Glueing Larger Areas

[SteveC]

Hello All,

I have just joined the forum, and the largest kit I have built to date is the Airfix 1/72 Ju88.

It wasn't without problems one of which was joining the fuselage halves together.

So, could I ask, what glue/construction techniques are best for joining such long areas together?

Many Thanks,

Steve

[MerlinJones]

First step should always be a comprehensive dry-fit. This makes sure that everything will fit as it should and will also allow you to get a 'feel' for your next step. It sounds obvious, but even knowing how you are going to hold the pieces is helpful.

I use superglue gel, which doesn't set immediately and am able to draw out a long bead of the stuff around a fuselage outline.
Polystyrene cement can also be drawn along the outline, but this takes practice, to avoid squidging too much glue about. I also use an 'accelerator', which sets the glue immediately.

Because I'm happy with superglue, I sometimes use the stuff that comes in a pot with a brush, as a brush is good for spreading the stuff about.

Some modellers will start at, say, the front and work their way back, along the fuselage, clamping and/or taping, as they go. Thin glues, which take advantage of capillary action, are popular for this. Many modellers have a stash of assorted clamps and/or clothes pegs, plus rubber band, tape, etc..

Regards,
Bruce

[Saxon]

Superglue works well as does a glue which is applied with a brush like Gunze for eg and you can use clamps to hold it together while it dries.

As mentioned above dry fitting first helps alot.

[SJPONeill]

I often use Tamiya Extra Thin glue for long fuselage seams: get the side properly aligned and then just carefully brush the glue along the seam and capillary action will do the rest (clamping, clipping taping as necessary while it cures); and quick swipe of the fine sand paper will clean up any minor blemishes on the surface...this is eminently preferable, IMHO, to apply glue to edges and pressing the two halves together as this can result in some rather untidiness as the excess exudes from the seam...

[SteveC]

Thanks for the suggestions chaps.

I haven't tried superglue yet. Some people say add talcum powder to aid in any sanding needed. Is this just mixed in before the glue is applied to the model?

Regards,

Steve

[AndrewR]

Thanks for the suggestions chaps.

I haven't tried superglue yet. Some people say add talcum powder to aid in any sanding needed. Is this just mixed in before the glue is applied to the model?

Regards,

Steve

I use a thick superglue to do the gluing. I mix the same glue with talcum powder into a paste which I use for filling - it's easier to sand than pure superglue. The paste I make would be a bit thick to use as the actual glue - you might need to use a thin superglue for that.

Cheers

Andrew

[mattbacon]

Personally, I prefer regular styrene glue. Humbrol Precision Poly or Revell Contacta come in a dispenser with a needle, which makes it, in my experience, reasonably easy to control and get in the right place. It gives you time to get the whole thing glued while it's still workable (the extra thin cements do their melting work and evaporate before you can treat the whole joining surface). You also get a real "weld" of the material, unlike superglue, which just bonds it, and (again in my experience) can sometimes split catastrophically long after you've glued it -- just as you've got that perfect paint finish, err... finished. Me, I also regard the "untidiness" where the molten mix exudes from the seam as a benefit -- leave it to dry THOROUGHLY and you can slice it cleanly off with a sharp knife blade, leaving you with a neatly filled seam with no need to sand. If you get gel superglue squidging out of the seam you have a real problem, because it's much harder than the surrounding plastic when it's set, so it's difficult to sand off without damaging the surrounding plastic and detail. Plastic "weld bead" is exactly the same as the material around it. It's an essential part of my technique for the MiniArt 1/16 scale figures, which for some reason have particularly V-shaped seams, but if you apply glue to both sides, leave it for a few seconds and then press HARD together, you get a nice molten styrene filler, which most of the time removes the need for puttying and sanding lots of longitudinal seams that run across cloth and armour detail as well as smooth skin on limbs.

As you can see... lots of different views here! Best thing to do is get some Precision Poly, some thin cement (like Mek-Pak) and some gel superglue, and a couple of cheap kits you don't care about (£1.99 at The Works type things), and see which method you get on best with. Try it, see what you like, and then practice, is the best rule for any modelling technique!

bestest,
M.

[IvanV22]

I shouldn’t be giving advice here, I’m not half as experienced as some of these other caps, but I will say try for your self! By some different glues and have fun! I for myself just on chance bought a cheep universal glue, it proved to be much better than a better known brand for rigging, but this may also have some to do with how the glue was stored I the shop. I just tried joining to 2 hull half’s of a ship together, ended up with using 3 different glues , clamps and a lots of rubber bands. Every model is different..
The important thing is to have fun, and if it goes #%#/#%& , just try again!
Best from Ivan