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Revell's 83 Olds, Glass glued in from the outside. opinions please


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Did a couple of the Revell 83 Oldsmobiles and all the glass glues in from the outside. The glass surround moldings are molded to the body, not the glass so all glue surfaces are visible. I tried future floor wax without success then water based canopy glue. It did get the job done but still did not look right. Lately it seems some of the model companies are trying to reinvent the wheel. What are your thoughts?

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I like the look of the outside-mounted glass, but I also think it takes more work to make it look right. Foiling, painting the gaskets, then gluing it in without marking the windows takes a lot longer to accomplish. I think if the car looks better with outside glass, then the manufacturers should mold it that way, but if you can get away with inside mounted glass, do it. My building rate isn't getting any faster, after all.

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Lately it seems some of the model companies are trying to reinvent the wheel...

A valid observation. CAD design is a great and useful tool in the right hands but the use of it in translating a subject to scale seems to have some instances of hit and miss. Following the temptation to go all out on some gee-whiz feature has sometimes resulted in other basic design elements being short-changed.

 

mike

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Interesting topic..

Wel on modern automobiles where the black fret hides the glue, I'd say mount from the outside, just as per OEM. the location of the weather strip (on the clear or on body) hmmm, dunno which one would be better/easier to paint/mask

On vintage (pre mid '80s) I prefer from the inside, the thickness of the pillars can be hidden somewhat, when one designs the clear with a precise fit (taken into account paint thickness) to the surround (windshield or backlite opening) but with a small almost "flash like" flange, (I think with current CAD technology a lot is possible) as a positive locator, glue surface on the inside.

 

Edited by Luc Janssens
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The two big negatives for me are the exposed glue surfaces and the edge of the glass is visible. I couldn't care less about being able to assemble a model as you would a real car.

That's what you get for messing with late model cars (no pun intended), Paul.

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I've seen a few of the Cutlass models built with sloppy window edges, so I understand that frustration, but I've also seen at least one built by my friend where it was perfectly clean.

I far prefer kit glass installed from outside, it allows the glass to fit flush like the real car. When I get a newer model that has the old glass tub style that fits from inside it bugs me, because of potential gaps around pillars and a "sunken" appearance that's out of scale. I build mostly modern cars, but not exclusively. I've got a Modehaus Riviera being built as the Silver Arrow III concept that sits on the perpetual back burner because I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do the glass flush like the real car; I just couldn't leave the glass as it came in the kit, it just didn't fit well. I already have modified the C pillar area from vertical to the sweeping design of the concept (seriously GM, why did you put vertical C pillars on the Riviera?), and had to fix the roof profile a bit as well. Thanks to Juha I can't live with "normal" glass on this model :D Call it a labor of love, seeing that car in person I knew I had to make a model of it.

Since I've been dealing with the new style kit glass from Revell & others for awhile, I've easily adapted to it. Looking at the Cutlass, you can hide the glue edges but it requires more exacting application of glue. I go over the outer edges w/a black Sharpie, and depending on era, I go over the inner perimeter of the glass w/the Sharpie as well, to hide the glue and appear like modern glass w/the black inner surround. I use Formula 560 canopy glue which works perfectly for the job. It's just a technique that requires a different approach, I've adapted and love it. It's not as fast to assemble as the old method, but it's better. 

In the case of the Cutlass, Revell probably should have designed the glass with the trim molded to the edge of the glass rather than on the body, to give a bit more material in the channels below the glass, more space for glue, better chance to hide it cleanly. If executed properly it should be a good compromise. Even Moebius is slowly getting better with this; the Comet is a big improvement over the Plymouths and Pontiacs in this regard.

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I've seen a few of the Cutlass models built with sloppy window edges, so I understand that frustration, but I've also seen at least one built by my friend where it was perfectly clean.

I far prefer kit glass installed from outside, it allows the glass to fit flush like the real car. When I get a newer model that has the old glass tub style that fits from inside it bugs me, because of potential gaps around pillars and a "sunken" appearance that's out of scale. I build mostly modern cars, but not exclusively. I've got a Modehaus Riviera being built as the Silver Arrow III concept that sits on the perpetual back burner because I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do the glass flush like the real car; I just couldn't leave the glass as it came in the kit, it just didn't fit well. I already have modified the C pillar area from vertical to the sweeping design of the concept (seriously GM, why did you put vertical C pillars on the Riviera?), and had to fix the roof profile a bit as well. Thanks to Juha I can't live with "normal" glass on this model :D Call it a labor of love, seeing that car in person I knew I had to make a model of it.

Since I've been dealing with the new style kit glass from Revell & others for awhile, I've easily adapted to it. Looking at the Cutlass, you can hide the glue edges but it requires more exacting application of glue. I go over the outer edges w/a black Sharpie, and depending on era, I go over the inner perimeter of the glass w/the Sharpie as well, to hide the glue and appear like modern glass w/the black inner surround. I use Formula 560 canopy glue which works perfectly for the job. It's just a technique that requires a different approach, I've adapted and love it. It's not as fast to assemble as the old method, but it's better. 

