Are people still using either of these products for filler or is there a new 'go to' product in vogue?
I was drilling body-mount coupler holes in the underside of a metal Atlas railcar underframe and I drilled in the wrong place. So I filled the hole with baking soda and a couple drops of CA. After it dried, I re-drilled the mounting hole and was able to mount the MTL coupler in the right location. I haven't tried this myself but you can melt down spare plastic kit sprues in your desired color in a jar of acetone. It turns into a goo, which you can use to fill holes/gaps in plastic of the same color. After drying and sanding, it will match the color of the surrounding plastic!
I bought a tube of Squadron Putty a few months ago to smooth out the cut lines on my Kato Unitrack piers when I chopped 3/8" from their centers to reduce their height and thus my grades. The stuff worked great. It hardens to the perfect point for sanding, not too soft and not too hard. I last remember buying it decades ago and it brought joy to still find it on the shelf at my hobby shop.
I use a different version of "Pro Spot" automotive body filler. I find that the Squadron putty shrank over time and would crack and split. Went to the Auto filler putty, no more shrinkage.
I watch a decent amount of scale modeling videos on youtube, and CA glue as filler is becoming more common and popular. Well-known and highly skilled builders like Martin Kovac (Night Shift), David Damek (PLASMO), and Paul Budzik (Scale Model Workshop) use CA as filler and sometimes for major assembly instead of plastic cement. Scale Model Workshop is an interesting channel, and he comes at modeling almost in a scientific manner. He is very methodical. He has mentioned it a few times in some of his videos, but he is a dentist, and he has access to some unique tools and materials. He uses an epoxy putty in many of his videos as filler, as well as an epoxy that he mixed acrylic powder into. Here is a video on his putty work: There is much to envy. I used to use Squadron putty, but I found it to be too gritty and it didn't really leave a clean finish. I switched to Tamiya putty, which I like a bit better. It squeezes like toothpaste, but has a relatively short working time. For the first few seconds, it is very smooth. It quickly begins to harden on the outside, reducing its adherence to the plastic you are applying it to and tending to form clumps. If you need a longer working time, a two-part clay-like putty is probably better. I don't have very good super glue, so I don't use it as filler very often. Superglue has a shelf life and begins to go tacky in my experience. It definitely loses its 'super.' I don't model on an industrial scale, so I find my glue going bad as I get to the end of the bottle. If I used higher-quality glue, I think I would enjoy it better.
Put your superglue or CA in the freezer when not in use. It will extend its life for years. Before using it, "defrost" for a few minutes until it comes up to room temperature. It only takes a few minutes due to the small volume.
