Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

Modeling Basics 101: Tools and Glues


Recommended Posts

Glues

Ok, you got that kit. You got to have something to hold it together! Now, is there one glue that will bond plastic, resin, alumnuim, etc.? No, not really. The first glue you WILL need is good old Testor's Model Cement. It come in Toxic (Red Tubes), and Non-Toxic (Blue Tube), formulas. It will only bond plastic to plastic, so it will not work on resin. 5-minute epoxy and super glue will work for resin and photo-etch, but whatever you do, DO NOT PUT SUPERGLUE ON CHROME OR CLEAR PARTS! It will leave a impossible to remove white haze. White glue works great for flocking and clear parts.

Tools

One of the best tools aside from paint is a good hobby knife. You can get a good one from X-acto at Wal-Mart. Caution! It's very, very sharp! :lol: Some other tools include toothpicks, Q-Tips, and good fine tipped paint brushes. You will also need some other paint brushes and a "value pack" of brushes will get you going. A great supplier for tools is Micro-Mark. They have about every tool a modeler can imagine. They are the Sears Christmas catalog for model builders! :lol: Sandpaper is a must, espesially if you will do alot of conversion work. Not only will it smmoth out putty and mold lines, it is used to polish. You can get a good polising kit from your hobby shop. As you advance in skill, you likeness for spraypaint will dissapear somewhat, and you will want a good quality airbrush and compressor. Here is some good airbrush manufactors.

Badger Airbrush

Iwata

Paasche Airbrush

Paints & Detailing Supplies

There are good hobby paints on the market from Testors, Tamiya, and more. You will most likely use paint from all of them sometime or another. Most hobby sprays are lacquers, and jars are enamel. Tamiya offers acrylic and lacquer in jar form. Chrome Trim can't get any simpler than BMF (Bare Metal Foil). BMF is a thin, adhesive backed metal sheet. This simple video show you how to apply it.

Next, we will cover the aftermarket companies!

Happy Modeling!

:lol:

Edited by Mississippi Resins
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glues

The first glue you WILL need is good old Testor's Model Cement. It come in Toxic (Red Tubes), and Non-Toxic (Blue Tube), formulas. It will only bond plastic to plastic, so it will not work on resin. 5-minute epoxy and super glue will work for resin and photo-etch, but whatever you do, DO NOT PUT SUPERGLUE ON CHROME OR CLEAR PARTS! It will leave a impossible to remove white haze. White glue works great for flocking and clear parts.

The non-toxic Testors glue is basically useless. The reason that it's non-toxic is because it lacks the "toxic" chemicals in "real" Testors tube glue that act on the plastic and actually create the bond!

You're better off using liquid styrene cement for general assembly. Liquid styrene cement is a much cleaner way to build. You either clamp or tape or just hold the pieces you want to glue together, and then "flow" the glue into the joint with the applicator brush. Liquid cement is very thin, like water, and will flow by capillary action into the joint. No more glue squishing out from between the joint and those annoying glue strings like you get with tube glue. I do use tube glue in a few specific instances, for example, if I'm trying to glue a tiny part onto a larger assembly but can't easily hold or clamp that part as the glue dries (example: gluing a fan onto a fan pulley). In a case like that, the thickness of the tube glue is actually a plus, as you can put a tiny dab of glue where the part will join, and the thickness of the glue will hold the small part in place while the glue dries. You have to keep an eye on the part for a minute or so, as it may sag a bit or move slightly off position... just gently push the part back into alignment, the glue alone will generally hold it in place after a minute or so.

Along with liquid cement, I also use CA for general assembly, but usually only if there are definite locator pins or some other positive locating device, because CA glue doesn't give you much time for alignment of parts (there are slow setting CA glues available, but that sort of defeats the whole beauty of CA, which is that it sets almost instantly). The fast setup time can be both a plus and a minus, depending on the situation. Experience will tell you the best glue to use in a given situation, but in general I use either CA or liquid styrene cement for 95% of general assembly...CA when I want/need an instant bond, liquid cement when an instant bond isn't necessary), tube glue only in certain circumstances, and not very often, and epoxy also in very limited and specific situations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

If you do go to useing Superglue for your models, there are a few different types with different properties. Gap filling is, as the name implies is much thicker and DOES fill gaps. Standard superglue is VERY runny, use it with MUCH caution till you get the hang of useing it! And if you want to use it for GLASS, use superglue for GLASS as it WILL NOT fog your plastic glass. It works for regular non clear plastic too. Just some more ammo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used gap filling CA glue (Goldberg Superjet) for as long as it's been available (first came out about 1985) for just about everything imaginable in model building, from gluing parts together to even using it as a filler for small imperfections!

One of the real advantages of the Superjet bottle is that it is readily adaptable to a series of accessory "nozzles" from Bob Smith Industries which seem to have been made specifically for the Goldberg packaging. My favorite nozzle extension is the BSI 302, which has it's tip drawn out into a 1" long capillary "needle" in soft polyethylene plastic, the ID of that tube being about .25mm (.010") and an OD approximately 1mm. This makes a perfect applicator for the stuff, and makes Superjet very easy to apply in small areas for gluing, as well as filling file or other tool marks in a reworked surface.

Goldberg Superjet is slow setting, and just as with any CA glue, it doesn't set up on its own except VERY slowly, so an accelerator is necessary. BSI makes a perfect accelerator for CA, packed in a 3 oz push-pump bottle which allows one to dribble a few drops on the CA, or spray a larger area, setting up the CA in seconds, and when sprayed wetly on a CA glue joint on painted, clear or plated surfaces, cures the CA just as fast, with absolutely no fogging ever (those who have seen my models often are amazed that these parts were glued in place with CA--it's virtually invisible! In the bargain, BSI Accelerator will not attack or damage any paint, be that lacquer, enamel, or water-borne acrylics--I've used it on all these types of paints with perfect success for since it became available in the late 1980's, so I know it works. There are other accelerators out there, but many of them will mar styrene and paint jobs, and there are other makes of applicator nozzles out there, but they don't hold a candle to the BSI 302--I've tried most of them at least once.

Goldberg Superjet is available in many hobby shops having a large, well-stocked RC plane and/or boat department, as are BSI Accelerator and their appicator nozzles. In addition, BSI products are also readily available online from Tower Hobbies as well.

I've used Superjet with this accelerator as a filler for sink marks on body shells, and with a bit of needle file work, followed by sanding smooth, it paints very well and never shrinks. And, it has the advantage of very short working times due to this rapid setting quality using the accelerator I've described.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...