In the case of the Cutlass, Revell probably should have designed the glass with the trim molded to the edge of the glass rather than on the body, to give a bit more material in the channels below the glass, more space for glue, better chance to hide it cleanly. If executed properly it should be a good compromise. Even Moebius is slowly getting better with this; the Comet is a big improvement over the Plymouths and Pontiacs in this regard.

One of the worst kits, with faaaaaaaaaaar too sunken glass, is the Revell Germany VW Corrado kit(s) I tried to improve it somewhat making the windshield a flush fit, but lost interest and gave it away to someone who loved to have one....now he has to deal with my hopefully not too crappy work.

;) 

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Try Bondic UV light setting glue. I've found it works perfect for mounting glass. 

Scott

 

Bondic will yellow a bit over time, so be careful there. I just used it to cast a taillight lens for the Lindberg Granada, and there's a difference between the clear plastic original and the copy. My tube of Bondic is about a year old.

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I've seen a few of the Cutlass models built with sloppy window edges, so I understand that frustration, but I've also seen at least one built by my friend where it was perfectly clean.

I far prefer kit glass installed from outside, it allows the glass to fit flush like the real car. When I get a newer model that has the old glass tub style that fits from inside it bugs me, because of potential gaps around pillars and a "sunken" appearance that's out of scale. I build mostly modern cars, but not exclusively. I've got a Modehaus Riviera being built as the Silver Arrow III concept that sits on the perpetual back burner because I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to do the glass flush like the real car; I just couldn't leave the glass as it came in the kit, it just didn't fit well. I already have modified the C pillar area from vertical to the sweeping design of the concept (seriously GM, why did you put vertical C pillars on the Riviera?), and had to fix the roof profile a bit as well. Thanks to Juha I can't live with "normal" glass on this model :D Call it a labor of love, seeing that car in person I knew I had to make a model of it.

Since I've been dealing with the new style kit glass from Revell & others for awhile, I've easily adapted to it. Looking at the Cutlass, you can hide the glue edges but it requires more exacting application of glue. I go over the outer edges w/a black Sharpie, and depending on era, I go over the inner perimeter of the glass w/the Sharpie as well, to hide the glue and appear like modern glass w/the black inner surround. I use Formula 560 canopy glue which works perfectly for the job. It's just a technique that requires a different approach, I've adapted and love it. It's not as fast to assemble as the old method, but it's better. 

In the case of the Cutlass, Revell probably should have designed the glass with the trim molded to the edge of the glass rather than on the body, to give a bit more material in the channels below the glass, more space for glue, better chance to hide it cleanly. If executed properly it should be a good compromise. Even Moebius is slowly getting better with this; the Comet is a big improvement over the Plymouths and Pontiacs in this regard.

I am in complete agreement with you Bob!!!!

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Well, if the end result would be no different, it would make no difference to me. BUT, it's not good that the areas where you add glue will stay visible, and even worse is that in some kits (New Moebius kits for example) the window trim is molded to the windows...! That really sucks, when foiling that trim, one minor slip with a knife and your windows are ruined. If this little slip happens on a paint job, the minor scratch can't be seen that well after all. But on clear windows everyone can see it easily. Those new Moebius kits are otherwise top notch so I don't understand why they did windows that way. After all, I think the old method of gluing windows from inside was working perfectly fine.

 

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Those new Moebius kits are otherwise top notch so I don't understand why they did windows that way.

The window trim is molded to the glass so there is no gap between the window and the trim.

To me it is the better way.  With the old glass behind the body way, the windshield is either far too recessed from the body, or the fitment gets so bad there are gaps between the glass and the A-pillar.

Edited by fumi
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Try Bondic UV light setting glue. I've found it works perfect for mounting glass. 

Scott

 

YES!  Bondic UV-cured clear glue works like a charm in this application!   The UV light works perfectly directly THROUGH the clear styrene glass too.  And, in the bargain, if you need to remove the glass for whatever reason, the Bondic "bond" is fairly easy to separate (no it doesn't just fall out by gravity), and can be peeled away from the surfaces--the glass re-glued into place.

Art

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The window trim is molded to the glass so there is no gap between the window and the trim.

To me it is the better way.  With the old glass behind the body way, the windshield is either far too recessed from the body, or the fitment gets so bad there are gaps between the glass and the A-pillar.

Yes, on some kits that is a problem, but usually most of the kits have windows that fit pretty well, at least if BMF and everything is done cleanly. And I've built Moebius '53 Hudson and '55 Chrysler, both of them had windows glued from inside and their fitment was excellent. Now I just hope that I don't have to order new windows from somewhere several times because of a minor slip while doing BMF on those new Moebius kits...:rolleyes:

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