So what do you do/use to fill in model seam gaps in parts that aren’t supposed to have seam gaps visible? Do you just sand it down flat, and try to fill the void with a lil paint?
BTW: When putting together model kits, have you ever had that sinking feeling when you realize that you glued something backwards from the day before because the directions weren’t clear?
I just did that when I assembled my second coaling tower. I put the base on backwards from the day before. [xx(] I hate it when that happens! I nearly did the same thing to my branchline box car. (That would have been two in the same day if I didn’t catch it!)
I have been using Squadron white putty recently and have use Testor’s also. Most of these are easy to use to fill seams, but don’t overfill the seam unless you want to sand forever. The less sanding, the better the end results in most cases.
I’ve used epoxy resin when nothing else was available - the only snag is it does have a tendency to drip, but once dry it can be sanded, filed, painted, etc and you can’t see the join. Works well on whitemetal kits when the roof casting doesn’t match the ends too well - you do the rough fitting with a file then use the epoxy to fill the remaining gaps. Good luck!
On wood, it’s always PL Fix, takes stain well, has a nice plastic feel to it for easy workability, can be rehabilitated with a little solvent.
I read a good case for Bondo last night. Haven’t used it modelling before, but I have on cars and the claims match my experience. It dries even, sands well, clings tenaciously, comes in tubes, and costs pennies on the dollar compared to commercial modelling solutions.
A friend of mine is a professional model builder and a manufacturer of resin ship models. He told me this one he got from model airplane builders…
For filling small seams, use Elmer’s White Glue (seriously). It’s water soluable, dries clear, non-toxic, and easy to manipulate. The trick is to apply it to the seam, then wipe away the excess with a wet cloth, then use wet Q-Tips to get the final look you want. After it dries, it can be sanded, etc.
Obviously, it’s not good for large gaps, but for simple seams (like those you get on airplane models), it works well.
Squadron White user here, although I would prefer Squadron Green (which I use to get great results from back in the day, even though Squadron White is supposed to be finer ground and more suitable for models), and then I use an array of wet sanding films (200 and finer grit).
What bugs me, though, is if the seam/void/gap is in a pre-painted part - great, now I have to spot match this paint (and I never get the paint match right - even weathered it looks crappy), and usually end up stripping the model and repainting it - bah!
I have no problems using Squadron Green since as a rule it is sanded down anyway
Avoiding gaps by test fitting pieces is obviously the preferred solution to the problem.
As to mistakes due to directions, oh for sure. It was worse in the days of some of the so called craftsman kits because the instructions as a rule were spotty and there were no photos or drawings to get the idea across. The older generation of instructions assumed you were already a scratchbuilder using the kit as a short cut rather than assuming you were working your way UP to craftsman kits from shake the box skits.
Writing good instructions, like writing a good technical manual, is an acquired skill
Dave Nelson
Don,
Since you put the coaling tower base on backwards and may want to remove it try the following. If you used CA soak the seams with some debonder, that and some flexing of the joint will work (at least it helps my screwups). If you used plastic cement put the assembly in the freezer before seperating the joint using an xacto as a pry bar. Good luck, I just put together a kit from the UK which had no instructions, had to email a friend in England to find out where all the parts went.
Ernie C
It all depends on the situation. If the gap is small and in plastic, I’ll just add a little more solvent cement until the gap melts away. If the gap is small and in metal, I’ll add a puddle of ACC, add some metal filings, and once it’s dry, file it smooth. If the gap is large, I’ll use Squadron green putty or Milliput, sometimes thinned into a slurry. If the gap is REALLY large, I initially fill it with scrap material, and then add putty.
I use either Squadron Green putty, or gap-filling CA. One of my favorite methods to plug holes, is to carve a length of sprue to a point, then jam it into the hole. Hit it with some solvent glue and allow it to dry. Then, sand to shape.
Bondo Spotting & Glazing putty. I asked the same question a month or two ago and since “Super WalMart” did not stock the hobby versions but the first auto parts shop I stopped at had the Bondo. The glazing putty comes in a tube a bout twice the size of a tube of toothpaste and does not need to be mixed with a hardener. So far I have had good luck with it but it does seem to shrink a little.