Slowpoke Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Solvent glues and CA are pretty caustic. For some parts I use Elmers white glue, which will not ruin paint and cleans with water. Also, holding parts with your fingers will get old real fast; you are not a clamp. Maybe set your model on a surface propped up however it has to be, then try to come up with some sort of blocking that will hold the part roughly in place without glue. Let gravity be your friend. Then when you finally apply the adhesive (you need less than you think) position the part then block it up for drying. I use anything for supporting the car and its parts, stacks of old business cards, lego, popsicle sticks held by those alligator-clip "third hand" things; whatever works. Then go have a snack after you're sure the part is in position and not apt to slip or fall. Best of luck )) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanedge Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I couldn't agree more. Right now I'm building a Revell 32 Ford, every body part has been painted twice, the guards I have stripped and painted 4 times. Everything has been test fitted and is perfect, but as soon as I go to glue it, it doesn't want to fit. I'm now using Epoxy glue for parts of it and that seems to work really well. I can't wait to finish so I can start my next one, a Tamiya kit, so I know it will fit together nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale392 Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) Well Allecb, as I do not know your age nor experience level I cannot know your mind. BUT, I will say that your frustration level sounds like a younger builder (I mean that with no disrespect, and I will show you what I mean). As a younger builder, I too would get bent when things didn't go my way. Why is this piece of plastic kicking my butt? Why can't I master it? It is an inanimate object, how can it cause me so much trouble? My temper would get the best of me. As I got older, met experienced builders and learned from them, things got better (but NEVER easy). I also learned to control my temper better. I would test-fit, file, test-fit, file, test-fit again. Then paint and glue (and find that what fit before now didn't due to paint thickness/chemical reactions between paint/plastic). I learned to walk away from something that was bothering me until I could come back to it with a level head. I would sometimes put it back in the box until my skillset improved enough to get past the hurtle that kit threw at me. I still build, years later. But the early failures and learning to cope with them have made me a better builder (who now fails grandly instead of small). I still have troubles with kits, but I eventually overcome them. You will too. Edited January 20, 2011 by whale392 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 be sure to post the video of the model hitting the wall. seriously though, model building is about overcoming a series of problems. thinking ahead, difficult as it might be sometimes (and i am speaking from experience) will help a lot. so will patience. so will figuring out strategies for, for example, gluing difficult parts together. stick to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Now you know why Cranky and I like to build dirty rods.... A lot can be covered up with a little dab of rust and some spray flat clear. AMEN! I am among the converted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 DON'T LET IT GET TO YOU! Here's what I've found out, in my over-two decades of modeling (Jeez, I feel like such an old geezer when I say it like that...) When that model is done, sitting there pretty on your shelf, you'll feel more pride and a greater sense of accomplishment because it fought you every foot of the way. You proved you would NOT be outsmarted by a few lumps of styrene plastic!!!! And, you'll learn from the foul-ups and boo-boos on this one, so you'll know what to do (or what not to do)next time you run into a similar problem. Besides, kits that just fall together kind of get boring after a while, anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAL Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 why is it every single model i build, there is atleast ONE critical screw up during my model making? i swear. the challenger had something wrong with the frame. the camaro's hood came out like ######, and the headlights didnt fit in right. those are just problems on the two recent ones. the current one, revell 1970 mustang boss 429..paint=amazing. everything=amazing. im putting on the front bumper area, AND IT DOESNT MATCH UP RIGHT. so here i am, gluing this together, and just holding it for 10 minutes. i let go, one side becomes to unstick. more glue. 10 more minutes. again. 10 more minutes. again. GAH. now my fingers are picking up the paint cause the glue is coming around, and also my hands are getting sweaty so its just pealing off the paint. GAHH why cant i just have a model with NO problems? That wouldn't be normal or very model like now would it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Johnny Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Used CA on a small roll cage part last night. Used the human clamp (finger and thump) to hod it together until I thought it was glued solid! When I pulled away the only thing it was securely glued to, was my thumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cranky Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Jairus is right! But I can't stress enough what others have said already--mock up your builds while you are still in the raw plastic . . . do it over and over until everything fits right. Then do it again when everything is primered. Then do it again when everything is painted, and then move in for the final assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerc Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Used CA on a small roll cage part last night. Used the human clamp (finger and thump) to hod it together until I thought it was glued solid! When I pulled away the only thing it was securely glued to, was my thumb! Glue is intelligent--it actively tries to stick to whatever you don't want it to stick to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul_Perez Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'll always remember the response from my good friend, (Curt Raitz), when I asked the same question several years ago. Curt said, with a smile and a chuckle, "model building is nothing more and a series of fixing your mistakes as you build." How right he was.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluzboy66 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) why is it every single model i build, there is atleast ONE critical screw up during my model making? i swear. the challenger had something wrong with the frame. the camaro's hood came out like ######, and the headlights didnt fit in right. those are just problems on the two recent ones. the current one, revell 1970 mustang boss 429..paint=amazing. everything=amazing. im putting on the front bumper area, AND IT DOESNT MATCH UP RIGHT. so here i am, gluing this together, and just holding it for 10 minutes. i let go, one side becomes to unstick. more glue. 10 more minutes. again. 10 more minutes. again. GAH. now my fingers are picking up the paint cause the glue is coming around, and also my hands are getting sweaty so its just pealing off the paint. GAHH why cant i just have a model with NO problems? Man, I have BEEN there so many times.... I just finished a Revell '66 Impala recently which REALLY gave me fits along the way.....it's the one in my avatar pic. It turned out really nice, but let me tell you, if I weren't so stubborn, I would have chucked that one in the gabrage can half-way through the build! Stick with it, you WILL get through it, AND you'll learn along the way. Hey, if they all went together like a piece of cake, we'd get bored and move on to something more challenging. Mike Edited January 23, 2011 by Bluzboy66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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