As I continue the fun of painting and adding lots of li’l 3D Printed figures to my layout, and as I continue photographing them and putting them on this blog, you have probably noticed that I’m using 2 different methods to adhere them to the substrate.
Which of the two methods I use at any given time doesn’t seem to have much rhyme or reason, so I’ve been trying both alternately, primarily to see which I like better. I think I may have decided.
Obviously the glue gives a much cleaner appearance; the clear tape doesn’t look so bad in person but in photos where the high resolution of the camera reveals everything in a scope the naked eye can’t see, they look clumsy. OK, so, glue is better then, right?
No. For 2 reasons. The obvious one is that the figures are harder to move, and I’ve had several instances where I cannot remove them from the cork without tearing the cork; many times I’ve had to use a razor to cut them off, and it still leaves a divot in the cork. But the alternative is worse:
I’ve mentioned before that these 3D printed figures are very fragile and easily broken, and in a couple of cases I was unable to remove a glued-down figure without breaking the poor guy’s feet or legs off. That’s not cool!
Of course I could maybe use a little less glue, but in a lot of cases I’m using the minimal amount needed to adhere them…which is another disadvantage of glue: often the figure won’t stand up until the glue is dry. Letting it dry for a few minutes to achieve a “tacky” state before putting the figure in its place helps, but often I find I have to prop them up against something to keep them standing until the glue is completely dry, which can take an hour or more.
The tape, on the other hand, has none of these drawbacks: its easy to remove and replace, it doesn’t damage the surface it sticks too, nor is it strong enough to break the legs off a figure. Those are pretty compelling reasons to use the tape.
But, I don’t know; a model railroader I know would never accept the tape, saying that only the glue provides the clean look needed for a realistic diorama.
What I’ve settled on at this point is: the 3D Printed figures get adhered with the tape, while the factory made metal and plastic ones get glue, because the metal ones obviously aren’t going to be broken by trying to lift them from the glue, and most of the factory plastic ones are strong enough not be at risk of that as well.
That is definitely a concern and I think I would use a double sided tape or some of the modeling clay. I think being able to move the figures is very beneficial. I used the terracotta modeling clay to create a base for my rows of corn for my lay out and it worked well. It created a nice base. I was going to use it for some other things, like bushes and smaller diorama pieces as well. If you take a little, flatten it out and then then put the figure into it to create a wider base for them to stand on, that might work. The clay could also be painted and shaped. Just a thought.
That is an excellent suggestion! I’ve had the same thought, but my concern is the color of the clay; I have modeling clay in dark brown and gray, which is great for the purposes I’ve bought it for. I have not, so far, found clay in a very light tan/beige, but if I can find some, I have thought about trying to “mix” it with the dark brown to see if I can get a pigment that’s very similar to the cork. If I could do that, I agree that that would be a better solution that the 2x sided tape. Another thing to try!