Why Glue Bombs ?

[D. Battista]

Not picking on this build... Just using this pic for reference.... Actually it inspired this topic for me.

I admire you guys who save these old glue bombs.   Just wondered what some reasons are for tackeling a project like this or any badly damaged kit ?

Me I shy away from this stuff.....  I would rather start with untouched kits or parts.  Maybe I'm just lazy..... but I probably wouldnt give this a second look..... I would fix up or refurbish my own builds when they get broken or fall into disrepair though....

What is it about glue bombs that makes ya want to save them...?

Thanks for any input on this subject....

[Mr mopar]

I like glue bombs because there a challenge to make something ugly ,in to something real nice.and for the rareness of the kit!

[Spex84]

I like a challenge; part of the fun is figuring out what a kit "wants to be" based on the parts I have available. Starting with a glue bomb adds new constraints and can push a project into fun and unintended directions!
*that '32 is severe. Whoa!*

[DrKerry]

What's been said already, plus depending on what ya do with it, it gives it character if it's too far gone... the challenge is a big part, along with some kits if your never going to see it re popped. Your saving another car to see another life.... that and it keeps it out of the land fill!!!!! 

The 32 you have shown there would be fun to turn into an old hot rod or drag roadster!!!!

Edited April 6, 2017 by DrKerry

[Ace-Garageguy]

Same reason some of us build real hot rods from junk (I don't mean "rat rods" either), or restore and modify old cars that have been monkeyfied and unloved for years (all of which I do for a living).

But it's kinda one of those things that, if you have to ask, you probably wouldn't ever understand anyway (which is perfectly OK...it doesn't HAVE to appeal to everyone; I've just always had a soft spot for broken and abused things).

It's a challenge, and a satisfying one to me, to make something nice from something somebody else has given up on, buggered hopelessly, or just thrown out.

Gluebombs can often be acquired for pennies, literally, and you will sometimes find subjects that you wouldn't necessarily want to modify heavily if they were pristine virgins.

So far, this is the worst one I've brought back...a '61 Dodge Dart (Johan).

Build thread here...

This one was built from somebody's unsuccessful attempt to chop a top, after they gave up when they found out it was a little harder than it looked and sold it on. I think I paid less than $5 for the basic mess, cut into pieces, with obviously no clue as to how to put it all back together. And I NEVER would have bought this kit if I hadn't got it so cheap, anyway.

                   

                                                                                       

 

Edited April 6, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[Russell C]

With my Ranchero speedster, it was the basic idea of a vehicle I'd never think of building as a personal choice which otherwise appealed to me, apart from some problems which I could fix. Sorta like a foreign/exotics-only fan spotting a nifty-looking dirt cheap '50s American pickup saying "I wouldn't mind having that ... except I'd change the wheels, and fix the grille."

But one other reason is finding a really old cleverly done custom only in need of cleanup and re-assembly of parts which is a piece of history that shouldn't be lost to the sands of time. I've seen a couple on ebay like that, but other people with much more money to bid must have also looking out for those, and hopefully gave them an appreciative home.

[Ron Hamilton]

I have resurrected a few Glue-Bombs, and I like doing them. However, the rules I have for them is that they have to be restorable, rare, and cheap! Otherwise I pass on them. Besides, I created a lot of them when I was a kid.

[charlie8575]

Partially the challenge, partially budget.

Unbuilt old kits can be pretty expensive, and my hobby budget can be very, very tight, so I get as good as I can find and do something with it.

Charlie Larkin

[om617]

For me it`s not that much i enjoy glue bombs,but i love the vintage subjects,and you cant find them issued today,

Mint kit`s has become collectibles,like those rare LP records,even the boxes are sought after. As Charlie said it

is the challenge,but for me also the satisfaction of try make it shine again.

If we talk glue bombs of more recent production,i dont touch those unless it has parts i want.

[alan barton]

Ever since I was a kid I have had an inbuilt desire to make something out of junk and to save that junk from going to the tip.  I often ask myself why I start on a glue bomb when there is a mint one on the shelf but somehow they talk to me.  I build a variety of categories but two that I love to work on are speedway cars (dirt short track) and salt racers.  Glue bombs are heaven sent for this sort of build.

Hogged out wheels arches, smeared up windshields, no grill or bumpers - hey, I didn't need them anyway!

I can then build a "nice" car out of the mint ones.  This 64 Chevelle wagon harks back to my first year in high school. I had customised it to death and it lost its entire roof in the process.  Why I never threw it out is beyond me but about ten years ago it talked to me.  All I had left was the two side panels, tailgate and grille.  A pair of otherwise useless Monogram Chev citations donated two rooves, two bumpers and two hoods. There's nothing underneath but who's looking anyway? Now we have a cool salt racer and the mint unbuilt kit that I purchased for $150 in 2013 at a Pennsylvania toy show will be built as close to showroom stock as I can to tow it to the salt.

I have met other Aussie modellers who think the same as me and we all think it's a little strange but what the heck.

And then, if you saw how my 1:1 29 roadster started out, that black roadster up the top of tis post is in mint condition!

Cheers

Alan

[otherunicorn]

Because we can? Because it exercises the mind. Because it has history. Because it's fun. Take your pick.

[PARTSMARTY]

I love doing them for the same reasons most people have already said-to also make something with no life breathe again !!!

[disabled modeler]

What's been said already, plus depending on what ya do with it, it gives it character if it's too far gone... the challenge is a big part, along with some kits if your never going to see it re popped. Your saving another car to see another life.... that and it keeps it out of the land fill!!!!! 

The 32 you have shown there would be fun to turn into an old hot rod or drag roadster!!!!

