A number of Mantic models are made from a material called “Restic”. This is a PVC based polymer which has a number of important differences to more conventional styrene plastic (aka hard plastic, sprue plastic). The most popular Mantic restic models are Orc Gore Riders, Red Goblin Scouts and Ogre Warriors. I’ll be talking about building Ogre warriors with double handed weapons but the techniques and approaches I use will be equally applicable to the other restic models.
Which glue?
Restic is PVC based and therefore is not dissolved by the “plastic glue” that is used on styrene models. You need to treat restic more like metal models and so using cyano-acrylate glue (CA / Superglue) or two-part epoxy is the best method for gluing the models together. Obvious warning here that superglue is very good at sticking fingers together etc.
Please Mind the Gap
Putting models together, regardless of the manufacturer, process or model material will lead to gaps. That is as inevitable as death, taxes and rolling double 1’s on a critical nerve check. With restic there are a few tricks and if you follow my steps below (as described for Ogre Warriors) you should be able to reduce the gaps to virtually nothing.
Building an Ogre Warrior with Two-Handed Weapon (or Ogre Shooters / Boomers)
- Start with cleaning off the moldlines. You cannot easily scrape restic, so use a sharp hobby knife to cut off the moldline. I’ve also had great success using a brass brush – perfect for moldlines on “organic” or detailed surfaces.
- Create the arms sub-assembly by gluing the arms and wrists to the weapon. A drop of CA goes a long way here so use it sparingly. Glue the arms/hands/wrists to the weapon trying to get the shoulder guard pieces parallel with each other (or as close as possible).
- Boil some water and pour into shallow bowl
- Place the arms sub-assembly into the near boiling water and leave it there for around 30 seconds
- Carefully remove the sub-assembly (it should be pliable). Press the shoulder guards onto the body of the warrior and allow to cool.
- Move the arms to the desired position, hold in place and put a drop of CA onto the joint. Capillary action will ensure that the glue moves into the joint and the residual water from the previous step will ensure a rapid setting of the glue (Hobby Tip: CA is “cured” by water. Putting glue on one part and water on the other creates a very rapid joint).
- If the weapon needs straightening, simply dunk that part in hot water for 30 seconds, remove, straighten and hold until it sets in place.
Hopefully these tips will ensure that your Warriors don’t have huge gaps. For Gores and Fleabags, place both halves into hot water for 30 seconds and then remove and press together to ensure a neat, gap free finish.
