In The Virginian build videos and in the March issue of MR, Steve Otte suggested bracing the back of the walls of the Blair Line kits with stripwood to prevent warping. I have thought about this and cannot think of any reason why strip styrene cant be used for the same purpose. Anyone have any reason why it cant be done?
bearman,
As long as you use CA you should be fine with either. I think Steve was either just using similar materials (so he could use wood glue)…or that’s what he had on hand.
Tom
+1 for “it was what was on hand”
Bracing with whatever you have on hand helps a lot. Just painting/staining on both sides of the wall helps prevent warping as well.
Rob
Strip styrene is something you buy from a hobby shop.
Strip wood can be bought much cheaper than that at a craft shop. It’s also the ingredient found in many coffee stirrers. Somehow, it usually takes me 10 or 20 stirrers for every cup of coffee I buy. And I don’t take cream or sugar.
Ah, Mr. B, you are resourceful. Actually I have all sorts of strip styrene on hand including some leftover gates/fencing section from the stockyards kit I put together. And I was planning on using CA
Bear
My only caution about using styrene is that it is somewhat more flexible than wood. To cure that potential problem if your styrene is not too thick, you could make up 'T’s by gluing two strips of styrene at right angles to each other, much like a T girder used in benchwork.
Dave
I would not recommend using CA glue or styrene to brace a wood structure. From experience, working with CA is messy, and the wood absorbs a lot of it, making for waste of CA. The best adhesive for wood to wood joints is good old white glue. Properly done, the bond will be stronger than the wood itself, and can be easily wiped off/ cleaned if you happen to get some on the working surface of the model.
I agree w/ Bob, wow/ wood bond allows the panel unit to become one w/ a very strong bond, To use CA, I feel that the surface would have to be sealed as it is rather pourous. This is an advantage to gluing w/ wood glue as the bond is far stronger from the glue penetration.
It is also a good idea to seal both sides of the wood. Painting and/or sealing of only one side can lead to warpage if excessive moisture enters the rear. I like to use a light coat of Deft, however it has become quite expensive these days. Bull’sEye white shellac and thinned 50/50 w/ denature alcohol works well also. Alight coat is all that’s needed. Too many coats or too heavy may affect the glue bond and any stain penetration.
Strip wood is even available locally at Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, and other home improvement type stores; even Wal-mart sometimes.
I’ve constructed a lot of scratch-built wood structures. I prefer Elmer’s yellow carpenter’s glue, and clamp the strip wood to the back of the wall sections when using wood sheets such as those that come in a laser-cut kit, until the glue has set for a day. Spring clothespins can be used as clamps in many instances.
An excellent way to keep the structures from warping is to seal the wood. Use an acrylic wood sealer, found at many craft an hobby stores (Delta Ceramcoat is the brand I currently have, but there are others.) Seal both sides, then paint the visible one.
What do you think about Gorilla Wood Glue? I’ve been using it for my wood bridges, It dryes fast and it’s clear when it dries. It’s indoor/Outdoor. I use Basswood 1/16" and 1/32" Hobby Lobby
Hi,
I have build severals “laser kit” from different manufacturers.
As a rule, before starting construction I spray the both side of the “wood sprues” whith a matte automotive spray primer; I prefer a gray color.
This help a lot to prevent warping.
I model in Nscale and didn’t have braced a lot of my models even if they are “big models”.
All of them are painted whith acrilycs water colors and often receive a good wash of rubbing alcool and black ink for wheatering.
Using water colors for paint and many other “wet” products during construction didn’t have affected the models whith the first automotive spray.
I use mostly CA gel for gluing parts and accelerator to speed up construction.
This model is build on a 3/4" plywood base as mentionned. It started as an Nscale Architect Marble Co slightly modified whith small Bar Mills kit and Branchline kit added. They have different wood thickness and quality of wood, but all where spray painted before construction.
I live in Belgium whith a wheater which is always between dry and humidity and didn’t have warping problems whith this simple method.
Marc
“Somehow, it usually takes me 10 or 20 stirrers for every cup of coffee I buy. And I don’t take cream or sugar.”
Not something I would be proud of.
Must be a generational thing
Bill d
Bill d
I have to agree - somebody has to pay for those stir sticks, and that somebody is you and me.
I’m not sure that it is generational though. Years ago I managed a cafeteria in a large retail store. Some older ladies insisted that it was their right to grab handfuls of ketchup, mustard, relish, jam and sugar packets because they “had paid for it” despite that fact that they had only bought a coffee and maybe a muffin or a small meal. The simple result was that we ended up having to choose between issuing the condiments one or two at a time or raising prices. True to the spirit of modern retailing, we did both![(-D]
The naivety of people who think that something is “free” astounds me. Don’t ask me what I think of people who take things knowing full well they are not free.
Dave
I have to agree with a few of the other posters on this; use wood to brace the walls. Even with gluing, the expansion/contraction rates of dissimilar materials can cause warpage. I keep 1/8"x1/8" and 1/4"x1/4" basswood on hand just for interior bracing. After gluing, I paint both the interior and exterior walls with auto primer (it’s cheap and comes in different colors). I then paint the interior walls. Once that paint is dry, I cover the window and door openings with masking tape from the inside, then paint the exterior walls. This prevents overspray from getting on the already painted surfaces.
My limited experience with Laser wood kits has taught me that painting with primer and letting things dry on wax paper between some weighty items is the way to go. Painting after construction left me with a slightly twisted model on the layout. I would also use wood to brace the corners etc. Plastic tends to flex more and is likely to come unglued over time as the plastic and wood expand and contract to different degrees. I have lots of experience building R/C airplanes (including scratch builds) and know this from experience.
Brent[C):-)]
CA is the only thing I use (the gel type), never a proublem and I have structures over 10 years old built that way. Always brace but use wood, it will hold better long term. Painting the interior dose nothing for warping if (note the “if”) you properly brace.