Miniatures Talk

Gluing HaT wagons -how?

Posted by MABO on 02 Feb 2020, 12:14

Everything clear out here:

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MABO  Europe
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12 May 2008, 18:01


Posted by sberry on 04 Feb 2020, 10:45

Dear Michael,
Thank you for the excellent summary! Being a chemist myself – but no polymer expert – I’m delighted by this synopsis of the various plastics used in our hobby.

About the rubbery stuff used in recent years by HäT, I always wondered what this might be. Perhaps some copolymer like VC/E might be the answer (for non-chemists: a sort of mixture of polyethylene and PVC)?
I like that this stuff takes acrylic paint very well, and it can be glued using superglue without activator. However, in addition to the problem of ageing/brittleness that several gentlemen have mentioned, I also strongly dislike that this rubbery material is very bad at reproducing fine details; the older HäT sets had much better detail IMHO.
Best regards,
Stephan
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sberry  Germany
 
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Posted by PaulRPetri on 07 May 2020, 18:14

Hello Jesse I have a few cents of information to add to this discussion. I am in the USA so all of my comments are from what I have at hand by me. First I buy the cheapest super glue I can, Dollars store stuff. It has to be the runny kind not the gel stuff. I then buy some Baking Soda. Squirt the glue on your joint then sprinkle the baking soda on the glue. An immediate chemical reaction will occur bonding the two pieces. Take it easy on the amount of baking soda you use on the joint because this causes extra volume to occur. I have used this method on both ESCI sets The Roman Legionary and zulu warriors that have the hole in their shield. A health drop of super glue in the hole and a good measure of baking soda, shield is glues hole is filled. As a bonus to helping the bond the reaction does generate heat which may help melt the plastic a bit. I know this because I had a small amount of super glue on my finger and it came in contact with the baking soda and in the immortal words of Gollum, "It burns us!!!". I am not ashamed to admit that I yelled out loud. My wife had a good laugh at my expense.

Michael your information on plastic types was wonderful. I love that kind of stuff.
PaulRPetri  United States of America
 
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Posted by Jesse on 07 May 2020, 19:46

Sounds very interesting PaulRPetri, for several uses. Have to try it out, thanks!
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Jesse  Sweden
 
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