GHQ Models Forums

Altough i did attempt the magnet method, i can't seem to get the turrets to rotate smoothly- i don't think i had the bottom post smooth enough and my magnet was at a slight angle, resulting in strange turret wobbles.

if you choose not to use the magnet method, how do you attach them? just CA glue them in place? or stick them in the whole and let them be free? they seem fairly secure without the glue....

CountRingworm commented:
if you choose not to use the magnet method, how do you attach them? just CA glue them in place? or stick them in the whole and let them be free? they seem fairly secure without the glue....

I have been quite impressed by the magnet-attach methods that others here have posted.

For myself, however, with something over 800 tanks in my "current forces" inventory, and more than 100 "line items" (boxes of what-not) in my "work-in-process" inventory, I just don't see myself going to that much work. Heck, I'm lucky if I've got the right color paints for my task on any given day that I pull out some of the W-I-P, bother with coming up short on small magnets.

I have, for years, taken the approach of gluing-on the turrets on very small AFVs using CA glues, and simply placing the turrets on the larger ones. So an armored car (Soviet BA-10, French Panhard 178, or Italian AB-41) gets its turret glued down. So also does a light tank (Soviet T-26, American Stuart, Italian L6). And also most APCs and IFVs (Soviet/Russian BMPs, French AMX10s). Medium tanks (Soviet T-34s, American Shermans, French S35s), heavy tanks (Soviet KV-1s and KV-2s, JS-2s and JS-3s) and modern MBTs (Soviet/Russian T-55s, T-62s, T-72s and T-80s, American M48s, M60s, and M1A1s, French AMX-30s and Leclercs) get free-rotating turrets.

More recently I've started using white glues to "half-stick" the turrets onto my mediums, heavies, and MBTs. I've tried two approaches:

1) Plain white glue: This approach works best when the hole for the turret peg goes all the way through to the hollow in the bottom of the tank (so works on most GHQs, but NOT on CinCs). Put the turret on. Turn it over, and put a glob of glue into the hole onto the peg from below. Set it down, let it dry for about 20 minutes. That's just enough time for it to get "tacky", but not to dry. Then give it a couple complete rotations in each direction. Now leave it to dry. The result is a turret that turns pretty freely, but doesn't come off nearly as easily. Still comes off if you try, but not on its own quite as often. I've tried this technique with tanks down to the size of Soviet T-70s. Seems to work pretty well. Not perfectly, but pretty well. I'm reasonably satisfied with this approach.

2) Tacky glue: We had a clown come on the board last year offering "tacky glue" as the be-all/end-all answer to turrets. He was pretty roundly shouted down, and after a week or so went away. But I took up the task of investigating the approach. A trip to my local crafts store (Michael's) produced two different products claiming to be "tacky glue", both at a trivial fraction of the price the clown was asking. One worked very poorly, the other worked pretty well. You glue the turret down with it, and it stays. Turn the model over, it won't fall off of its own accord. But with minimal effort, you can turn the turret to face any way you want. Just don't try to "rotate" it. Put it to the direction you want. Put it to another direction. It sticks a little bit in any direction. It sticks a little bit onto the tank. It works, but I'm not too excited about the approach. Worry a bit about bending barrels. Still not sure. Need to try it on a whole formation of models (as it did with my T-70s using the other approach) to fully conclude one way or another, and determine if I like it more or less than the other approach.

as for your turret wobbles countringworm. I use the magnet method also and at one time ran into the same problem you are. I fixed the problem by buying small finishing nails. After snipping them in half i use the end with the nail head mounted down so the nail head is attached to the magnet. this seems to help and keeps the turrets level. Also if you are good enough i use a drimmel on slow speed to drill my wholes in the turrets where the end of the nail goes. Be careful though some turrets are really small and the drill bit goes through the metal quickly just ask my index finger that got chewed up one time.

I guess the real question is if your rules or set of rules you are playing with need to have turret facing involved? If so then try some other techniques for attaching the turrets. If not then just glue them in place. I also know of some people making small cut out turret facing markers for there tanks, but that is all one needs in a large battle more things to move and keep track of.

You might also PM JB he has taught me a lot in the last year when it comes to painting and mounting magnets, antenneas etc... He is the best i have seen at this stuff his work is very good. hope this helps.

Fullmetaljacket

Prior to the magnetic breakthrough, I had used locktite. You can get a small tube of the stuff at pep boys. I would put the turret in its locating hole, and then place a small drop on the peg from the underside of the hull. Then set it a side to dry. Locktite is intended to keep screws in place so that they do not vibrate loose, but will still crwe and unscrew.

I may just go back to that method since magnets are too labor intensive.

oops

oops oops

sorry

For the folks that find the magnet method too fiddly and/or too expensive I found this site thru a link at TMP.
http://napnutsannex.tripod.com/turrets.html
I tried it out this evening and it works as advertised.

regards

Steve

I use the pin method too. Very easy (even on small AFVs) though very occasionally you have to drill a hole all the way through a hull. But no biggie with a good pin vice and a bit of patience. I can do a couple dozen of these per hour. I do them after the flash is removed but don;t glue the pin in just yet. Idrill and insert the pin, check for fit etc. but leave the pin unglued. I paint hull and turret separately. Then prime and paint, then glue the pin in place with CA.

Very easy, very cheap, very effective even on small turrets.

hmm... that pin method looks interesting. may have to try that. of course that means i'll have to pick up a pin vise too.

that or the white glue method. the magnets is a great idea, i just don't see myself investing that sort of effort to get them to come out right.

thanks, all!

For years we have used "beeswax" to keep turrets in place and since it always stays tacky you can turn them any direction without problem. This seems to work well for the hundreds of turrets we deal with during simulation handling, thousands of miles being transported in the back of a jeep GC, and in storage, ...and it is very easy to do and maintain. Most of our vehicles are mounted on small metal bases and stored in unit boxes with a magnetic base made from those business card backing magnets. You can see a sample of what the boxes look like on our web site or in the posting about military usage of GHQ miniatures.

Beeswax on the top of an old paint bottle also makes a great miniature holder while you are painting.

Will
ComOpsCtr

1ComOpsCtr,

Can you give us a little more detail on how you use beeswax?
Are you just putting a dab inside the turret hole and sticking the turret on or is there more to it such as having to put it on the end of the turret rod that sticks out the bottom of the hull?

This sounds like it might be the overall easiest technique, and if it has worked so well for you then it sounds like a winner.

Oh yeah, probably a stupid question, but does the beeswax have any smell to it?
I had to leave some M60's sitting in the garage for a couple weeks after a pinesol bath... So I 'm always trying to make sure that anything I use has little or no smell.

I usually make a small ball or the wax about 1/8" diameter and push it onto the turret plug so that it will extend into the hole as well as sticking to a small portion of the underside of the turret. It conforms well, as well as thinning out between the hull and turret. There is no smell I can detect.

Will

So where does one find the elusive beeswax?
And what is its actual intended use? I suspect that it is used for candle making or something but maybe I am wrong.
I have been trying to find some and have had no luck. The sales people are always confused when they ask me what I need it for. They usually don't know what its for either.

the only thing that would concern me about using bee's wax would be an oil film. My experience with wax is that if you are not careful you will get the oil on the paint job. You just can't get that off...