I am trying to put together a Mini-Art building and not having much luck in getting it to stick together. Tenex does nothing and I have resorted to superglue - but I was wondering what others have used and found to be effective?

Thanks -

I use what I use for all my plastic...Revell contacta prof, or Tamiya fluid,...what is exactly the problem, works rather well for me?

Since the building have no location points they tend to slide. I tried to glue in short pieces of plastic to prevent this and found the seams not adhering. If the building is flexed the seam pops open with superglue. Is the Revell cement you mentioned in a tube?

I use "testors" red tube model glue, strong stuff. The way model glue works is too "melt" two pieces of plastic together..weld. This stuff is strong & thick. Don't get it on your skin because it will sting & eat your flesh...leave scars! I got it on my face before! ouch!! Hot water & soap gets it off.
With Miniart plastic it is good to also use "tape, clamps, needles, pin's" or any other means to keep the pieces in place while the glue does its job melting & welding.

Before cementing, I use strips of Painter's Tape to initially position/hold the halves together. After applying the cement, I allow the assembly to cure overnight. Reaction with the cement and Styrene will create a fairly strong bond.


And here's a link to MiniArt's Building Assembly Guide (lower left on the page).

The one thing I can add is that I fill the walls with (very liquid) plaster when glued...when dry it gives them weight and makes the whole thing very strong.

Harald

Especially useful for the larger diorama bases — makes them less likely to flex. I use Tile Grout for this.

One thing I've found useful is to get some assorted sizes of balsa wood strips, cut them to corresponding lengths along the interior walls of your building and glue them to the walls first. This gives the walls which will join more support without the mess and weight of plaster. After drying overnite, then glue your walls together with the glues already mentioned. The extra support also helps in clamping the joins together.

I would use Tamiya Extra Thin Cement but if you want to go in the super glue direction you should check out ZAP RT (Rubber Toughened) which is more flexible than regular super glue...it comes in a tube

My method :

I use the 'surpluss' cut-offs from the vacuform kit glued to the edges on the inside as additional strenght.

Also I've created a kind of glue/putty using the following :

A bottle of Revell glue about 1/3 full added (small) pieces of left over sprues untill you get a very thick glue which also acts like a putty...(I'm sure one can use other brands but revell is a rather 'thick' glue from itself IMHO)

This I use to glue the parts together. (still need clamps, rubber bands and/or tape to get it all reasonably presentable )

hopes this makes some sense

Grz & Brgds,

Sam.

I used model glue, and then Hot welded the halved together, using a paper clip and a candle, whilst the glue was still wet. I used this method over the "broken and Damaged" stone and brick areas. It worked a treat, and it stopped the parts from sliding around.

Mini Art have a useful tutorial on their site: http://www.miniart-models.com/index.htm?/Catalogue.htm
Although all the suggestions here also work well. The corners are always very fiddly to assemble. I use Evergreen styrene I-beams and square sections to re-inforce the walls.

To help keep the halves lined up and give them added contact surface I use scrap styrene pieces and cement them to one half of the inside edges (windows, doorways, outer edges). It gives you a crude set of location pins and helps to keep them from shifting. I usually use the trimmings from the kit for this.

I haven't tried filling the inside with plaster. I've also heard people using expanding insulation foam. For glue I use Testors tube cement.

Use a flat section of wood to back the pieces when you clamp. It helps to make sure the pieces dry square.

As you work with Miniart buildings you'll pick up on little tricks. As mentioned, they have a tutorial at their site. There are also other tutorials, including videos on YouTube.

I had no idea of the video guide on the Mini-Art web site - Thanks