Need advice on glue and paint for vinyl model kits.

I am just now puttering with my large collection or model kits. These things have been in my closet for years due to the fact that I have no idea how to put them together and I was nervous I'd mess them up - some were a pretty penny.

I figured I'd start with something simple, so I broke the seal on my soft vinyl Jet Vtol.



I managed to remove all the flash - (ha!, didn't think I'd know that term), in order to move forward I'm hoping some of you Jedi model builders can give me some advice on what kind of glue I should use and the best paint as well. I'd also like to follow the technique of filling the hollow body with something to give it some weight. I'm not sure what's the best choice. Please help me before I ruin this thing.

thanks ahead of time

You can use either super glue or 5 min epoxy on vinyl kits.I prefer epoxy as it is a far stronger adhesive&mechanical bond than superglue and I like to use the "steel filled" Devcon Epoxy.Superglue is great for gap filling or sticking small parts on(or use epoxy sculpt for gap filling&re-sculpting) ,but I still prefer to mix up the 5 min epoxy whenever possible.As far as painting a vinyl kit goes, acrylics are best or(if you can find them) lacquer paints which are hard to find.I prefer a good lacquer primer.Testoprs makes(or made one) and Tamiya has a lacquer primer also if i'm not mistaken?DO NOT USE ENAMEL BASED PAINTS on vinyl kits.They won't dry/cure.You'll have a sticky mess and clean up will be a nightmare.It's possible to use a lacquer primer and then finish with enamels,but don't qoute me on that.I'm not 100% sure, but I think you might also get away with painting urethane based paints if you are well versed in using them.Urethane will stick to just about anything with the exception of a few surfaces.Remember that *PREP* is super important.You want to scrub clean the vinyl parts to get mold releases off of them and be sure your kit is dry&clean before you start assembly&painting.

I like Gorilla glue whenever I'm gluing something unconventional, like vinyl. It's cheap, easy to find and strong as hell.

Prime with auto primer (krylon is pretty good) and paint with acrylics.

-Fred

Thank you guys so much - this info is soooo helpful.

on a kit such as this - where the wings have no support, should I build some sort of inner skeleton - I was thinking about something simple - like popscicle stick running through the body --

I suppose that will work.I don't think there are any "specific" set rules.Your ingenuity and good judgement will work fine I think.I suppose an additional alternative would be to fill the wings w/some expoxy.Not the "thick stuff" that comes in a tube like the 5 min epoxy.I mean the 2-part epoxy that you have to mix 50/50 and is thin like pancake syrup.However,the heat generated by the chemical reaction while curing could pose a serious problem and I don't want you to ruin your part.Other parts that require supoport(but are typically much bigger) you can fill with expanding foam(the stuff in a can found at hardware stores).I don't know if it will be good to use on parts as small as the ones you have and it is very messy.Maybe someone else will have another,"better" idea?

A good technique for wing butt-joins is to use metal rod stock of appropriate diameter. Drill holes in the mounting surfaces of the wings and fuselage and insert brass rod(s) through the fuselage. The important part is to measure carefully to get the holes lined up correctly; a simple jig from balsa or foamcore would help ensure it all goes together straight.

Having said that, with the size of your model you could probably get away with simply epoxying the wings straight on. The epoxy bond is quite strong and you'd most likely break a wing in half before you'd pull the glue joint loose.

I use Zap-A-Gap with Zip Kicker. Not only does it dry the glue immediately (watch your fingers!) but makes it stronger too. Just spray the Zip-Kicker lightly because it can make the glue run if you over do it.

I use a hair dryer to soften vinyl before cutting but sometimes thicker pieces are more difficult. In those case I boil a pot of water and drop the piece in. Pull it out with tongs give it a few seconds and start cutting. With vinyl kits you have to be carful because sometimes the flashing is needed to join parts together. Read the instructions carefully.

I usually don't use pins for vinyl because the material is light anyway. I pin almost everything with resin though.

I lightly primer the model. Then use water based acrylic like Ceramicoat you can get in a multitude of colors at most craft stores. Custom colors are great but if you can get the right color straight out of the bottle it will make touch ups you may need to do later (sometimes even years later!) easier to color match.

Just my 2 cents!

Almost forgot, to finish it you can use a gloss, semi-gloss or flat clear to seal the paint job. For flat I use Testors..... If you want to mix a flat and gloss just spray it with flat then use a brush to gloss any parts you need shiny.