The very best glue for plastic boat kits

[Boatboy]

Hi everybody,
I will start by apologising to all who do not receive a response from me, I have enough problems trying to post a question! so replying to everybody will not leave me enough time to build my kits!
As a boy building my 2/- ( two shillings ) Airfix kits I would use good old polystyrene cement which probably had all the nasty stuff in it ( didn’t do me any harm ) the offerings today in a tube seem to be rather lacking in the desolving of plastic area.
I am building my boat with radio control installed so I need a good glue. I have been using metpac (MK) ? liquid, even this does not seem to be as good as it used to be.
Please supply names which you guarantee will work or my boat might sink!
I await any response with great excitement.
Cheers,
Colin.
P.S. I apologise now if I am very slow responding if at all! But rest assured I read all replies.

 

[Ian M]

Assuming that the boat you are building I would say that any polystyren model glue should do the trick.
All the large firms, Humbrol, Revell sell glue in a little plastic bottle with a needle type spout.
These work very well when a strong secure joint is a must. I find it good for most general model builds. It's special trick is that it works best when clamped so that a small squeeze of melted glue is squashed out of the join. Once set up it is very easy to sand back and leaves an invisible join. (or so I'm told lol ).
I also assume that you are thinking of the hull and the superstructures. For all the 'fiddly bits' something like humbrol liquid cement or the even thinner Tamiya or the really thin Tamiya extra thin work well.

 

[zuludog]

I too started with 2/- Airfix kits in the plastic bags and a tube of polystyrene cement
These are the types of glue I use -

Tube glue aka polystyrene cement. Not as popular as it was, but I like it for large strong joints like fuselage halves and wing-fuselage joints
It's still easily available, but has a screw on cap, instead of being pierced with a drawing pin. Somewhere in my stuff I still have a couple of 50 year old drawing pins which I used now & again when the plastic cap gets cross threaded or leaks
This glue is simply the solvent with clear polystyrene dissolved in it to make it easier to handle

Liquid glue. This is the solvent supplied in a bottle, with an applicator brush in the cap. I like Tamiya and Mr..... liquid glue as they have fine brushes, but do not have those fiddly & frustrating tamper proof caps
The procedure is to hold/clamp/tape the parts together then run in liquid glue which flows along the joint by capillary action

I have made my own mixture, consisting of liquid glue with a small amount of clear plastic added. This makes it a bit thicker than pure liquid glue, but not as thick as tube glue
I apply it with the fine brush for fixing small parts

As mentioned, you can get glue applicators, which are (usually blue) plastic bottles fitted with a small steel tube
They do the job, but I've never had much success with them, I find they dry up or run out on me fairly quickly
On the other hand, some people like them - each to their own

Search YouTube for 'how to glue plastic model kits' There are several videos

 

[Jakko]

For much more on liquid glue, see this recent thread.

 

[Boatboy]

Assuming that the boat you are building I would say that any polystyren model glue should do the trick.
All the large firms, Humbrol, Revell sell glue in a little plastic bottle with a needle type spout.
These work very well when a strong secure joint is a must. I find it good for most general model builds. It's special trick is that it works best when clamped so that a small squeeze of melted glue is squashed out of the join. Once set up it is very easy to sand back and leaves an invisible join. (or so I'm told lol ).
I also assume that you are thinking of the hull and the superstructures. For all the 'fiddly bits' something like humbrol liquid cement or the even thinner Tamiya or the really thin Tamiya extra thin work well.

Thanks for the response Ian.
Regards,
Colin.

 

[Boatboy]

I too started with 2/- Airfix kits in the plastic bags and a tube of polystyrene cement
These are the types of glue I use -

Tube glue aka polystyrene cement. Not as popular as it was, but I like it for large strong joints like fuselage halves and wing-fuselage joints
It's still easily available, but has a screw on cap, instead of being pierced with a drawing pin. Somewhere in my stuff I still have a couple of 50 year old drawing pins which I used now & again when the plastic cap gets cross threaded or leaks
This glue is simply the solvent with clear polystyrene dissolved in it to make it easier to handle

Liquid glue. This is the solvent supplied in a bottle, with an applicator brush in the cap. I like Tamiya and Mr..... liquid glue as they have fine brushes, but do not have those fiddly & frustrating tamper proof caps
The procedure is to hold/clamp/tape the parts together then run in liquid glue which flows along the joint by capillary action

I have made my own mixture, consisting of liquid glue with a small amount of clear plastic added. This makes it a bit thicker than pure liquid glue, but not as thick as tube glue
I apply it with the fine brush for fixing small parts

As mentioned, you can get glue applicators, which are (usually blue) plastic bottles fitted with a small steel tube
They do the job, but I've never had much success with them, I find they dry up or run out on me fairly quickly
On the other hand, some people like them - each to their own

Search YouTube for 'how to glue plastic model kits' There are several videos

Thanks for the response whoever you are.
Regards,
Colin.

 

[zuludog]

BOATBOY - Colin - Here's a suggestion for you -

At the top of the Home Page for this Forum click on the banner for 'Scale Model Shop' It is an excellent online supplier of kits & accessories, including more types of glue than you will know what to do with, plus loads of other materials, accessories and goodies

And if you want any advice, besides asking here, get onto YouTube and play around with their Search Box, you will usually find something useful