I’ve just started to build some Branchline Blueprints series kits. I’ve read about vaious glues for plastics and understand the basics. I’m looking at all the small parts to be glued into holes in the body. What are the best glues to use for this purpose? What role does the viscosity of the glue play? Too thick can make a mess? What about too thin?
Thanks for the help,
Mark
I use Testors Model Cement, it comes with a fine applicator that lets you use just a little bit. The thing with viscosity that I’ve found is too thick gets stringy too thin you get runs. You also get varing set up times with all of it. A lot of people use CA, for me its easier to use Testors. CA does come in a different set up times like instant to up to a few minutes to set. For handrails & grab irons & the like I just find it easier to readjust & use.
Liquid plastic cement is good for plastic kits, obviously, but needs some practice–it’s easy to end up with cement running where you don’t want it if you aren’t careful, but it can be a lot better than the gluey kid stuff (the plastic cement that comes in tubes) because it is more precise in application–you can just put on a dab and let capillary action do the work.
CA is good for attaching metal to plastic but it can be really unpredictable. Often the gel-consistency CA can be a lot better to work with.
Personally I’m fond of Walthers Goo–you have to be mindful of where it’s going, but it’s a good all purpose stick-anything-to-anything glue, good for wood and cardstock, and it makes a flexible bond.
Another nice glue for scenery work is Tacky Glue–it’s like Elmer’s but thicker and stickier, water-soluble, nice for wood or cardstock or gluing down bits of foam.
I use several glues depending on application.
Cyanoacrolyte aka crazy glue comes in several forms from quick set to slow curing and now comes in “flex” (I havn’t tried this one yet). This is a strong glue, which can glue just about anything together but it can cause the plastic to frost as it dries. Not good for affixing plastic windows. This stuff also breaks down when exposed to UV.
For Styrene I use Microweld by Microscale It is friendly non toxic but takes abit of time to cure. It can only be used for styrene. It does not “steam” up widows or other surfaces. It is very thin and fows freely. I use this for all styrene models.
Hi Mark;
For styrene to styrene, a solvent type, which welds the plastic, is best. Testors (black bottle red label) Tenax, and others fit this category. The critical thing is not applying too much. A #000 brush or a tooth pick or pin work well as applicators.
Keep your fingers away from the areas to be joined, the oils on your skin will transfer and cause issues with the joint.
The Branchline Blueprint series kits are not intended for beginners, you may want to put together a couple of Branchline Yardmaster series kits first.
Have Fun.
I use thin CA applied via the eye on a sewing needle. It doesn’t take very much thin CA to go along way.
As you do more and more building you will find all the glues previously mentioned have their place. For plastic kits I use Testor’s, both liquid and the tube glue. I have modifide the brush in the Testor’s Liquid by cutting the number of brisles to only maybe 1/4th to 1/8th the original amount. I find this allows me to apply a single small drop only where needed. I also use both the runny and gap-filling CAs to mount metal to metal or metal to plastic parts. I also like Walther’s Goo for mounting weights in freight cars.
Hope I’ve helped!
Wolf,
Would you do all of us a favour and resize that picture from 954 wide to 600pixels wide. Thank you!
Oh BTW it wouldn’t hurt to crop it either, so you get rid of that pin hole in the sky. [;)][;)][:)]
Man, I hate horizontal scrollbars![:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!]