greger Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 so i hope im not the only one to ever do this but the other night i cut off a bracket that is sappose to stay attached to my fenders. my question is how can i go about reattaching it. there is about a 1/8th gap now that needs to be filled in so the pieces touch. whats the way to glue this back togethe ror is there a good product that will build up and be strong ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 I'm sure we've all done something like that at one time or another. Could you post a photo of the problem? That would make it easier for us to give you worthwhile advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Add some sheet plastic with a solvent based glue like Tenax or Plastruct to fill the gap and then reattach the part with the same stuff. For strength there is nothing better than melting the parts back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greger Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 heres my issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Cut off the whole piece and glue in a piece of Evergreen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 OK. Now we know what we're dealing with. Both Jantrix and crazyjim are on the right track. There's only one really clean way to do this, and I'm assuming the piece you've cut loose in the center has the same downward projections that the lower piece in the photo has...right? Both the Evergreen and Plastruct products that these guys mentioned come in various widths and thicknesses of strip and shape stock, as well as sheets. http://www.evergreenscalemodels.com/ https://plastruct.com/product-category/strip-and-rod/styrene-strip-stock-rod/ You can get some of this stuff from well-stocked hobby shops or online. Measure the thickness and width of the piece you've damaged, and get some strip stock that's as close to identical as possible. Then measure the exact length between the edges of the fenders still attached together. Cut the strip to length...exactly (cut it a little bit long and file it to exact length). Remove the remains of the piece you damaged, and carefully file the locations on the fenders flat and square where the old piece used to go. Tape the fenders to your bench to keep them level and parallel to each other and very CAREFULLY cement in the new piece you made with liquid cement...not letting it go anywhere but into the joint. It is IMPORTANT to fit this carefully, so you end up with the exact same fender spacing you started with. Let it dry OVERNIGHT. If you fitted it right and let it dry, it should be strong enough for gentle handling...but since these bonds are very small, it's just NOT going to be as strong as it was before. So handle it carefully as you finish building. AND...IF you need the downward projections like are on the lower cross piece in the photo, you can carefully cut them off the old part and transfer them to the new cross piece you just made. You MAY have to space them down just a tad to compensate for the thickness of the cut when you removed them from the old crosspiece. How the thing is supposed to fit on the chassis (or whatever those projections fit to) will determine exactly what you need to do to get it to sit level, like it's supposed to. Just think through what you're trying to accomplish and it shouldn't be too difficult. This is a very good illustration as to why it's really important to be completely familiar with what you're doing before you start cutting anything. It's always much harder to put things back the way they were than it is to take your time and avoid issues like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greger Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 awesome! you guys are a life saver thank you so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 heres my issue. Greg, are you absolutely positive that this is supposed to remain on the fenders? Those center pieces are very undefined and look very much like they are part of the sprue tree. What kit is this from? I would make a good re-inspection of the instructions and make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 (edited) Greg, are you absolutely positive that this is supposed to remain on the fenders? Those center pieces are very undefined and look very much like they are part of the sprue tree. What kit is this from? I would make a good re-inspection of the instructions and make sure. I'll betcha they're supposed to be there. (Though I could be wrong...) Why? Because the 'round' sections, like the OP is holding in his fingers, are the runners where the molten plastic is introduced into the die. The actual "gate" is the line along the horizontal round runner section, adjacent to the crossmember. I believe that line is where the part is supposed to be separated from the runner / sprue prior to building. It appears the part was designed this way to maintain the fenders in correct alignment, and provide an easy attachment point to the chassis. Look also at the pins extending downwards from the lower crossmember in the photo. If this were part of the sprue / runner, there would be absolutely no rational reason to have pins there. Machining the die to make these pins would add unnecessary expense...and that's avoided like the plague in injection-molding tool design. Edited June 2, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Why not tell us which kit this is? Did it have instructions? What do the instructions show? That entire fender assembly looks a bit wonky to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I'll betcha they're supposed to be there. (Though I could be wrong...) I'm sure you are correct Bill, but the whole thing still looks odd. What trailer has so little width between the fenders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I'm sure you are correct Bill, but the whole thing still looks odd. What trailer has so little width between the fenders?My guess is that it's a large truck, fenders over the rear wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greger Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 its the revell auto transport trailer ( 85-1509) and at least im not the only one that things they looked very out of place. but they are for sure ment to be there. here are some pics of placement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshue76 Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I would clean the cut ends of the piece and then determine now much material is needed to fill each side. Then just find some Evergreen or Plastruct sheet or shape to fill the gap. You can also add a piece of 1/8" square under the flat piece that would go under the lip of the fender the add your filler between the flat piece and fender. That would make for a pretty strong tie in. Make each side look the same and do it neat and clean then after paint it will blend in just fine even if it looks different from it's molded state. And honestly these trailers get repaired very frequently in the real world since they are built to be as light as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greger Posted June 2, 2016 Author Share Posted June 2, 2016 haha i dont think its gonna be very noticeable where it i. so i think what i will do is get some of that plastic to go straight across the top. and then block the sides to fill in the gaps and glue it all together.then install. i will sand down the top of this to accept the new plastic along the top so it is still the same thickness. just gotta run to the hobby store Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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