Steve wrote: : : ref all or nothing...I can't in my minds eye see how two halves of a : fuselage could be brought up to each other and aligned and only a portion : of the joint done, allow to set hard, then move onto the next portion. With : If you hold a 1/48 scale single engine fighter by the cowl ring, you should have a gap of several milimeters at the tail, no?
You only need a gap of 2 mm or less to get liquid glue to flow into the joint. : : its U section shape it is a rigid item and if I were to glue using e.g. the : Revell Contacta cement (no access to Testors here in the UK that I know of, : never see any at the shows) say a 4 inch long portion by applying glue along : Which Contacta are you using? From the looks of it, the blue/yellow Contacta PROFESSIONAL looks to be synomous to the Testors Model Master glue we have in the states.
If you are using the actual CONTACTA tube glue, then I'd suggest you not use it. I really, really, hate using tube glue (even if the ZAP GEL super glue comes in a tube...) : : the one edge, then offering up the other fuselage half and clamping into : place, when set , how do I get glue properly into the next portion of the : seam as now it will be trying to stay shut like a live clam shell ! Forcing : the halves open to get in there is not going to do my already glued adjacent : portion any good ? Easy access to the gluing surface is lost. : If there is a tricky fit, I'd use the thicker liquid glue (Contacta PROFESSIONAL/Testors Model Master) to give myself time to get the alignment right. Else I would start with the Tamiya Ultra Thin liquid cement. All you need with the Ultra Thin is a very small gap, which you will have. Brush the glue right on the same, and it will wich/capillary into the seam.
As Rufus noted, even if it is on the surface, so what? Just so long as you don't touch it!
The Tamiya glue is not as "hot" as Tenax or Pro-Weld/etc, so you can actually apply it, and the brush in the cap is very easonable sized. You should be able to find that locally. I see modelsforsale.com is currently out of stock. : : I like to have the face of the edge to be glued facing me and easy access to : placing glue on it. When prising apart the yet to be glued portion of the : fuselage edge you are presented with a gluing surface side on to direction : of entry of gluing tip. I can't see how one could use e.g. a tube of glue : nozzle onto such a face. With the other surface perhaps a 1mm away and the : item putting up a fight to have these faces together again, it sounds : tricky. The disposable little brushes charged up with glue sound good for : this struggle. : Yes, the micro brushes are good for that, and they are long enough to reach into openings to glue the backside of the seam.
Plus they do not block your vision like the large green cap on the Tamiya glue does! : : The only glues in the UK with a brush I am aware of are the watery ones and : they dry instantly. : Tamiya Ultra Thin is pretty watery, but it does not dry as fast as others I have mentioned. It still does not give you a lot of time to get the parts arranged, so it is critical to have a good fit to start with. : : shut to allow it to set, having glued it up, to keep it apart sounds counter : productive or scary, it may be that the glue used sets well before the : toothpicks are moved on to the next portion along and they wont go together : ! Molten surfaces bond best, partly dried out less so, or does one have to : work very quick indeed ? What sort of timespan are we talking about between : squirting out glue, picking it up on one of these, painting it on and : clamping that section shut ? : I'd say the Tamiya Ultra Thin gives you 20 - 30 seconds once you have closed up the gap.
Again, plenty of time assuming you start with a good for to start with. If you need to fiddle, then use your Revell for that. : : Not doing all in one hit,...perhaps..is it that you run along the entire : fuselage top with glue and offer up the other half. Then when set the lower : half should hinge open a little easier and do that in one go ? : I let the model tell me what it wants. But, generally, if the fit and alignment is good, going from cowl to cockpit would be the first step. Then cockpit to perhaps the fin, then the fin.
The size also matters - a large model like any 4 engines bomber in 1/48 would be done in a lot shorter steps, but that is where the turret opening make natural breaks anyway.
On the LVTP-7 I am working on, each direction change in the upper and lower hull parts was a stopping point for the glue up. : : Ref reinforce. I can see the advantage of that ..you are saying to take : sprue and lay it in the aea of the joint, if you can get at that area, and : glue it in place to bridge the gap. : Usually very necssary for vac models, too. : : I have had it suggested that one uses the gloopy glue from tube or contacta : in short sections around the edges, so allowing speed by shortening distance : to be glued, offer up the other fuselage half, then follow up in the unglued : sections with the watery MEK to wick its way into the remaining sections. : Pretty much the idea, yes. But, I don't like real hot glues like MEK. They don't give you any working time, which something like Tamiya will (but, not a lot).
Bruce