I want to glue a wood hull bottom to the plastic hull of a 1/720 Forrestal Class carrier. The kit is used, the bottom is missing, and I want a full hull model for presentation to a friend. The hull will sealed, and held in place with ten screws. My quandary is what would work the best for gluing the two parts together. Does anyone have any experience with this situation?
Jim
The only two things i can think of are PVA glue and superglue. Aircraft modellers use PVA for canopies so i know it works on platic.
Use Gel CA, not regular CA (superglue). Epoxy will also work well, but that is a lot of work when CA gel is so easy to use. Only downside to gel CA compared to epoxy is cost. Epoxy is cheaper per square inch of bond.
If you are screwing the bottom on, I assume the glue bond is needed just to hold things together while you drive screws, so you don’t need much CA, just a few spots.
I considered using CA, but hadn’t thought of using Gel CA. PVA wouldn’t work because the upper hull is plastic, and PVA, to my knowledge, only works on porous materials. My plan is too add glue around the perimeter of the mating surfaces of the hulls then add the screws. The glue should fill any gaps between the two hulls, minimizing the use of filler on the outside of the hulls. Resin or Gel CA? I’ll decide when I get ready to join the hulls.
Jim