What is a good glue for plastic kits?

[NittenDormer]

This sounds like the kind of question the average modeller should already know the answer to, but as yet I have only dabbled with  card kits. Iam about to foray into the world of the Wills Vari-Girder bridge. I have PVA, wood glue, superglue and puncture repair 'rubber cement'. (I am guessing I can rule out pritt stick.) Do any of these work on plastic kits? And by 'work', I mean 'stick together'.

[bike2steam]

Depends what kind of plastic it is I use either;- M.E.K., Plastic Weld, or Bison.

[crompton 33]

You will need to use  Humbrol Poly Glue  on Wills plastic kits . Or plastic weld

Edited June 9, 2018 by crompton 33

[HillsideDepot]

I use Revell liquid glue for most of my plastic kits (it does depend on what they are made of). It works fine on Wills Scenic kits.

 

The only thing I find with it is that the feed tube, being so narrow, easily clogs. I just keep a piece of firm wire handy to unblock it.

[Steamport Southport]

I would go with the above. Humbrol Liquid Poly, Revell, Plastic Weld, etc. are designed for building plastic model kits. Anything else either won't stick properly or could even ruin the model.

 

Try to avoid the "squeezy tube" polystyrene cement that people used to use for Airfix kits if possible. It has it's uses, but is too stringy and messy for general use.

 

 

Some prefer the nozzle type like the Revell version above and others prefer it out of a jar and applied with a brush. It's whatever works best for you.

 

 

 

Jason

[pharrc20]

I use Revell liquid glue for most of my plastic kits (it does depend on what they are made of). It works fine on Wills Scenic kits.

 

The only thing I find with it is that the feed tube, being so narrow, easily clogs. I just keep a piece of firm wire handy to unblock it.

12685-diverse-revell-contacta-professional-lim-25g.jpg

Another vote for Revell Contacta Professional. I am using it right now to make up some Walthers quarry kits and used it on my previous buildings for my Speedlow and imho is the best. Just keep the metal nozzle clear of glue and you will be fine and work in a well ventilated room or outdoors in the shade as it quite pungent!

Cheers Paul

[Ravenser]

This sounds like the kind of question the average modeller should already know the answer to, but as yet I have only dabbled with  card kits. Iam about to foray into the world of the Wills Vari-Girder bridge. I have PVA, wood glue, superglue and puncture repair 'rubber cement'. (I am guessing I can rule out pritt stick.) Do any of these work on plastic kits? And by 'work', I mean 'stick together'.

 

Short answer - no

 

You need a polystyrene glue - "polystyrene cement" is a bit thick slow and awkward/messy though Revell Contacta is the high-tech version and useful for larger assemblies.

 

The modern modelling replacement is a solvent, applied by brush . These range from the mildest (Humbrol Liquid Poly , and limonene) through Plastic Weld (needed for ABS) to the most aggressive and volatile, which is butanone.

 

Keep a window open when using

[Dave John]

I have also found that the revell contacta is good for laminating styrene sheet. I keep a 2 inch bit of 11 thou wire down the tube .  A pattern of tiny dots of it across the surface, dries slowly compared to the liquid solvents and if the assembly is held flat with weights it doesn't warp. 

 

Oddly too it does smell sweet and lemony, I do wonder if it is limonene in a gel ? 

[jcm@gwr]

Tamiya do Extra Thin cement, it seems similar to Humbrol

Liquid Poly, but with a much finer brush, I use both.

[Dunsignalling]

I generally use Butanone when working with polystyrene or ABS sheet and the fairly thick Wills Scenic sheets, Limonene for very thin polystyrene sheet (10 or 5 thou. and for laminating thicker sheet - patience required as it takes a while to set when used for that.

 

For wagon kits etc. I have settled on Deluxe Materials Plastic Magic. This seems to be a half-way house between a liquid adhesive and a pure solvent. It gives a little extra time to ensure a properly aligned joint but forms an extremely strong bond once it goes off.

 

All applied by brush or the Deluxe Materials "Pin Flow Applicator" where very small quantities need to be delivered with precision.

 

Definitely nothing that needs to be squeezed.

 

John

Edited June 10, 2018 by Dunsignalling

[Jeff Smith]

MEK is undoubtedly the best for all styrene based models. It is very thin and evaporates almost instantly. You do not apply to the surfaces before putting together but rather dry-fit the parts and run a MEK-filled brush along the joint to allow the solvent be carried into the joint by capillary action. The rapid evaporation means that the surface outside the joint is not generally marred by the solvent.

[clecklewyke]

Butanone is the modern name for Methyl Ethyl Ketone, which was the solvent used by George Slater, and which he sold as MEKpak for use with his Slater's Plasticard.

 

Plasticard and most plastic kits (Fallers, Wills etc) are made of polystyrene, so Butanone works well with them. I endorse the advice of applying with a small paint brush, using capillary action to make it flow between the mated surfaces.

 

Butanone can be bought in small doses under various trade marks but it is much cheaper to buy a 500ml bottle from Amazon  which will probably out-live me, especially if I smoke and use it in an un-ventilated space like George did when he was demonstrating it! I decant small amounts of it into a small bottle which I hold in a simple wood and card structure to prevent it spilling.

 

Ian

[NittenDormer]

To demonstrate the speed of my modelling. 2 years ago I asked this question. Today I finally open the vari-girder packet. Don't think my spans are going to win prizes for length.