Gluing Resin aircraft models

[Ray S]

Hello all.

 

I have built a number of resin kits in the past, but all have been ships. For those, I have often used PVA to glue resin to resin, and found it to be okay as nothing was really 'load bearing'.

 

However, I have a few aircraft resin kits, and they pose a different problem. I have read in magazines and online that CA is used, but I have never seen a 'how to' guide showing the technique.

 

Can anyone give me a guide? My thoughts are to use a small spot of CA at one end of the fuselage and get the parts aligned, then use a thin applicator to run a bead along the joint line. Is that about right? I will drill and pin wing, tailplanes and fins when they get joined due to the CA being brittle, and I would be certain to knock them and break them off otherwise.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ray

[Black Knight]

This Shorts SC.1 was multiple parts. All butt joints. 

I drilled mating holes in the parts and fit cut down pin nails into the holes using a gel superglue as the adhesive for the nail into the holes and for the resin to resin parts

I just used the superglue as I would ordinary polystyrene glue; ie, run a bead on the parts and stick 'em together

 

[bentwaters81tfw]

I use superglue and drill holes for brass wire locating pins. A small amount of glue initially to allow for alignment, then flow more into the joint. I recently used 5 minute epoxy on one model as the halves were warped. I aligned and superglued the centre section, then clamped that and epoxied the ends clamping together until 'well 'ard'

It's worked so far.

[treker_ed]

I personally don't build resin kits (and try to avoid as much as possible any resin AM), however, many magazine articles that do utilise resin in part or full resin kits use a mixture of CA or epoxy glues as their glues of choice.

 

CA mixed with talc I believe results in a compound that is not as hard, and allows much easier sanding of the resulting joint, and there are CA glues which allow a certain amount of "latitude" for adjusting final placement. This is where an epoxy glue is better, as they have a window of opportunity where they allow time to get the parts into a final placement before curing, whereas most CA type glues are almost instant and have very little flexibility for adjustment once placed. 

[Mike]

Super glue and epoxy resin plus pins where structural strength is important.

[Pin]

I answered a very similar question just a couple of days ago. 
 

 

 

[dnl42]

Expanding a little on the above. I use epoxy for most resin-resin joints.  I use JB Weld, a 24 hour epoxy that can be applied in a very thin layer. It comes in tube form. In my experience 15 minute epoxies are very thick. Of course, the problem is the joint needs to be supported for 24 hours, but I prefer the finer joint. If you can find a 15 minute epoxy than can be spread thinly, by all means use it!

 

I only use CA for resin-resin joints if I can pre-position the parts exactly and then wick the CA into the joint. The reason is simple, I used a slow-setting CA for a resin-resin joint once expecting to set the final alignment after the parts were mated--the glue bonded instantaneously. To be sure, I'm like that cat that will never sit on a cold stove, but it was quite a pain to carve off one of the parts and replace it with plastic.

 

For metal-resin or metal-plastic surface joints, I like acrylic or PVA glues as they maintain some flexibility. This reduces bond failure due to the unequal thermal expansion rates of metal and the other material. This is particularly relevant to CA gues, where their shear strength is weakest. CA is fine for end bonds between metal-resin or metal-plastic as well as metal-metal surface bonds.

 

Pinning joints is an excellent technique. While it can be difficult to drill the pin hole with proper alignment, the benefit is you have both a mechanical and glue bond, resulting in a much stronger bond. 

 

Here's a tip for butt-joining larger surfaces. Note the 2 mating surfaces have been hollowed out. This allows me to create a true mating surface around the edges of the parts, which is much easier than over the entire surface.

 

Here's the final part, Brengun's 1/48 USN Mk 13 Torpedo

 

HTH

-- 

dnl

[Pin]

4 minutes ago, dnl42 said:

I use epoxy for most resin-resin joints. 

 

I find it impractical, too long to cure, not to easy go get the proportions right, especially for fine joints, stick to everything.  I only use epoxy to fill really big gaps, CA for all other purposes, except transparencies, this is where PVA  is a better option 
 

[Ray S]

Brilliant, thank you all for the replies and tips, they are all very greatly appreciated, and I can delve into the dark art of resin plane building with a little more confidence.

 

Thanks again all,

 

Ray

@Pin, thank you for the link, the explanations were excellent.

 

Ray