Hello I’m presently working on a “Lumber Yard” diorama.
My question is: What type of adhesive do you utilize to glue the buildings to diorama base.
I tried hot glue (cures to fast), double sided tape (not thick enough).
All suggestions are welcome.
Thank you
[:-^]
Hi Serge, Welcome aboard.
How much moving around of this diorama are you planning to do ?
Next question is what is your base made of ?
And your buildings, what are they constructed of ?
These have to be answered before we continue.
Johnboy out…
Hello Johnboy,
The diorama base is 1/2" plywood it mesures 2’x3’. It will eventually be moved around because I plan on transfering the actual train layout to another room
The buildings are styrene.
Thank you.
I’d go with my old standby, Aleen’s Tacky Glue. It’s a craft store product. It goes on white and dries clear in a couple of hours. It holds firmly but if you want to take something off that’s pretty easy, too.
Walthers GOO, by far the best for this and many other model railroad applications.
HZ
I don’t glue my structures down. I use K&S brass rod and tubing to keep them in place so that they are easily removable. I use a couple of short pieces of 1/16” OD tubing in each of my structures and in the base where the structure is placed. I use a removable .03” brass rod for a snug fit as a connector, that combination leaves both the structure bottom and ground/base without obstructions with the rod removed. A second advantage of using brass to secure your structures is for power for lighting.
Brass tubing flush with the ground is very hard to see so I can remove a building or vehicle without it being obvious.
I’m one that is never satisfied with my layout so having everything easily removable is a must for me. There is always something new just around the corner that can be added or modified, having easy access for mods really helps.
Mel
Modeling the early
If gravity does not work, then Silicone Caulk will work.
ROAR
Hello Mister Beasley, Mel, Howard and Broadway Lion.
Thank you for all of your suggestions, they are all greatly appreciated.
I have all of the above suggested products on hand; since my structures don’t all have a flat base I will have to expirement to see which one is best or maybe use different adhesives.
The Brass tubing technique is quite interesting but I think lining up upper and lower tubes can be fastidious, unless you can suggest an easy line up method.
Have a nice day.
I don’t use any glue to hold down structures. Gravity seems to work. For other scenery items I use Woodland Scenics Project Glue. It is a very thick white glue. http://scenearama.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/SP4142/page/1
Rubber cement could be a cheaper alternative to either Woodlands or Walthers Goo.
Tom
I only have one structure that can be tedious, it’s at full arms length in the middle of my layout. The rest are relatively easy once you adapt to lining up the rods. Vehicles are a snap and I constantly move them around my layout.
Link to structure lighting
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/2010/04/april-24-lighting.html
Link to vehicle lighting
Some of my buildings are held in place with gravity and a piece of foam core.
Others have been permanently attached while I fixed the ground cover with 50/50 white glue/water mix. In this case, the building can be removed after soaking the ground cover with water.
It sounds like one move from a diorama to the railroad. Ken Patterson mounts some of his structures on a flat base (like foam core) and then uses a router to create recessesed area in the foam base. Sounds messy to me but he can pick up a stucture and move it somewhere else.
I can appreciate that stablilizing your delicate building is important but remember model railroaders are prone to revisions so a permanent mount is not necessarily desireable.
Hello Tom, thank you for the Ruber Cement solution, I will look into it.
Hello Mel, thank you for the photos, now I better understand your method using brass tubing.
Guy, thank you also for the photos, you gave me another vision and method.
Henry, thank you for the sound advice, I will take it into consideration.
Thank you all for your replies, photos, infos and feedback regarding this topic; it’s greatly appreciated.
This weekend I will try out a few of the suggested methods and come back with the results next week.
Have a great weekend.
If you need a gap filling adhesive, the silicone caulk / glue may be the way to go. It is thick and dries rubbery. Any excess can be cut away with an X-Acto knife. I use GE clear; it is availble in a container sized a bit larger than a toothpase tube, so you can get a small one to try it out then go with the caulking gun size it you like the result. The building can be removed with little work in the future if necessary.
Another real tough glue is Liquid Nails for Projects. Read the labels, the original tan colored glue is not plastic friendly; the white kind is. This is a strong adhesive, and you probably would not be able to remove a building in the future without damage. it also comes in a ‘toothpaste tube’ size for for testing.
Hello G Paine,
Thank you for the additional info, it’s very much appreciated, it’s certainly an option to use caulk.
Hello everyone,
As promised here’s the update regarding the type of adhesive required to secure the buildings on the diorama base.
I chose to go with: Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue.
I’ts water soluble, so if I ever decide to remove a building it will not be an issue; futhermore, it dries fast and clear.
Thank you all for your multiple suggestions regarding this topic.
Have a nice day.