I feel the same way Kerry does...but another aspect of it is what one can find or afford to get even though everyone would love to have a pristine kit to work with.  Me many of mine need a lot but if I can find the needed parts for them I know I can bring them back to life again...I am willing to do the work to I have the time as well to pass by.  I have restored many that most others would never even give a second thought...its like saving some history to me as well. 

[DumpyDan]

Glue Bombs are great, you go to a show and you never know what your going to find........ Last year found a complete AMC Scrambler $5,  Got a Vega $2 a couple years before that plus another Vega almost complete,  And years ago was able to get the Californian built up $8 didn't even know what it was at that time, just looked cool.  But the biggest thing is the price and people over look most buildups.......I thank-you for that. 

[Snake45]

Ever since I was a kid I have had an inbuilt desire to make something out of junk and to save that junk from going to the tip.  I often ask myself why I start on a glue bomb when there is a mint one on the shelf but somehow they talk to me.  I build a variety of categories but two that I love to work on are speedway cars (dirt short track) and salt racers.  Glue bombs are heaven sent for this sort of build.

Hogged out wheels arches, smeared up windshields, no grill or bumpers - hey, I didn't need them anyway!

I can then build a "nice" car out of the mint ones.  This 64 Chevelle wagon harks back to my first year in high school. I had customised it to death and it lost its entire roof in the process.  Why I never threw it out is beyond me but about ten years ago it talked to me.  All I had left was the two side panels, tailgate and grille.  A pair of otherwise useless Monogram Chev citations donated two rooves, two bumpers and two hoods. There's nothing underneath but who's looking anyway? Now we have a cool salt racer and the mint unbuilt kit that I purchased for $150 in 2013 at a Pennsylvania toy show will be built as close to showroom stock as I can to tow it to the salt.

I have met other Aussie modellers who think the same as me and we all think it's a little strange but what the heck.

And then, if you saw how my 1:1 29 roadster started out, that black roadster up the top of tis post is in mint condition!

Cheers

Alan

Great save, Alan!

[Snake45]

 the rules I have for them is that they have to be restorable, rare, and cheap! Otherwise I pass on them. Besides, I created a lot of them when I was a kid.

Preach It, Brother Ron!

[talon63]

What is it about glue bombs that makes ya want to save them...?

 

I look at something like this with the same eye as I would look at a 1:1 car. As others have said, sometimes it's the challenge. Pristine plastic is not as challenging as taking a "beater" like this and restoring or modding it into something for the shelf.  Sometimes, it may be the only way to get a particular subject that is on the wish list. Sometimes it's am economical way to get spare parts for other projects. Sometimes it's a great way to practice skills and techniques you may not otherwise be tempted to try on the pristine stuff. But I can see turning the above into something like this
  

Yes, it may take more work than working with off-the-sprue parts, but even in the 1:1 world, sometimes you have to work with what you have, especially if the original isn't being made anymore. And, like Ron, I contributed my fair share of glue bombs to the world in my youth. Some of the kits/bombs I look for now are the same ones I built back then, if only to make amends for past sins.

 

Happy Building!

[iBorg]

If I ruin a glue bomb, I ruin a glue bomb.

If I ruin a kit, I RUIN A KIT!

 

 

[Lunajammer]

I need to forward this thread to my GF who doesn't understand why I would haggle $3 for some filthy, busted-a$$ model at a flea market.

[The Creative Explorer]

I stay away from gluebombs and rather build new from box, but there is a exception I make: when it is about a rare, hard to find or just expensive kit (like a Pocher, 1/12 Tamiya's etc...) and I can get them for an interesting price, I do it. Just to get them affordable.

[Spex84]

I feel like the "glue-bomb" thing has caught on enough that prices are ridiculous on the 'bay. $15 each for terrible (and common) badly-painted glue-smeared kits....$50 for boxes of loose parts and sprue that can't be used to build anything. It's a little frustrating...local garage sales are a source, but I haven't scored anything in over a year now.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I wouldn't touch it either.

I would much rather spend a few extra bucks on a good one & focus my attention on paint & detail rather than spending 3 weeks just bringing it back to usable.

Especially on something like you pictured.

There are so many of these out there that can be had for next to nothing in good condition, why waste the time on it.

I've gotten to the point where I won't even purchase a body with broken roof pillars anymore.

I hate fixing them, so why put myself through it.

If I can afford a good one, I'll buy it.

If I can't, I'll live without.

 

Steve

[samdiego]

My favorite glue bomb. The first step in construction is complicated and involves trapping the working landing gear between the fuselage halves. The builder's technique was to place the part and squeeze cement around it, didn't work and he gave up. No paint either. My Dad had built one of these when it was new. I finally played with it to the point of destruction. After resurrecting this one I proudly presented to him to make up for it. One of my fave planes, a hard to find kit and I got it for $5. It came apart nicely, went back together just as nice and everything works.

 

Edited April 6, 2017 by samdiego

[vamach1]

I do not buy many but good finds were an IMC J car and the AMT 68 Mustang Mach1 show car.  There is no way I will pay over $100 for a $2 kit.  The MPC J car was an unbuilt kit I bought many years ago.

[Tom Geiger]

 

Here's two glue bombs I got recently in a bag of three..  about $2 each.  These two have grabbed my imagination. I will do some rat rod like creation out of each, using some of the old finish as a base.  

This old bomb grabbed my attention. I liked the military flat green finish and thought I'd find something to do with it someday.

So I did this!  I can say it was a lot of fun. I paid $5 for the kit in it's box, but that's not the point.  I wanted to save this one, and it had a good starting point I wanted to utilize.  One of the few models I worked on start to finish without a break!