I am currently working on a Merkava III. When placing the top of the tank on to the bottom section there is thin gap between the two pieces. What can I use to fill the gap between the two pieces? Thanks for any help.
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[#welcome] welcome to the club!
the seams can be filled with regular “spot” type automotive putty(the soft red kind in a tube) or you can use a super glue gel,sand it until you don’t see any mre shiny spots in it,then prime the piece to check for any more low spots,repeat if neccessary
try using strips of styrene. then put the putty on to fill the seam lines where the strip meets the hull parts. or you could actually give it enough cement that the strip and stock part melt together and sand the spots smooth.
Just use plain old Elmer’s white glue, add it to the gap till its ful wip off the excess with a damp towel and wala its filled and sands wonderful…[^]…Paints adhear to it its great!
PeglegRC,
By way of a (feel) stupid question: Are you telling me that after learning about and actually trying three different kinds of putty, styrene shims, stretched sprue, epoxy, Mr. Surfacers 500 and 1000, Mr. Liquid Putty, four kinds of superglue, and a dizzying array of special applicators to be able to apply the stuff without having to ruin everything afterword with follow-up carving, filing, sanding, scrubbing, rubbing, and/or wiping---- all of this purchased at great expense, mind you----- are you telling me that after ALL of that, I could just use Elmers glue and wipe? If true, it sounds like you’d never lose any detail and wouldn’t even need to sand much… Nirvana!. What’s the catch?
TomB
There’s an excellent article in this month’s FSM mag that covers a variety of gap filling techniques!
YEP!.[:O]… And No Catch!..Try it you’ll like it!.. Oh! You can Mix Elmers with your Acrylic Paint Color…Add a drop to the Elmers, mix with a tooth pick & Apply with a small brush or toothpick around canapee’s, they almost always have a gap…If the combo Paint/Elmers is to thin… Add a little Talcum power, it will thicken the glue and make the Paint Flat, When it drys you don’t have to paint! it… Have fun[^]
You can also thin it with water. Takes longer to cure but it is good for very thin seams since you can actually paint it on with a fine brush. I use that technique a lot around the edges of windshields since they seldom fit exactly and it won’t fog the clear windshields or canopy’s. A little paint over the glue and they match right up.
While were still talking, and if you ever run out of Flat Paint, add a little Talcum Power to the Paint and its Flat! any Color, Enamal or Acrylics…You don’t have to buy Flat Paint anymore!..[;)]
“RC”
What a great tip! I will give it a try. If it works well I will be having a yard sale featuring numerous putties and fillers! [:D] [:D]
So, this Elmers then…I don’t we think we have it under that name in the UK, but it sounds to me like you might be talking about PVA? White wood glue?
Is that right?
Ta
P
Same question here. I do expect it to be the white wood glue as well, but like to be sure of that before I try it. Cheers, Hooker_JL
The only issue I’ve had using Elmer’s white wood glue is its shrinkage. I had to apply several separate coats to fill a gap I used it for between some tank tracks and groundwork.
Yes it’s Elmers White Glue-All Multi-Purpose Glue www.elmers.com and I also use “Crafter’s Pick” “The Ultimate non-toxic water-based SuperGlue”. Its also a ‘White Glue’ like Elmer’s…“Adheres to Metal, Plastics, Glass & More… Dries clear” www.crafterspick.com or e-mail: sales@crafterspick.com I use both, depends on where I’m at when building my Models…Elmer’s: If in here on my work bench (my Avatar) or if I’m watching the TV in the front room and working at the kitchen table, I use the Crafters Pick…Both are wonderful!..I build Armor and have not found any shrinkage to be a problem… My Armor Models have had some big Gap’s like the axles and springs to the frame fitting together leaving a big gap at the sides of the glue points, etc…But! I’m not gluing a wing together so You might have to touch it up a bit… If the Gaps that Big, add some Baby/Talcom Powder to the Elmers/White Glue make it paste like, fill Gap, wipe with a damp cloth and its done!..Or thin it with water and use a small paint brush and add the glue to the canopy/windshild and it dries clear with No Fogging, making a snugg/tight fit…
“RC”