the best all round filler I'll plug with Tamiya's own.. Try to avoid Squadron Green stuff and white stuff, it carries on shrinking for up to 10 months after you apply it.

Tamiya's own does shrink a little but not as much as Squadron's stuff and not for as long. I always have a tube of Tamiya putty on the desk handy.

HTH

Dan

I avoid Green stuff too- it's way too coarse to get a good finish with it. Tamiya putty usually costs a bit more but it's much better quality, IMO.

For many things Milliput works much better though- you can shape it and smooth it before it's set, so there's very little sanding to do after, and it shrinks much less when it dries. It's just not very nice to scribe into and takes much longer to set. It won't bond to the plastic so well either.

Depends on what your making (and how well things fit!) as to which one is best.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Rizzo

[Jackofalltrades]

Gents I can't thank you all enough,there is some great advice and tips given here,I really appreciate it,thank you very much.

[davidelvy]

I used to use the Squadron stuff, but now prefer Humbrol.

[Black Knight]

Try to avoid Squadron Green stuff and white stuff, it carries on shrinking for up to 10 months after you apply it.

Dan

I can concur that; i use the white. Is ok for shallow fills or scratches, but anything deeper it does keep shrinking for a long time.

I also use old version Humbrol, Tippex, Milliput [and a £1 shop version of it], a filler by Testor, CA 'plastic soup': - but I'm looking for someting I can 'flow' into some joints and this thread has given me some ideas.

Thanks.

F

Edited August 2, 2013 by Black Knight

[-Neu-]

I definately have different products for different uses.

For general day to day puttying I'd go with Tamiya. Its biggest problem is its brittleness... but I don't use it for sculpting

Small imperfections: Mr Surfacer

Small gap filling: Tamiya Thin.

Large sculpting: Milliput... its cheap and effective.

However the best I find is Mori Mori. Its a two part polyester putty that is very strong: it does not shrink, is not brittle and is awesome for anything. The downsides is that it takes 40 minutes to cure, and is very pricey to export.

[Black Knight]

Has anyone tried Vallejo VAL400 plastic putty?

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Has anyone tried Vallejo VAL400 plastic putty?

Tried it and hated it, but some love it. I think part of the problem is you need use it in a different way and treat it like a pva. I found that it didn't like to be sanded so I think you're supposed to do the cleaning up when it's still wet, with a cotton bud. I've got a feeling Spence wrote something about it somewhere ... but I can't remember where

[Dave A]

I've got some Vallejo 401 putty, is that what you mean? It's very handy for anything that can be smoothed down with a wet finger/implement of choice, but it doesn't sand. I tend to keep it for hard-to-reach seams [it has a nice thin applicator nozzle] and desperate last-minute how-did-that-open-up repairs.

[Anthony Kesterton]

If you need a smooth surface that does not require scribing afterwards., I have used Cataloy knifing putty. I have an Airfix Wallace and Grommit kit on the go - and this stuff worked well on some gaps on a Grommit body. The plastic in these kits is not like "normal" kits - a bit more oily if that make sense (and it is not polyurethene) - so was glad to find something that worked.

Used CA + bicarb too. CA+talc smells a bit nicer :-)

anthony

[Mal]

If I had to recommend one general purpose filler my choice would be White Milliput.It does'nt shrink,grips well,it can be smoothed with water and can be sanded to a feather edge.I've used the standard Milliput which was also OK,but I find the white slightly easier to work with.Others fillers I use are Superglue/talc and Mr Surfacer. I steer away from solvent based putties such as Green Stuff in my experience they tend to shrink on drying and can crumble when sanded.I was given some Vallejo putty to try,all I can say I was glad I had'nt bought it!

Malcolm