I've updated my M1025 build thread with a section on paint preparation and interior painting. Here's the link once again.

I've posted my Mutt build thread here

Andy

Back to the glue topic again, I use Humbrol Precision Poly which has a fine needle type applicator that allows the use of the minimum amount of glue to achieve a quick and strong bond, that can also be prised apart with a scalpel or craft knife if you suddenly find quite a while later that you have attached some bit out of sequence, and which I hope doesn't disappear now that Airfix has gone pear shaped.

An excellent tip that I recently read on some website is when the needle tube does eventually clog up it is a simple matter to clear it by holding the flame from a cigarette lighter to the very tip of the needle for about two to three seconds, you can hear a pop as the dried glue is vapourised.

Another hint is to hold your breath for those three seconds to avoid inhaling the stinky little puff of noxious black smoke from the vapourised glue

@:)

My build has been progressing nicely, but I do have a few questions. The primary question is how slavishly one typically follows the instructions. On Panthers and Tigers and 38(t)s other AFV with large road wheels, I leave them off during the assembly until I get the lower hull painted (I feel like I can't get the paint behind them otherwise). I then paint the road wheels on the sprue and finally touch up the paint after mounting them. I have adopted this practice even though the kit instructions invariably tell one to mount the road wheels right off the bat. Other than this practice, I pretty well follow the instructions without any other significant deviations. So, I am just wondering if others are typically less diligent in following the instructions. If you have adopted some more or less standard practices that differ from the steps usually outlined in the directions (akin to my large raod wheel example), would you mind sharing them?

The other dumb question that I wouldn't ever ask in public is in regards to rubber band tracks. I usually try to put the track on the vehicle before heating and mushrooming the rubber rivets (needless to say this is a pain in the butt). Do others first join the ends of the track and then try to stretch them enough to put them on the tank (I've always worried that idlers and drive sprockets would snap off if I did it in this order)?

Thanks for any tips on these two topics.

Dave

Hi Dave (and all the others.. ),

Apologies for not having updated this for a week, been a bit hectic at work lately, and untill the operation is rolled up at the end of next month things can only get worst...lol
Dave, I'll answer your queries tonight, and I'll post the next progress instalment as well. Been sidetracked by a presentation piece (Accurate Armour WIMK Landrover) that needs to be finished this Monday...

Cheers
Henk

Dave, I think most folks deviate from the kit instructions in at least a few ways. I know I do, sometimes quite a bit. One lesson I learned years ago from a Sheperd Paine book was to assemble the model with painting in mind. Although I'm just getting back in the hobby, I've tried to take that advice to heart.

I tend to build subassemblies, paint those, and then finish assembly. For example, on my M1025 I've built the frame and body, the top shell, and the doors as separate subassemblies--not all all what the directions tell you to do. On an M60 I'm building I've broken up the model into turret, lower hull, upper hull, and commander's cupola. I also left the roadwheels and reactive armor off. I'll then paint everything, finish the assembly, touch up the paint and finally add the roadwheels and tracks. I chose to do it this way from the start because I knew the reactive armor would block some areas that need to be painted as they will remain visible. I studied the instructions carefully and determined where I needed to skip steps.

As for your question on the tracks, I'm afraid it's been ten years since I tackled that problem, and I forgot how I used to do it. I may try to do one track one way and one the other, to see which one works best for me. Wish me luck.

I think that Lucas has just answered Dave's question very well. Some pieces need to be painted before you assemble them, as you may not be able to access them afterwards.

Ahhh, rubber band tracks...
I really depends on how tight the tracks fit, how much the tracks will stretch, and how strong the idler and drive sprocket are attached. With fairly loose tracks, such as Russian or German AFV's you should be o.k. to glue them before you fit them, as the slack will enable you to squeeze the guide horns over the wheels. With tight tracks, such as Shermans etc, you are probably better of glueing them as you hold them in place.
Some tracks can be warmed up (always in hot water, never over a flame... ) to stretch them a bit, but try this before you do it. Most rubber band track come on some sprue of the same rubber, try that first to see how the rubber reacts to being warmed up.

Cheers
Henk

Hi all, My mark2 build is coming along well in fact im ready to paint it,ive also been building Tamyias 223 armoured car which is out of the box as well, I hope to put them in a winter dio but I will leave off the white cammo for this build and I wont replace the terrible gun barrels on both vehicles till after this group build. Re not following the instructions I first have a read and try to identify the sub assemblies then the painting schedule, I rarely follow them to the letter, Re the rubber tracks i think Ive taken off more drive sprokets and Idlers than a basooka team,still doining it, Im a slow learner. ( Photo's soon I hope)

Everyone, I've finally posted pictures of my progress. You can take a look here:

My Panther

I mentioned some issues that I have had, and would welcome any feedback.


