Good afternoon everyone,
I have several Walters Corner Stone structures all built, and left over from my previous layout. They are glued together with Pro Weld plastic fusing adhesive. I would like to take them apart and re-configure them to fit on the layout. Has anyone ever tried to do such a thing? If so what would be the best way to dismantle these structures without to much damage to the wall sections? Thanks to all in advance.
Sam
You’ll probably need to saw them apart with a razor saw. That adhesive isn’t like Elmer’s glue. It literally melts the plastic and when you press two parts together they become fused as one piece of plastic.
Or maybe scribing along the joint a bunch of times with an X-acto might cut through.
Steve S
Hi!
Lots of luck! I’ve had occasion to attempt to dismantle plastic structures a few times over the years, and had all kinds of results. The best was where the major parts came apart at the seam with some gentle slicing and prying with Xacto knives. The worst ended with me breaking every part by hand as the cornerstone bridge would not come apart at the beams.
For most of them, prying and slicing them apart is a good way to go, but sometimes you just have to use a razor saw and cut down the seam.
Its not the funnest thing I’ve ever done…
I agree with what the other guys have said. Try your hobby knife first, and if that doesn’t work, use your razor saw. Just be prepared for less than stellar results. Maybe have some Modulars parts on hand to replace ones that are damaged beyond repair.
Sam
While this may sound really strange BUT
Place the structures in the Deep Freezer for a day
Then take them out and go to work with the x-acto knives
The cold will cause the glued seams to become brittle and usually snap apart!
I can’t tale credit for this process as it was on this forum a number of years ago and i thought Yah Right
But I had to try it just to see and it worked - not perfect but most of the seams snapped apart!
A lot better than having to cut each part loose!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
That’s COLD, man!
Interesting I had not read this before and may need to give it a try, when the need arises.
Another thought is a heated knife blade - heated over a candle or held against a soldering iron.
Dave Nelson
I used to use this method all the time back when I built plastic model kits such as cars, trucks, aircraft, etc. It works really well. But be very careful because the cold also makes all of the plastic very brittle. It is very easy to snap the wall of something in the middle where you do not want the separation to take place.
I would kit bash 2 cars or trucks into one after I had built it and it was on display for a while. Came up with some pretty cool designs. My favorite was when I did this with space vehicles.
Thank you all for some good advice. I now have two structures in the freezer. Bob! Lets see if that works. It really sounds like it’s the way to go, so I’m giving it a try, and I’ll let you know how I make out.
Thanks
Sam
Well guys, just to let you all know. I had two buildings in the freezer for about 32 hours. I took one out and started to dismantle it. With a little prying, and very little cutting along the seems, it came apart very easy. It only took about 20 minutes. It works like a charm. I am about to take the other one out and start on that, and put a few more in the freezer.
Thanks Bob,
Sam