Glue

The Liquid Glue is the best for Plastic models on the 90% of works. It works best between plastic parts and plasticard (Evergreen) because it's a solvent (that changes from one producer to another) and melts togheter the parts in a very strong joint. You may pay attention because when you lay it (with a brush on the under side of the cap - or with another pointed brush) you could leave on the surface an halo so you may let it dry and then smooth it. For most seams, hold the parts together, not too tightly, and use a brush or needle applicator to apply to the joint, allowing capillary action to pull the cement along. Once cement is applied, press the parts together tightly and clamp (rubber bands work well for the fuselage of aircraft). If the seam fits well, the little molten glue/plastic combination that oozes out will fill the gap and can be sanded when the cement has dried. Little filler should be needed. Tamiya make two type of liquid glue, one more dense (for big surfaces) and an other ExtraFine that is good for little parts. If you find other kinds you could try it on the sprue of the model.

Look for the correct use of the Liquid Glue on the end of page.

The Cyanoacrylate is a very versatile glue because you could use not only to join toghether pieces but also as putty for little scratches or other.("As soon as you have applied a small amount of glue to the joint, immediately cover this with liberal amounts of baking soda. Dump it right onto the glue, using the screwdriver or kraft stick to push the soda into the glue. If you need a very strong joint, you can apply another layer of glue and follow up again with the soda. What you have now is a very stong joint with a rock hard glue bond. The CA/soda combination can be carved and sanded if necessary. This technique is mostly applicable to resin kits, since they are primarily assembled with CA glue. This mixture also works very well as a gap filler") It's the better thing to glue Photoetches or small antennas or all other small parts that require a little amount of glue. On the other and it's too stiff and some vibration could detach the piece. Pay attention because you need only a little drop of Cyanoacrylate to glue parts and it's easy to have some on your hands; on this evenience you may let it dry without touching anything because you couldn't detach your fingers without pain. Use some alcohol to clean or some special liquid cleaner. Keep also the hole clean with a dump wet of alcohol.

See at the end of page for more things to know about CyanoAcrylate.

These is a new cyanoacrylate from japanese producer Wave and it's with two kind of characteristics. The first One is the "S" type that is very quick as setting time, the other is the "G" type that has a longer set time but has also gap filler property. There are packages of three tubes (1cm x 4cm) with a small tubing that has a terminal hole of about 0.5mm of opening and that is good to apply the glue in very hard places. Cost isn't to high and I use it a lot. The best is to buy them with other items on sites as www.hlj.com . They have also reduced the fumes problem on this product and it's more easy to use on clear pieces (make a try before). The envelope has an hermetic closure. The open tube can be leaved in standing position with no problem of setting itself.

Normal Epoxy glue that you can find everywhere. it's good far many applications but it has a medium setting time so if you are in a hurry you may search for the 5 minute type. This kind of glue goes well for big joints and is flexible so if you have big things to glue that have little contact point this is the better glue. On plastics it's not the best because it doesn't melt them so it's not good to plastic models assembly.

There are many different epoxies, from the long set time to the 5 minute ones. In general, the shorter the set time, the softer the epoxy when it is set. Some of these are even softer than the Vinyl. Also, most of the putties are not very hard setting either. The advantages of epoxies are that they do not shrink. They do not attack the plastic. Their disadvantage stems from this, in that they do not really bond with the plastic like solvent based fillers. Epoxies are the least desirable for most filling applications. For resin, you need some sort of epoxy glue.

Vinil glue & Clear FIX - On the first times I used ordinary white glue, thinned, to fix clear parts and the like, but now I use CLEAR FIX by HUMBROL (also called Kristal Kleer). I've never been able to decide if this is just thin white glue, or if something else has been added. The Vinilic glue is good also for making dioramas as gluing things to the basement as cardboard, foam and other. The Clear Fix is the best for gluing the clear parts and if you have a little hole (I tryed on a 4mm hole and worked well) you can use a tootpic and putting a drop on one side and pull to make a window. It's good to put a drop into a closed hole and make lamps. A good thing for more skilled modellers.

