Batch-building freight cars 101part 2 - 8
41: Thewrongway to apply glue. Disaster ismoments
away in this scenario. Don’t apply glue to themodel
from the container.
41
Styrene glue techniques
Mostexperiencedmodelers learnabout thedosanddon’tsofhan-
dlingglueonstyrenemodelsearlyon.Mostofushaveexperienced the
childhood thrilloffinishingamodel andsteppingback toproudlyview
ourhandiwork,only toseeamodel covered ingluespotsand“glue
fingerprints.” It’sahard lesson.When itcomes toglue technique, any-
thing less thatnear-perfectwill showon thefinishedmodel.
Theguiding factor is this: Anytimegluehits the surfaceof the
model, itwill leaveamark that you can’t easilyfix.
Thus gluemust be treated likeKryptonite–used very carefullyand
sparingly. Don’t get it onyour hands,workarea, or tools, as itwill
mar yourmodels. The followingarea fewquicktips for handling
styreneadhesives:
42
43
Don’t applygluedirectly to themodel from the container. Theflow
of glue is veryhard to control and there is enoughglue in the con-
tainer to ruin themodel if amishapoccurs.
Makeapool of glueona scrapofwoodandeither useawire to
apply it to themodel or dipparts into it. Refresh thepool often.
Useas littleglueaspossible.
Glue from the insidewherever possible.
42: The part is dipped in
the glue on the area that
will attach to themodel.
I usually touch the part
to a paper towel before
attaching, toget rid of
any excess glue.
43: A brasswire is used
to apply glue to areas
on themodel that can’t
be dipped.While itmust
be handledwith care,
there is little fear of over-
application, as thewire
doesn’t holdmuch glue.
MRH-Apr2014
