Advice? First all-resin kit construction tips...

Hey Matt - Although I deal in 1:72, I have done many resin kits, some of them pretty big, like the Planet Models Fw.191 bomber. I have always used Krazy Glue, just go slow when aligning the pieces, bind them reasonably tightly and let the join cure up before handling them too much. I tried other CA glues at the beginning, but always came back to the little tube. THere are other CAs that might set up slower if you still think that its a problem, but I haven't used those, at least not in years.

-- John The history of things that didn't happen has never been written. . - - - Henry Kissinger

Try using a five minute epoxy for the bg jobs, leaving the small parts for the super glue.

Tom

For big ares, like what you will encounter, I prefer to use a

5-minute-epoxy. Once I get the parts aligned properly (I am a *very* slow worker in that aspect...), I "tack" them with a small bit of super-glue, to hold them in place while the epoxy cures. Also, if you are gluing two fairly large flat surfaces together, drill some holes into the flat surfaces, so that your glue (whatever you use) will have somewhere to "bleed" into. For filling larger seams on resin parts (such as fuselage halves, or fuselage/wing joints), try A&B Epoxy Putty (or similar brand). It can be smoothed into the joint with a water-moistened fingertip, and once cured, has virtually the same physical characteristics as the resin, making sanding and smoothing easy.

I sometimes use epoxy on resin kits, if the parts in question can be clamped, braced, or taped together while the epoxy hardens. If it's something that'd be too awkward to hold for 5 minutes, I'll use a slow-cure gap-filling superglue, and spray it with accelerator as soon as I have it aligned.

I also pin the joints with anything from straightened paperclips to 1/4" brass rod, depending on the mass of the parts. If precise alignment of the pinning holes is a problem, I'll drill one or both holes a bit oversize and fill with epoxy, so I can align the parts perfectly. Sometimes I drill a very small hole in from the side, intersecting with the main hole, so that excess epoxy has someplace to go, relieving the hydraulic pressure.

Use tubing instead of rod and the excess epoxy will go into the tube, just make sure one end of the tube doesn't bottom out in the hole. When gluing two part resin ship hulls I use Devcon steel filled epoxy putty, the bond strength is stronger than the resin (I also drill and tap for machine screws so I don't need many clamps.. Also do not use the cheap hardware store 5 minute epoxies for structural joints,, it's too rubbery even when cured. Use NHP brand, look for the bottles in your hobby shop.

Lots of filler and practice using it!

Hi Matt,

I've used 5 minute epoxy previously on a Magna Attacker fuselages and wing / fuselage joints, I don't recommend the use of Araldite, but I've used Devcon and it's great, can even be sanded after curing fully, I got mine through my work, but I have seen it in hobby shops.

Happy modelling Ant

I rely on gap-filling CA, but I also use metal rod (straight-pin shanks are good for the smaller joins) to give the unions some real shear strength. I use microballoons to harden the join where exposed, since this provides a better sanding match to resin that pure dried CA. The toughest part is getting good alignment of flying surfaces, but this is minor compared with the hassles of trying to jig a piece while waiting for the long drying times of the epoxies.

Mark Schynert