> And as we are talking about miniatures 'for game playing', I'd
One little trick you can use with CA glue:
To make a good bond between ends of balsa, joints that are not 100% perfect,
whatever, sprinkle a little baking soda on the joint first, smooth out the
"aggregate" soda into the joint, then hit it with the CA glue; the soda will
act as cement. Actually, what happens is the soda jest fills in the cracks,
and the CA capillary action fills in the tiny voids between particles of
soda.
Anyone got an idea on how to smooth out the wood texture of balsa? I'm aiming
for a nice smooth surface that I can paint that won't show wood grain.
Just a thought on scratch building ships...
What kind of glue to you all use? In my experiences (a few) tacky glue
doesn't hold, a gel-based super glue works fine...
> On Sun, 13 Jul 1997, Donald Hosford wrote:
I use Zap-A-Gap CA (CyanoAcrylate) glue for just about everything.
Last year I scratch-built a 25mm grav tank using two model kits (a car
and a German Leopard tank), and a lot of plastic card for the chassis.
I found that the plastic used for overhead-projector slides (acetate?)
makes an excellent "hinge" between two pieces of plastic card, and
Zap-A-Gap will bond the acetate "hinge" to other plastics almost
instantly (and permanently!).
> On Sun, 13 Jul 1997, Donald Hosford wrote:
A pin vice, some thin wire and superglue works for me. 'course, I think just
about any glue able to stick to metal (or plastic, as the case may be) would
work fine, since the wire fixes the pieces together fairly well while the glue
sets.
Later,
> Donald Hosford wrote:
Well, you can use Super Glues ( what ever the name might be in your country)
or 5 minute epoxy. Of these 2 the epoxy makes a stronger bond. Super Glue is
fast and simple, but the joint is weak laterally.
You can also use the Thick Super Glues ( gap filling super glue is what it is
normally called), but I haven't found it as strong as epoxy.
And as we are talking about miniatures 'for game playing', I'd recommend the 5
minute epoxy.... even though making tidy joints isn't as easy as with super
glue.....
> Anyone got an idea on how to smooth out the wood texture of balsa?
I'm
> aiming for a nice smooth surface that I can paint that won't show wood
Try painting a coat of "kilz" paint over it and hit it with a few strokes of
sandpaper. Kilz is a special primer that can be found at any home improvement
store.
Jeff: There are a couple of things you can do to get rid of wood grain for the
balsa. 1) Try a sanding sealer on the wood before painting. 2) Try a pore
filler. 3) Put several coats on. 4) Coat the whole model with superglue (do
not laugh. It seals wood pens on a lather very well) 5) Use plastic scraps not
balsa. 6) Get real fine brushes and paint the wood grain lines a different
color that the rest of the ship. Make for a neat affect on SaVasku ships.,
> Jeff Shoffner wrote:
> aiming for a nice smooth surface that I can paint that won't show wood
Try wood modeling dope that can found at almost any hobby shop. This stuff is
used to smooth wood finishes on projects such as aircraft and model rocketry.
You put the stuff on with a brush, let it dry, and you can sand it to remove
any irregularities.
In article <33CEE1CE.8F1@acd.net>
> Hosford.donald@acd.net writes:
> Adrian Bruce wrote:
<SNIP>
> > And as we are talking about miniatures 'for game playing', I'd
<SNIP>
> Question -- Does this "Epoxy" continue to ooze out of the tube like
5 minute epoxy comes in *2* tubes! The Brand name I usd at one point was
Araldite(sp?). You squeeze out 2 lines of the stuff from each tube onto a
palette, then mix them the the provided tool. The result is pretty thick and
care is needed to apply it to the parts you want to bond without making a
mess, but the resulting bond will most likely last much longer than one made
with superglue.
> At 08:23 PM 7/17/97 -0700, Adrian Bruce wrote:
The best stuff I've found for gluing lead and plastic is called Goop. You can
get it in hardware stores (like Home Depot). There are two versions: Goop and
Crafter's Goop (there may also be a Plumber's Goop, but I'm not sure).
This stuff is the ONLY stuff I've found that bonds soft plastic miniatures
together, like Airfix and Revell miniatures. I glued a Revell soft plastic
Norman to his soft plastic horse two years ago and he's still holding strong.
I can wave the Norman around vigourously and his horse is still attached. Even
epoxy won't do this.
I haven't been using Goop long enough to tell if it breaks down much with age,
but I do know that 5 minute epoxy will decay if you don't prime and paint the
model within 6 months of gluing it together.
The only problems with Goop are: 1) it comes out like a thick gel, so it's
easy to be messy with it; 2) while goopy and thick, it doesn't give a
thoroughly solid bond for about 24 hours.
For my current set of figures for FT, I've been gluing the smaller parts with
5 minute epoxy so that the engine nacelles don't have to be held for a day!
I'm also using epoxy to put together the ship's lead stand. But I'm
reinforcing the epoxy with Goop, I'm doing the major assemblies with Goop
(which can also be used to fill gaps in the model) and I'm gluing my bogey
markers with Goop.
If you are gluing soft plastic Airfix, ESCI, Revell, HaT or other figures,
Goop is the ONLY way to go.