I am about to start a 1/350 Fletcher. I have a Gold Medal photoetch set for it. I was wondering about what kind of glue I should use. I have never used photoetch before. It looks like the ship railings could be a real challange. Should I attach the photoetched railings before or after painting? If you attach any parts after painting how can you accomplish it without screwing up the paint? Any help is appreciated.
I have used that set and its a peach. I airbrushed the fret sea gray before attaching the PE to the painted model. Any other colours (black 20mms for example) can be touched with thinned paint on a fine brush. CA (super glue) is your best bet for assembly. I put a drop on a piece of scrap material then use a cocktail stick to apply very small amounts of glue, sometime on the PE and sometime on the location. Don't try applying it straight from the bottle its a receipe for diaster. Mine turned out pretty good. I'll post a pic to the model binaries group.
CA applied with a fine wire stuck in a piece of sprue. Dip into a puddle of CA then apply to PE/plastic junction. Some PE bits are best applied before painting, those like doors, funnel cap grills, etc. Stuff like railings after painting and you just touch up any scratches or cracks in the paint with a very fine brush.
One of the best CA applicators can be quickly made from a sewing needle. Just grind the "eye" end down so that you have an open fork in the needle end. Stick the sharp end into a pencil eraser and you can put a tiny drop of CA just where you want it. Works great for rigging biplanes too.
MB
Suggest cutting out the parts, trimming, shaping and fit testing them on the model before anything else. I then spray the parts with the desired color and install them with a small drop on white glue in a couple of places to establish the final location of the part. Once you have the part aligned and installed to your satisfaction and the white glue has set up, then go back with the cyanocrylate as the others have indicated. I use white glue for "tacking" the parts in place cause I just can't seem to get the part on just right the first time. My experience is with 1/700 ship models which, I think are just a little less forgiving than a 1/350 installation.
T2
I use the toothpicks with the double pointy ends- get two ends from each toothpick. I can generally get about two to three "applications" from each end before it builds up to a big blob.
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