mock up

[joeymazz]

Hey guys just wanted some insight on how to do a temporary mock up on a chassis. Anyway to just use a drop of testors glue to get the wheels and axles on and be able to take them back apart.

Thanks

[W-409]

White Glue works fine for me. It holds the parts well together, but everything can be taken apart. It works for plastic and metal parts, too.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I do many of my mockups excatly as you describe....just a drop of liquid glue. The longer it sets, the harder it gets to separate the parts, so bear that in mind.

Still, if you use just a very small drop (and this is where a toothpick or a Touch-N-Flow come in handy) you can wedge the parts back apart with the tip of an X-acto. You will of course have to do some sanding / finishing of the separated joint afterwards.

I personally don't use white glue for mockups because it has zero initial strength, and it dries s l o w.

[Bernard Kron]

Bill pretty much covers it. I've tried white glue and carpenter's cement. It can work but there's zero initial setup and tackiness. Lately, with styrene joints I've been using MEK (methyl ethyl ketone - the active ingredient in most non-CA liquid styrene cements), just a light application for a relatively weak joint. Importantly, it provides a rigid connection and doesn't fracture easily the way white glues can. The nice thing is that if you like the result and have no need to break the joint you can further strengthen it by applying more liquid cement via capillary action if you have a crack to an external surface.

I also use rubber cement for flat surfaces. The joint can be surpisingly strong and can be broken easily and readily cleaned. The down side is that for small surfaces, like tubing joints when mocking up a frame, the joint is quite flexible which is a big no-no in frame building.

My favorite temporary adhesive had been Ambroid Tac-n-Place. Instant setup, very tacky, very strong, and can be broken and re-joined repeatedly. It works on dissimilar materials (styrene to resin or resin to metal, for example). It has some negatives, though. Clean up can be a PITA and the bottle can dry up pretty fast if you aren't religious about keeping it tightly closed when not using it. It's a sort of super rubber cement, but so tacky that it can provide a fairly rigid joint when thinly applied. This post has reminded me that I've been without for a while, so I just ordered some... Thanx!

Edited September 18, 2012 by Bernard Kron

[Ace-Garageguy]

Bernard, thanks for the heads-up on the Tack-N-Place. Definitely going to try it.

[Bernard Kron]

Bill, just be warned about the cleanup thing. Definitely a case where the manufacturer's instruction of applpying a thin coat needs to be respected, It's effectively a contact cement that never dries completely. The joined parts can readily separated and re-joined many, many times but as the stuff dries it becomes harder to remove. When it's fresh it comes off with water but as it sets you need to go to a solvent like alcohol or mineral spirits.

[Draggon]

I like Aleens Tacky Glue, but Im gonna have to try B.'s tac-n-place!

[Bernard Kron]

I've used Aleens Tacky Glue, too. Tac-n-Place is stronger but harder to clean up.

[W-409]

I personally don't use white glue for mockups because it has zero initial strength, and it dries s l o w.

Not all of them dry that slow. A little amount of Eri Keeper (the white glue what we have here in Finland) dries as fast as Liquid Glues that I've used. Anyway, needs to try that liquid glue to see, if it works better than the White Glue does.

[TooOld]

Micro Mark makes a similar glue called Detail Tack . It dries fast and stays tacky for months ! I use it for mock - ups and also a dab on the tip of a toothpick works great for handling small parts like photo - etched pieces . I have a bottle that is over a year old and have never had any problems with it drying up !

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm still constantly amazed and gratified at the quality of responses on this MCM forum. Many products and techniques I either hadn't heard of or hadn't tried have been added to my knowledge base in just a short time, and I wanted to take a moment to say a general but genuine 'thank you' to all the guys who take the time to post their actual results and give everyone the benefit of their experience. This demonstrates the real power of the internet to disseminate accurate information much faster and more directly than any other medium.

[Chuck Most]

I personally don't use white glue for mockups because it has zero initial strength, and it dries s l o w.

I use white glue for mockups, but here's what I do for getting it to stick a bit more immediately and dry faster.

I'll either spread some out on a piece of plastic and let it dry for a few minutes, so that it gets tackier but isn't fully dried, then apply it to the areas needed. Or, I'll unscrew the cap and scrape a little bit of the glue that has built up on the bottom of the cap- it is usually thicker and tackier than it would be using fresh glue squeezed from the bottle.

Though from what I've read on this thread, it looks like there are a few more solutions I'd like to at least try once!

[Draggon]

Yep, Chuck's right, Ive done that myself too!

[Burnout]

I use 5-minute epoxy. It sets up quickly and is plenty strong enough for mock up purposes but when you're done you just pry the parts apart with an exacto blade. The epoxy does not bond with the plastic and with a little help, will completelly disengage from the plastic leaving it in it's original condition. I also use it for windshields because if I mess up, I can easily and completely remove the epoxy (once it has cured).

[Ace-Garageguy]

I use 5-minute epoxy. It sets up quickly and is plenty strong enough for mock up purposes but when you're done you just pry the parts apart with an exacto blade. The epoxy does not bond with the plastic and with a little help, will completelly disengage from the plastic leaving it in it's original condition. I also use it for windshields because if I mess up, I can easily and completely remove the epoxy (once it has cured).

Which is exactly why I DON'T use 5-minute epoxy for anything I want to STAY glued. It is great for mockups and fixtures of all kinds though.

Another tool i use for mockups is the little tiny small hot-glue gun that crafters use, the one that uses short (3"?) sticks. The bigger ones get hot enough to melt the hot-glue into the model plastic and make disassembly difficult, but the little ones, at least the purple one I've got, works swell.

[ll Brandon ll]

Yea, ive been using hot glue lately myself. Its become my prefer method, especially for wheels and chassis stuff.