Problem: warped front canopy on Revell’s 1/48 F/A-18E Super Hornet. The windshield will not settle on the fuselage without creating a seam which I’ll need to fill. Unfortunately, I’ll need to sand on the clear part itself since the framing was molded on with the actual glass, and the clear part is sitting proud of the side of the fuselage (I need to sand to make them flush). This means I’ll need that clear part nailed down tight so it will withstand the sanding action. So, which would you try?
1.) Regular plastic welding cement? I have Tamiya Extra Thin in the drawer right now. Will this or any plastic welding cement fog clear parts?
2.) JB Weld two part epoxy? Tricky to mix right, but strong as a horse. Also, messy and tricky to get right where you want it. For a modeler of my skills, it’s do-able though. No danger of fogging though, from what I"ve read.
Yes, solvent cements WILL fog transparencies if you get any of it on the face of the transparency. Thus I steer clear of it when gluing canopies, windows, etc. And, there are many brands of epoxy, some easer to mix than others. Epoxy is certainly strong enough, and will not fog clear plastic. I generally do not use it on canopies, as they are easy to glue back on if they break off (I use glazing cement), but for windows and such that mount from the inside of fuselage. Once the fuselage is glued together, having a window pop inside is a disaster.
I mentioned in a recent post I am trying a new glue, Loctite’s Go2. I am finding it is NOT as strong as epoxy- I have had a couple of windows pop loose during masking. Fortunately the windows are on removable panels and these were not yet glued to fuselage, so no harm done. I reglued and we will see what happens.
Yeah, I can’t afford to have the windshield pop off, since I’m working to get it flush with the fuselage and it will have putty on the seam. I’m thinking epoxy will be the route I go. Maybe I’ll work up enough courage to do it today LOL
Dirk, have you thought about using plastic to build up, instead of putty
I think the article was by Joe H, but, it might have been someone else, it was in FSM, on a Corsair
The article told about building up the windscreen joint by building up layers of plastic and filing that down to shape (basically adding more framing area below the clear glass of the windscreen)
I haven’t had that bad a seam since reading it,but, it did make me think about using a wedge shaped piece of styrene, gluing that in there, and cutting it off,repeating as needed to build up the area
then, after all done,you would paint that area, and attach the windscreen using whatever cement you normally use
Here are a few “glues” you might try. These are used in the repair of jewelery, watch crystals, etc which also demand strength, non fogging, and drying clear.
GS Crystal Cement
Vigors Jewelers epoxy
Epoxy 330
GS Crystal Cement is the only one I’ve tried and I’m very pleased with it. I bought it at Hobby Lobby.
Just look under something like “jewelery glue” on Amazon.
Microscale’s window cement fills in a pretty good gap (one of its uses is making windows in small openings, such as airliners). I think it is called Krystal Klear or something similar.
Well, today I dug a test model out of the spares box, and I happened to have it’s canopy, which I’d used for a different test (polishing). That canopy had been dipped in Future, so I prepared the test model and glued its canopy down using the Tamiya Xtra Thin. I used quite a bit of cement, to ensure that if it DID fog, it would do so spectacularly. No fogging yet though and it’s been 6 hours. Since the front windshield is a separate part from the main canopy, and thus one end is open to the air, I’m confident I can use the welding cement to get this sucker glued down.
I also filed and sanded the contour of the front windshield while it was off, so that it fits much better. After several dry fits, it looks much better. Now all I have to do is cement it down and correct the seams. Things are looking up.
I have used 560 on a Wessex HAS.3 Does not fog but does not stick that well
It’s alot like craft glue ,
I have bought some G-S hypo_ cement one of the other guys have spoken about , does not fog and bonds well . I’ll give it a try! Best of luck with the 560
I’m using Aleen’s Tacky Glue,available at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores. It’s like Elmer’s glue but thicker, and dries perfectly clear. It’s water soluable so you can wipe any excess before it cures. You may want to thin it a little with water, depending on your application. So far, I have not had any let loose after installation.
Sounds like Aleens and 560 might be kinda the same thing. The person that recommends 560 really likes it and has built many models.
I just used GS on a kit yesterday and its holding really well.
A couple of things about GS. It behaves, looks and comes in a tube much like Testors Tube cement and is applied in a similar way. So if you have used the Testors you know how that glue sometimes continues to “ebb” out of the tube when you are done with it. What makes it worse with GS is you gotta get the cap on which is this itty bitty wire that fits into a slightly less itty bitty opening on the tube to stop the flow. Can be a bit frustrating when you are trying to cap it AND get the kit part in position before the glue dries. You don’t get much of the glue either. Its about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a regular sized Testors tube.
Just like to add that after you asked about using liquid cement on a closed canopy, I tried it out on my latest build. Knowing that it would not cloud the windscreen only from past experience, I used Testors Liquid Cement with the pink label and glued both pieces onto this Eduard Dora. As you can see, there has been absolutely zero clouding of the clear plastic.
So, I would say it is definitely safe to use on clear parts as long as the builder uses caution and only applies it to a seam where capillary action can pull the liquid in.