Using LIQUID GLUE

They all work on the same principle: they dissolve the plastic surrounding the joint and then evaporate, leaving the plastic around the joint welded together. If you have never worked with the liquid glues, the procedure is following:
- Press the parts to be glued together. If possible, use masking tape
- While the parts are tightly together, apply the liquid cement into the
joint (and nowhere else) with a thin brush
- Hold the parts tightly together, until all liquid glue has evaporated
- Sand the joint and/or apply putty if required

More things to know about SuperGlue (Cyanoacrylate)

Superglue never seems to set the same. Sometimes it is slow, sometimes very fast, this is why CA sets through humidity in the air. When the humidity is higher, the CA will tend to set quicker. You could use an accelerator to speed up the setting time of CA but there are advantages and drawbacks. Accelerators such as Zip Kicker tend to result in a weaker, more brittle bond than if you let it set normally. This is isn't a real problem if you are using the CA for filler, but if it is your main adhesive, a sudden jar, or a shearing force could break the bond. On the flip side, accelerators really do speed up the process. Especially in using thick super glues for filling. A problem unrelated to the bond is the reaction of plastic to accelerator. Some accelerators contain 1,1,1- trichloroethane. This is a solvent of styrene. It can mar the surface. This can be quite detrimental if the model has already been painted and decaled. So don't use it on already near to finish models. Pay attention because the super glue that we use glues your fingers together better than the parts. This is quite natural, considering why cyanoacrylate was developed. It was developed for doctors as a way to seal wounds without sutures during Viet Nam. In the field, with the many wounds, if a way existed to quickly seal a wound with out stitches, more people could be saved. So, biological things such as fingers are joined very well by CA. Super glues also make very good gap fillers. Thin superglues work well for small gaps and scratches. For gaps along seams, put a drop of superglue on a sheet of wax paper, and use an old knife blade as applicator. Put the tip of the blade in the superglue, and run the point along the seam like you were cutting, but don't apply too much pressure. For larger gaps, you can also use superglue combined with baking soda. Put some baking soda in the gap, and apply the superglue to the baking soda. The baking soda will add some bulk giving more filling capacity, and the baking soda acts as an accelerator for the superglue. Also thick gel type superglues work very well for larger gaps. I usually use an old blade as the applicator. As fillers, superglues have advantages over hobby fillers in that they don't have bubbles when they set. They also shrink very little if any. They also set very rapidly, so can be sanded much sooner. Their primary disadvantage is that they are harder than plastic, so if you are using building a model that uses a particularly soft styrene, the plastic and superglue may not sand evenly if you don't take care to make sure that they do. Probably the best way to guarantee this is to use a sanding block.

Safety Caution
Is it false that CA glue is made from Cyanide and you cannot be poisoned with it.
Cyanoacrylate glues contain the group H2C=CH-CN: Where the = represents a double bond between two carbons and there is a triple bond between the carbon and nitrogen of the CN. CN is the 'cyano' group, and a three-carbon chain with a double bond next to another
type of multiple bond is an 'acrylic' group -- the combination gives a relatively high reactivity to the compounds and allows them to polymerize like a plastic. Many non-toxic compounds contain both types of groups, and many medicines have cyano groups. Along with this group, there are other chemicals and can be other chains attached to that cyanoacrylate group in place of one or more of the hydrogens. There is NO, NONE cyanide released on curing these glues and hardening. There are some obnoxious fumes released -- some of them just parts that boil out from the heat of the curing reaction. BUT, whenever an organic chemical that contains nitrogen is burned, some cyanogen/hydrogen cyanide is released. This happens with tobacco, meat, veggies, fireplace wood, etc. This release is worst when there is not enough oxygen present in the burning zone to ensure complete combustion -- so if there is a lot of smoke formation, there is more likelyhood of cyanide formation. As with any chemical process, it is best to have good ventilation when dealing with these compounds, but most CA glues have been formulated as non-toxic (some of the original uses were as skin and tissue glues to replace sutures in surgery). If you are burning CA glues, do it in the same hood you use for spray painting. This goes for operations where you are using CA glue to hold parts for soldering, especially, since the fluxes and the modest burning temperatures add their own brew to the mix. Combustion Chemistry is a field in itself, and there are many things not understood about general rules of chemical formation in various conditions of burning organic compounds. I would suggest that everyone play it safer than they might normally when they are burning any of the materials used in this hobby.

Basic safety notes about using CA
Super glues are not unsafe to use if common sense is applied. If you use CA to glue a seem together, don't use too much. If you do, you are likely to find yourself unable to remove your fingers. Don't wipe excess CA with your fingers. If you do happen to glue a part of your body, use acetone to remove it. On the other hand if you ever get CA in your eye, DO NOT ATTEMPT HOME REMEDIES! Get expert medical attention immediately. This is a true medical emergency [The glue probably won't do permanent damage to your eye, but you may very well do so trying to pry your eye lid open!
I've also heard of CA reacting with certain materials - the stuff in "microballoons" for one example - to give off gasses that are powerful eye irritants (and probably no good for your lungs either). As always, use lots of ventilation. This one isn't a safety factor, but something to keep in mind. Keep your CA tube, dispenser, or whatever clean. When you finish using, clean the nozzle before replacing the cap. If you don't CA will build up, and make it difficult to remove the cap later, and will cause the seal to be less effective, and the CA to set up in the tube prematurely.