Right after glueing together the barrel on my Leopard I had to run out the door to a fire. It seemed to be set up fine but when I picked it up later it seemed to have shifted a bit and at that point the glue was really set up good. What is a good way to fix this with out possibly causeing noticable damage to the part.? I thought about wrapping some camo netting around it as I have seen in several pics but if possible would like to fix it. Thanks.
You could always replace the barrel with an aluminum aftermarket one. I think Barrel Depot makes one, perhaps Model Point does as well.
I thought about that but I’m still having to do builds pretty much out of the box for now. Hopefully soon I can pick up few goodies with the kits though.
Hi Lizardqing2:
It happened to me once and I can’t get the two pieces to split apart anymore. So I applied putty on the upper joint upto the level of the protruding edge and sanded them down using the recessed edge of the lower joint as guide. Not an easy job but I have no choice. There are no AM barrels available that I know of around here.
what glue do you use
i use the liquid stuff it sets straight away and you paint it on with a brush Tenex x i think its called over there
- You could use a razor saw, and very carefully cut the barrel lengthwise at the glue joint, then try regluing.
- Try scribing the glue joint with the back of a #11 knife blade, and then carefully try to pop or pry the halves apart. With any luck, the glue didn’t get into the whole thing.
- Place putty along the glue seam, and then use a flexi-file to get it into a round shape.
Hope this helps some.
Gip Winecoff
Here’s a place to look for AM barrels, http://www.bentbutnotbroken.com/Barrels.htm , the Barrel Store is in Canada so the prices will seem steep at first until you do the conversion. Well, the Model Point barrels are still expensive even when the currency is converted. But they are miniature multimedia kits in themselves. The Barrel Depot one is much more reasonably priced.
Replacing barrels is a good, simple first step towards the use of aftermarket parts. Once you try one, you’ll always look for a barrel for your kit.
Chris, you can take a #11 x-acto and lay the barrel on your work bench, start at the back with the point of the knife on the bench and carefully press the back of the blade into the seam and start splittling it. Work slow a little at a time and swap sides as you go. Be real careful toward the end as it can break if you spread it too far. I would look for an aftermarket though…much easier. So?..I’m lazy!! [:D]
Eric
I’m lazy. I’d do the camo net wrap and use a bit of styrene tube to rebuild the muzzle after cutting it off…
Ron.
All you need to do is hide the edge of the seam. If you add putty and then sand it smooth, even if it is oval and not perfectly round it will still look good. The seam would be the only thing to look off if not sanded. Camo net may or may not hide the seam if it shows through i would just use the putty/sanding job.
good luck. post some pics…
Thanks for all the replies guys. The glue I used is super glue and is rock hard now. Looks like the best thing aide from getting a new barrel is try puttying it and sanding it. Might still do the camo netting though even if I do get it fixed cause in the pics I have it looks pretty cool.
Ahhh, super glue makes the fix easy. Just dissolve the super glue with acetone (fingernail polish remover). Apply the remover with a Q-tip and start over.
Chris, that’s even better if you used CA. You can try splitting it like I said and it’ll reach a point it’ll start popping loose. If it’s bonded really good, run some warm water over it for a few minutes, dry it off, then put it in the freezer for a few hours, take it out and run warm water over it again. CA has no flexibility to temp changes and that will help break the bond. Then use my method to split it and scrape the glue off and reglue. If you’d used a solvent glue it would have to be cut to an extent because that melts the plastic. It’s actually easier with the CA. Or you can try fingernail polish remover on the seam, the acetone is a debonder for CA glue but can take a while and watch the plastic for any reaction if you get too much on there.
Eric
I should have thought of freezing it, I have used that in the past to fix a friends screw up. I think I have been sniffing to much of it lately. Ok I’m off to the freezer now and try that out. Thanks for the reminder.
Allright!! Problem fixed. Poped it in the freezer for while, the glue came right aprt and after some minor work removing the glue out it went back together nicely. Thanks for the tips, they saved me on this one. It should look great after it gets a coat of paint on it.
Good to hear that Chris!! See, we are good for something now and then! [:D]
Eric