Glueing evergreen to clear windshield.

[NOBLNG]

If I wanted to glue 1/2 round evergreen all around the perimeter of a windshield to simulate a gasket….what would be the best glue to use? CA or Tamiya thin would both likely fog the clear. Maybe it could be polished out afterwards? Any other ideas? The fit of this kits glass is horrible!🤬

[Oldriginal86]

When I built this kit a few years ago, I opted to add material to the area where the glass sets. Small bit of bodywork but better then ruining the clear glass. To answer your original question, canopy glue or clear epoxy would be my choice. 

[NOBLNG]

Thanks Randy. Just weighing my options at this point. The gasket molded onto the glass is not very uniform, hence my inquiry.

[Ace-Garageguy]

As that particular windshield is a single-curvature design (not compound), it's far easier to form one that actually fits from clear PET or acetate or styrene than trying to do a gasket to hide the poor kit piece fit.

[StevenGuthmiller]

18 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

As that particular windshield is a single-curvature design (not compound), it's far easier to form one that actually fits from clear PET or acetate or styrene than trying to do a gasket to hide the poor kit piece fit.

I would use this approach.

The acetate or clear styrene would look better, (thinner) anyway.

 

If it were mine, I would add a molding around the perimeter of the window opening, using half round, plastic rod, stretched sprue, whatever you prefer, using a plastic cement, (I like Plastruct "Plastic Weld"), and then make a fresh windshield.

Even if you opt to not make a new glass, I would cement the new molding prior to doing anything else to the body.

 

 

 

Steve

[Deathgoblin]

I just finished one of these recently.  I ended up gluing a strip of styrene at the bottom of the clear part using liquid adhesive, then just cleaning up the seam.  It's not perfect, but it's hard to spot unless you know it's there.

[Can-Con]

Something a lot of people forget or just don't know is these trucks had quite a large lip around the top of the windshield. 

I don't think the glass itself is too small, I think you just need to add the lip to the inside of the top 1/2 of the opening so the glass will sit inside the opening properly.

[NOBLNG]

Thanks everyone. I am aware of the lip at the top of the windshield. The glass is definitely too small for the opening I believe. I will try glueing in a lip for a windshield (either the kits’ or a homemade one) to sit against. This kit has the same problem to a lesser degree with the rear window too.😕

[Khils]

15 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

This kit has the same problem to a lesser degree with the rear window too.😕

I'm sure you'll remedy the problem using any/all of the aforementioned tips...the positive is! your addressing it B4 it became a real problem!  Makes me wonder "how" many kits never made completion for this very reason. Best wishes for your project!

[Can-Con]

I wonder what happened to the mold though. did it happen when they corrected the side windows?

I built 2 of these kits with the original cab and I don't remember the glass fitting anywhere near as bad as shown in Greg's pics.

This one was built almost 20 years ago and as you can see, it does have some gaps but not as bad as what you see in the current kits.

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, Can-Con said:

I wonder what happened to the mold though. did it happen when they corrected the side windows?

I built 2 of these kits with the original cab and I don't remember the glass fitting anywhere near as bad as shown in Greg's pics.

This one was built almost 20 years ago and as you can see, it does have some gaps but not as bad as what you see in the current kits.

I didn’t realize until you posted this that the cabs of the ‘57 Step Side and the ‘55 Cameo are identical. I happen to have a couple of the Cameo kits.😀 The windows are slightly bigger in the Cameo kit. There is still a little gap like you said, but I can make it work. Thanks!🙂

[modelcarcrazy]

Another solution would be to use a small wire with black insulation. Experiment with what size would work best. Make sure the wire is long enough to wrap around the windshield and rear window. Strip the insulation from the wire and carefully split the insulation and push it down onto the edge of the glass and trim to fit. It will resemble the gasket used on the actual truck and it will no longer be too small for the opening and much easier to install cleanly.