I’m having a hard time gluing small bits and bobs such as landing gear bits and small fuselage pieces. At the moment I’m working on a little 1:72 F-16 and just couldn’t get the sensors near the nose area in place properly at all. My selection of glues is rather limited, so I tried using regular superglue, but more often than not, I’m not dexterous enough to position the pieces in place before the glue dries and I’m stuck with an irregularly positioned piece on the model. It’s been to a point where I more often than not end up leaving some of the really small bits off the model just to keep myself sane.
Any tips on handling this, or perhaps am I using the wrong kind of glue? was thinking of using regular white glue, but not entirely sure if it will work.
use a liquid cement for plastic models such as tamiya extra thin or tenax, or are you building a resin kit? If not, don’t use superglue. White glue would work ok for small parts but its not very strong.
Nope not building resin at all, just a regular injection molded plastic kit.
I will give white glue a try and see how that works out. My only worry is as you said the bond is particularly flimsy so I may just leave those bits as the absolute last pieces I have to put together.
white glue will work. it won’t be as strong and will take a little longer to dry but it will work. it you’re looking for something stronger try either gel superglue which is my “go-to” (i buy locktite at wal mart) which has a strong bond and a little longer working time, or Gator Grip glue, an acrylic based hobby glue.
tenax, tamiya cement, testors, all will work but you have to be careful since it will litterally “melt” small parts.
I like to use gel-type superglue to attach small detail parts. It’s sticky enough to hold the part in place and has enough working time to let you adjust or align the parts before it sets up.
I’ll use white glue for things like canopies, but it’s not strong enough for load-bearing parts like landing gear.
I’m inclined to agree with Nathan-T – unless you’re doing resin parts where CA is required, liquid cement works great for small parts and even larger structural pieces where setting time can be allowed. I find it easier to apply and more forgiving than super glues (though the gel type super glues are really handy).
One other possibility for working with tiny parts like sensor bumps, if you’ve never considered it: there’s a product called “Pic-n-Stick” that makes picking up and positioning tiny bits much easier, without having to worry about the “tweezer effect” of either dropping them at precisely the wrong time or shooting them across the work-table. They’re a littlce pricey, but invaluable (and reusable, somewhat). Probably available a lot of places, but I’ve always gotten them from Micro-Mark:
I understand your frustration. I was the same way until I found the right tools, and got better organized. I agree with the usefulness of the Pic-n-Stick product. These plastic sticks with wax on one end are great for placing small parts, and I use them just as much for painting small parts. They are a bit pricey (I order from Micromark) but I reuse them several times and since they serve two functions, I think they’re worth it. I also use a small pair of cross-locking, self-closing tweezers to hold small parts for placement (or for painting). That way, once the part is gripped in the tweezers (at whatever angle works best) I don’t have to control the pressure with my fingers while I place the part. Once the part is set, just squeeze once to release. Winning the CA glue-drying race has to do with organizing the mechanics of the process. For placement of small parts, I first place some glue in a milk carton cap. Once the small part is stuck to a pic-n-stick or secured in the tweezers at the correct angle, I hold the part in one hand, and a micro-brush with a drop of glue in the other. I place the glue— as little as possible— and then the part as quickly as I can. The key is to place the part as perfectly as you can the first time. Any delay, replacement, or adjustment is likely to end up looking like a mistake, and mistakes take a lot of time to correct. So, if I need to go through a dry run to figure out the best gripping and attack angles before attempting the placement, it’s time well spent. Hope this helps,
If you can, buy some Gator Grip acrylic glue. Seriously. It’s white glue on steroids. Firms faster, holds harder, and it has remarkable sheer resistance (so if you accidentally smash the part with your thumb, it’ll go sideways, and you can just stand it back up). I use it for pretty much every small part save stuff that needs to be latched down hard (like PE seatbelts).
For holding small parts, put a small ball of white or blue tack (that poster putty stuff) on the end of a toothpick. It’s excellent for picking up small parts, but not so tacky that it’ll fight the glue.
Except, if white glue is not strong enough for windows (such as side windows inserted from inside, that can pop back into fuselage, I use epoxy.
If you are adding small details after painting, be sure and scrape paint down to bare plastic before gluing. To keep from marring finish around part, I often use a small drill in a pinvise to make a little hole into the plastic for the glue to grab, rather than scraping paint away.
I agree that Gator’s Grip is an awesome product. I don’t know if anyone’s tried this, but I find it is more effective if you thin it with water and apply a thin layer to the parts (either painted or bare plastic). I attached an entire ordnance load to a 1:48th scale F/A-18 Hornet with this product without any failures to date (includes transport to and from club meetings and model shows.)
Where are you guys finding this Gator glue? I checked Hobby Lobby and Michaels online, but neither search came back with anything. Nothing on Amazon either.
Thanks DoogsATX. I just ordered some to give it a try.
I had the exact problem than Don S. mentioned in his post, had windows on a Catalina PBY that glued on from inside, and when I went to mask, I punched one out!
For gluing tiny parts I use tweezers, gel superglue and a very steady hand! I have a bunch of different sized tweezers that come in very handy for stuff like this.