Problems making a build, have some questions regarding it.

[steven_mckenz]

Well, I'm almost done completing my recent build, but I had a good number of problems trying to do so. I know a lot of it was probably my fault, but I thought that I would ask questions to help me figure out what I'm doing wrong, and how to make things work better.

My first problem is regarding gluing the pieces. I don't have a problem with superglue because it works well on the interior stuff of the car. However, on my Honda Civic SI Coupe, the bumpers only had a few very small pieces that you could put glue on to hold the body together. When I put super glue on those pieces, the fumes from it put this little white film stuff on parts of the body of the car that were hard to rub off. How can I prevent that from happening? I've resorted to using superglue because using regular model glue (testors stuff if I remember correctly) was never strong enough to do hold and wouldn't last long, and also took FOREVER before the glue was finally strong enough to hold. However, using superglue gives me that small problem.

Secondly, I could not get the window to go in correctly. It would not fit into all the window openings correctly. I had to push on it really hard and it still wouldn't go and work for anything! I finally had to take my knife and slice off part of the inside so I could get the window to slide in a little bit better, and finally get it to snap into place. It was horrible.

Also, I absolutely hated the way the made the brake calipers/wheels for that car, and also the Acura Integra Type-R (both by Revell). The calipers and drums were one piece. To get them onto the car, you took this little black thing with a head on it, pushed it through the brake caliper into the rim on the car. From there, there was a bit of a raised surface on the back of the caliper that you were supposed to apply glue to. You would then put this piece around the part of the axle sticking out of the car, and hope that it would stay and dry into place. However, you also had to make darn sure you didn't get any glue on the head of the piece that you stuck through it, or else the wheels wouldn't turn. I spent forever trying to make sure that it all worked correctly, and that all the wheels turned. However, I failed at doing so. It wouldn't stay, and when I would try to turn the wheels the whole thing would fall off instantly. My question is, is the way that Revell most commonly uses to attach wheels to the cars? I opened up my other two kits that I bought and it didn't lok that way for those two kits. However, the last two that I have done (the Civic and the ITR) were like that, and I couldn't get the wheels to work right on either. I eventually resorted to just putting a lot of superglue on them and making sure they were glued to the body, not caring if the wheels turned or not.

Thanks for reading all that and your answers to the questions!

[Amazon]

First of all, try using slowsetting superglue( if you must use superglue). It gives you more time to positioning the pieces. Regular modelglue have one advantage over superglue tough; it actually melts the plastic pieces together, so in the long run ( if applíed correctly) it will be a stronger bond than superglue.

Btw, the wheel issue; they are models not toys, so why should the wheels turn?

[g00eY]

i like my wheels to turn. anyways... do you have the liquid Testors stuff with the brush in it? if so then you should stick to it because it is supposed to melt plastic togethere like Amazon said. i dunno about the tubes of glue and whatnot. some parts are just plain hard to make stick so you have to be patient and either find some way to hold it together or sit there and do it yourself. i don't like how some windows just don't fit. it sucks.

[hirofkd]

1) Like Amazon said, the styrene glue holds better than super glue. Super glue is effective against pulling force, but not against the bending one. What you need is a "good" styrene glue with an applicator brush (like Tamiya's orange-labeled bottled glue) or a needle (Testor's). Use a brush and gently rub the glue on both contact surfaces, and bond them together and wait for an hour or two. That will hold parts well.

There's non-fogging superglue from Rocktite, but it's not readily available, and I don't think a different kind of superglue will solve your problem.

2) Test-fitting is a common procedure in model making. It's definitely the manufacturer's fault, but only builders can correct it. Just use a file and sand paper, and test-fit until the parts align well.

3) This can also be solved by styrene glue, because it won't bond metal and plastic together.

If your local hobby store carries Tamiya, I recommend that you get the orange labeled glue. Hobby Lobby and Micheals should be carrying one of those thing called Plastic Welder, and this works well, too. Testor's glue with an applicator needle isn't too bad, but you need a precise control of the needle, so I still recommend the ones that come with a brush.

[99civichic]

Patience. I think that's the only thing I see lacking in your model kit. Sure, model glue takes a while to set, but there's a reason they call it "model" glue. One tip I haven't seen mentioned yet, don't glue parts that are painted. The glue only works because (as mentioned) it melts the plastic together, but if it's not touching the plastic, it won't work very well. So, take your knife and scrape a little of the paint off the gluing surface, put the glue on, position it accordingly, tape it into place if you need to, and give it a few minutes to set.

When I first started building models, I expected all the wheels to spin as well, but I've noticed that's not always a good thing. The wheels on the GSX spin better than most hotwheels, which is why it almost jumped to its death during it's photoshoot...some of you may have noticed the car key I used to block the wheels while I took the pictures.