tigertc

As you all know i like to tinker with stuff (as we all do! and make home made upgrades to my tanks.

Whilst stripping one of my Tigers and getting the fenders ready for a more authentic look. The holes in them left by the original Tamiya stock screws were huge (Scale huge ! ) So i needed something to fill the hole but also be strong enough to withstand the stress of being throw around my garden without cracking. I have Tried modelling fillers in the past (humbrol etc) but these tend to crack when stressed and do not bond as strongly as if it were the original plastic.

Anyway back to the point. As we all know, thinners melts plastic. With this knowledge in hand i took it to the next level. My hope being that if enough thinners was placed in a pot together with enough plastic sprue, the outcome would be a big molten glob of plastic that would be mouldable and with glue like tendancies.


My hopes could not have been more fullfilled.

I cut up some 5mm lengths of sprue and placed them in a clean empty Tamiya paint pot together with an equal (appx) volume of pure thinners.
I then sealed the pot, (thinners evaporates very quickly, as you all know)
and left over night.
The resultant contents the following day resembled the consistancy of freshly chewed chewing gum. I then set about filling the holes.

The result after leaving to set for a couple of hours was astounding. Not only had it set as hard as the orginal plastic, but had bonded as strong as the original plastic.

Forgive me if the above is common knowledge, but i did a quick search of the internet and know one else to my knowledge has posted this information. It seems so obvious that someone must have done this. I cannot be the first? Surely.

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bogstandard

Hi Tigertc,

Sorry to disappoint you, but it is a rather old trick from many moons ago, you have just rediscovered it.
We used to make our own perspex cement and plastic filler in exactly the same way as you have discovered.
It seems that modellers nowadays want it to come in a tube or tub, and don't seem to realise that you can play around with things to get just what you want.
Well done anyway.


John

tigertc

And theres me thinking i'd made a million!!!
I kinda thought someone must have done it before

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Bazza

Yes exactly my comments, you can also melt it down with "Nitromors" the paint stripper stuff. Once you have your big glob of chewing gum like molten plastic you can do all sorts, pour it into a mould. pour it onto a sheet of glass and spread it out then let it set and hey presto sheet plastic. There may be people out there who haven't discovered it yet, so well done for raising the subject.
Barry

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Lean, mean and armoured.

wonwinglo

Never mind Tiger you have re-discovered the method ! we used to make our very own balsa cement the same way,simply dissolve acetate scrap in acetone,leave overnight and add more acetone to the desired consistancy,this makes the best cement you can get your hands on,also plastic wood can be made easily by adding sawdust to the mixture and stirring in,make sure the lid is on tight and invert the container to make sure air does not get in,this is particulary useful these days, as commercial plastic wood is now water based and made from polyvinyl acetate and not cellulose solutions,like a lot of others I prefer the old mix,it sets like rock !
Adding gypsum to the solution makes for a finer filler that can be filed once dry.
Like you say we expect things in tubes and tins these days ready formulated,but not always the best product,go homebrew and not only save money but customise your products.
Keep experimenting and save those jam jars with screw top lids,they make idea storage for these brews,smear a smidgin of vaseline around the thread to avoid locking up.

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'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

tigertc

Nice tip with the vaseline!

mmmmmmm.....vaseline

I would imagine there are a million and 1 tricks and tips that collectively we know of but have never bothered to put onto paper or post on a forum.

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The artist aka GREY WOLF I

wonwinglo

Some of these tips are as old as the hills,but we take them for granted,if you think we have not seen it then place it here ( even if you think that you have discovered something really new ! ) never mind Tiger you mean well.

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'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

bogstandard

Just to start you off.

If you use a fair amount of Plastiweld.

Go to a builder merchants and buy Polypipe plastic pipe cleaner, used to clean guttering bits prior to bonding together.

Works out a lot less than Plastiweld. The last one I bought was just over £4 and had enough in it to fill about four Plastiweld bottles. It smells a bit different (not recommended) but does exactly the same job.

Drop a bit of the same coloured sprue from the kit you are making (in a separate jar) into a bit of the liquid (let it dissolve overnight) to make a glue or filler that matches the colour of the bits you are sticking together.

If you are into model boats or something where you need a very strong bond between almost any materials, like wood to f/glass or abs (styrene) you can't go far wrong with a german made glue called Stabilit Express. Fairly expensive, a mix of powder and a resin from a tube, but I have models made with this over 20 years old and the joints are rock solid, just make sure to do a chemi clean first. Be wary though, only about 10 minutes use time and almost full strength not much longer away.

John

Bluewavestudios

I'm all for seeing Tips old or new on here,

It's those little ideas that go a long way in this Hobby and often saves a lot of head scratching when trying to work out how to do something effectively.

Keep them coming.


Regards......Mark.

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I'm Only Here Coz I'm Not All There !!!

tigertc

This is almost like we all have little modelling secrets. The reason for the original post was because i hadnt heard of what i'd done being done before.
.
.I therefore suggest that we pay more attention to the quick tips section of the website (me in particular cos thats where the original post should have gone) and start adding to it ( yes i want you all to be drained of knowledge).
.In fact all of the above suggestions need to go into that section...I have never seen such an outpouring of ideas and solutions on one theme here in a long time..and it blooming fantastic to see, because it is cross genre. It doesnt matter what your person build preference is; they are tips that can be used for just about all types of modelling.
.
.(tamiya tankers check out my latest homebrew upgrades. The gearbox one will save you a fortune!!!! and is completely original....i am thinking of renaming myself ThriftyTC)

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