As a returnee I was pleased to see that all my glue had survived the hibernation. I have -
A couple of tubes of traditional polystyrene cement
A 3/4 full bottle of Humbrol liquid cement. The glue's OK, but the internal brush is a bit big, and it has an annoying child-proof cap
A full bottle of EMA Plastic Weld
I treated myself to a bottle each of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and Mr Cement S, mainly for the squat bottles and the normal tops.
I see now that the technique of dry fitting components with tape & clamps then running liquid glue into the joint has become much more common. Well, I've tried it but don't like it. Either the glue runs all over the place, or, more usually, I can't get enough in. Whatever happens, the joint is weak.
On small parts I find both Mr & Tamiya dry too quickly to allow for any fiddling, and still produce a weak joint.
We must all evolve our own methods, and this is what I've settled on
Tube cement for large components and strong joints, like fuselage halves and wing-to-fuselage.
For most other small to medium parts I have thickened the Mr Cement S a bit with some clear sprue, but not as much as tube cement. This slows the drying rate and allows more time for placing & adjusting. I also find the resulting joint is stronger
I use unmodified Tamiya cement to top up or reinforce joints made by these two methods
On canopies I use Micro Kristal Klear
As my liquid cement is used up I'll simply top up the bottles with the Humbrol & EMA
Alright, these might not be official IPMS approved methods but they do, as the saying goes, work for me
A couple of tubes of traditional polystyrene cement
A 3/4 full bottle of Humbrol liquid cement. The glue's OK, but the internal brush is a bit big, and it has an annoying child-proof cap
A full bottle of EMA Plastic Weld
I treated myself to a bottle each of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and Mr Cement S, mainly for the squat bottles and the normal tops.
I see now that the technique of dry fitting components with tape & clamps then running liquid glue into the joint has become much more common. Well, I've tried it but don't like it. Either the glue runs all over the place, or, more usually, I can't get enough in. Whatever happens, the joint is weak.
On small parts I find both Mr & Tamiya dry too quickly to allow for any fiddling, and still produce a weak joint.
We must all evolve our own methods, and this is what I've settled on
Tube cement for large components and strong joints, like fuselage halves and wing-to-fuselage.
For most other small to medium parts I have thickened the Mr Cement S a bit with some clear sprue, but not as much as tube cement. This slows the drying rate and allows more time for placing & adjusting. I also find the resulting joint is stronger
I use unmodified Tamiya cement to top up or reinforce joints made by these two methods
On canopies I use Micro Kristal Klear
As my liquid cement is used up I'll simply top up the bottles with the Humbrol & EMA
Alright, these might not be official IPMS approved methods but they do, as the saying goes, work for me