Dave

P.S. It will be immediately apparent that my digital photo skills are on par with my modelling skills. I hope that the photos are not so bad that you can't see what I've done so far.

good afternoon henk, where can I find Revell Contacta in the states? or is there another brand that I can look for to give me the same result. most of the web sites I have searched are over sea and being a bloody yank cant find that brand.
thanks,
jeff

Well, I've gotten to that critical point in a tank build and I would like to hear some suggestions. I am joining the two halves of the barrel and I have some small gaps at the muzzle break, and I'm not sure whether the seam is completely invisible along the gun. What I have done so far is a repeated painting of the seam with Tenax 7R. In the past I have repeatedly applied Testors glue to the seam and then repeatedly sanded. This doesn't look too bad, but it's hard not leave flat spots on the barrel from the sanding. So, before I do anything more than apply the Tenax to the seam, I would love to hear from you pros what methods tend to work well. Thanks for any guidance.


Dave

Hi Jeff,

I'm ot sure about the availability of Revell Contacta in the US, but I'm sure they sell it somewhere. The Revell website, a link of which I have to add to my new list of book marks, should be able to clarify the availability. I understand that Tenax is very similar but as I don't know it from experience I can't confirm it.

Dave,

good progress on your Panther, well done. The barrel seam, the bane of tank modellers... My prefered method takes a bit of effort, but works pretty well. tack the two halves together, and than add a good amount of liquid cement (glue) into the seam. Apply pressure on the two halves untill the soft plastic starts to 'ooze' out of the seam. This should of course not be to much, but just a little bit. They idea is that they glue melts the mating surfaces, rather than the outside, of the halves. Once dried, the small ridge can be easily cleaned off with an hobby knife, in a scraping fashion, not a cutting or slicing fashion. These can cause the knife to cut in, and cut a piece out of the barrel.
Sanding is tedious, but best results are achieved by holding the sand paper around the barrel with one hand, and spinning the barrel round rather than moving the sand paper lenght ways along the barrel. This should avoid flat spots.

Cheers
Henk

Thanks, Henk, but I've still got some serious issues. I tend to get a little puddle of glue around the base of the grab handles. I am trying to use the glue very sparingly, but aparently I'm still too heavy handed. I have been reluctant to apply the glue to the alignment pins on the handle because if you don't hit the alignment hole right off when placing the part then you smear glue on the kit. Thus, I have been applying the glue to the alignment hole. But then when I place the part, glue tends to come oozing up around the base of the part. I also have been painting long seams with Tenax 7R and this leaves some residual around the seam. I am hoping that the Tenax residue won't be visible once I paint. So, I guess that I just don't know how to get a really clean looking build (though switching from Testor's tube glue to their liquid cement with applicator has helped). If I could progress in any one area, I would like to be able to produce kits that look much cleaner prior to painting.




Thanks, Henk. As I had already joined the barrel halves with Tenax, I couldn't join them as you suggested. Instead, I very sparingly applied Squadron white putty along the seam. I then scraped with my blade and then sanded with 1500 grit paper in the manner that you suggested (i.e., grasping the barrel with the sandpaper and then spinning it). I think that the barrel looks pretty good (it's certainly not going to be the weakest point of the build ).

Thanks for all the suggestions and for bearing with me on this (I know that I am not the world's faster builder).


Dave

That's what this is all about, no pressure, no time limits..
On the subject of.... I'm just getting back some normality myself. The long term problems I had with my old laptop finaly came to a head, resulting in a complete failure earlier this week. This has meant having to buy a new one, which is good, but also that I lost some of the work I had on my old computer. No matter how regular you make back-ups, your computer always fries when you haven't back-up... . Add to this the ongoing saga of my impending redundancy ( I wil loose my current job, but don't know if I will or will not transfer int a new job within the company...).
That's why I have not be so active on this thread lately.


