I just got into assembling Micro-Engineering’s “Poor Boy Mine”. It contains several white metal parts with which I have never worked. What is the best kind of adhesive and paint to use on this material?
FritzvB
Probably CA is your best choice for an adhesive, although both contact cement and two-part epoxy will also work. For paint, I’d go with either Floquil or Polly Scale, although there are many other good choices. Don’t forget to clean the castings before either glueing or painting. I use a wash in hot water and dish detergent, followed by a rinse in denatured alcohol. Some modellers also like to soak the white metal parts in vinegar in order to slightly etch the parts. This will give the paint a little more “tooth” to adhere to.
Wayne
To ad to good advice, I take a 10 inch strip of blue masking tape, roll it into a circle with sticky side out and stick it to a old board. I then stick to pieces to the masking tape to hold them. I certainly use a magnifying glass and do a lot of painting with a tooth pick. Dab, don’t brush. If you have enough patience anyone can do this.
I also use CA and cheat a lot with the cleaning. Unless you are going to move the models a lot, they stay together pretty well.
With the CA, put some on a piece of paper or plastic and apply to the model part with a tooth pick.
I soak them in vinegar a while, then rinse and dry. I then spray them with flat black walmart spray paint and let that dry overnight. Then acrylic paints will stick and you can use the drybrush method that gives you those great shadow effects. Here’s an On30 Velocipede I just finished with this method. Fred