Cheers
Henk

Dave,

Glue stains and residue. The problem of workng with the semi-gloopy glue like Contacta or Tenax is that it tends to attach it self to an object almos like a small bubble. I believe this is in part because of surface tension, ad in part because it's sticky. This is why liquid cement is so good, because it can be applied in very small quantities, and because it evporates quickly, any small 'overflows' will ot normally leave a thick noticable mark.
To attach very small parts with Tenax or Contacta, I put a small amount ( I believe posh people call this 'decanting'.... ) of glue on a piece of glass or scrap plastic, and whilst holding the piece (like grabhandles) with the tweezers I just touch the contact surface to the paint. Don't dip it in, just touch it. This usualy puts enough glue on the part to attach it to the model.

Cheers
Henk

Actually, Tenax maybe is the most volatile glue there is... It is extremely thin and evaporates from the bottle at an alarming rate if you leave the lid off. I only use this glue for things with long seams. I apply it by holding the part in place, dipping an old paint brush in the Texax bottle, and then running the brush along the seam - capilary action does the rest. It evaporates way too quickly to apply to parts that aren't already in position (it would dry before the part ever reached the rest of the model). The Tenax is what I used to join the upper holl to the lower, the rear hull, etc. So this is the residue that you see around the engine access doors on my Panther. There is no perceptable thickness to this residue, I just worry that the change in the texture of the plastic under the glue will be visible once I paint (this is the first kit that I've used the Tenax). When possible, I apply the Tenax from the inside (like joining the rear hull plate), but I didn't look ahead in the instructions to do this with the engine access doors (the upper hull had already been joined to the lower by this point, so that I couldn't apply the glue from underneath).

You have given me some good tips. With this being only my third kit I'm obviously not wedded to anything that I'm doing right now, so all of your suggestions are having an impact. Thanks for taking the time to hold the hand of a newbie.


Dave

With regards to small part gluing If the part fits into a hole I will fit it then apply the glue from behind where the staining wont show.

Ahh, my mistake, I thought Tenax was semi-liquid glue with a needle dispenser, like the Contacta . In that case please ingnore my mentionng of Tenax in the above situation.
Sure enough, for such small parts the use of liquid cement is best, you hold the part in place, and use a 00 or 000 brush to just run some glue aroud the base.

Cheers
Henk

Henk, I hope I didn't come across as being argumentative or anything. I just thought that I would describe Tenax for those who don't know what it is. As for me, I'm just trying what the guy at the local hobby store recommends, and his primary interest is in SciFi gaming.

I have been attaching small parts with Testors semi-liquid with needle dispenser. This works a ton better than the Testors tube glue that I had been using. This was advice that you gave to me early on and I made a special trip to the hobby store to get it (see, I am listening ).

As I mentioned, I have just been experimenting with the Tenax for applying along seams. It is nice that it glues along the entire seam. Where I am going astray, it seems, is my brush. You wrote:
. I have been just slopping the stuff along the seam with a pretty big cheapy brush (from a home touch-up painting kit from the hardware store. I have to confess that my head is aching from all these questions of glue, but I am making progress from using the tube Testors.

Thanks, again, for everything. By the way, if my daughter's nap goes as planned this afternoon, I will get some prepainting photos up in my thread.


Dave

Dave--I second Henk's advice to use a small brush. I use a 1, personally, but I should really go for something smaller. The best thing to do is not to brush the glue along the seam, but to simply touch the brush to the seam and let the glue flow along it for an inch or two. You can then repeat the process at several spots along a longer seam. That helps minimize the glue stains.

That said, I wouldn't worry too much about the stains, so long as you don't touch that area of the model until a while after the glue dries. I don't use Tenax, but with Testors liquid glue (from a bottle) the stains from brushing glue on appear to have no impact on the texture of a given area and disappear completely once you start applying paint.

The only situation where I know there can be damage (from an incident eons ago ) is when you spill a large amount of glue on delicate detail. If the glue forms a puddle, it can melt the detail away. If you have a spill like that, the best thing to do is to gently blow on the glue to spread it onto a much larger area so it will (hopefully) evaporate without destroying too much delicate detail.

I just thought that I would let evryone know that I got a first coat of paint on my kit and posted some updated photos. You can see the progress of my build at:

My Panther G

Dave

just to cover this and the other 'Basic Training' builds...a returning noob like myself appreciates it..

I haven't done anything like this since i was a teenager, and then it was half-baked at best...articles like this are really helpful...

appreciate it, good work too...

KB

I've updated my M1025 Humvee Basic Traning thread with my efforts at masking before exterior painting. Here is the direct link

I've updated my Humvee build thread with a short post covering washes. You can find it here.

I finished my M1025 Humvee.

You can find it here.