R.M.S Titanic/Styrene & Glue

LM1

LM1

New Member
A newbie here and his first post so here goes....

Need some advice from all the experts regarding this current project I am about to start after a 2 year break.

I am planning to build the 1/350 Deluxe Minicraft Titanic along with all the PE parts and the hundreds of changes catelogued over at the TRMA forum and Rivet Counter. I have also decided to plate the entire hull with individual plates, rivets etc with sheet styrene and need some advice.

As you can see by Pic 1, the plating isnt perfect so have decided to remove it ( call me a sucker for punishment )..

T1.jpg


Pic 2 is the hull with sanding commenced;

T2.jpg


And Pic 3 is a sample that I started about 2.5 years ago, which hasn't been touched for 2 years.

T3.jpg


My question is, with the sample hull, I used a combination of either Tamiya Cement, Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and/or M.E.K, which did work well, but on the odd occasion the glue would essentially dry before applying the individual plates and when applying more glue, it left blotches in the 0.005 styrene.

Would slow acting/drying CA glue allow me the 10 -20 second window I need to propery align the plates and avoid the unsightly blotches.

Any advice, recomendations would be greatly appreciated and its great to finally be on board. :D
 
I have this kit and it is pretty good sized... But to go to all this work on 1/350...? Must be a Titanic NUT.
 
All of the cements you have mentions are 'hot' solvents. Try using Testors liquid cement, or the tube type squeezed out and thinned with liquid cement. Do this on a solvent proof surface. With your styrene strip positioned, hold one end up and apply a tiny amount to one of the long ends, and press into place.

Or you could try using an epoxy adhesive which you can get with upto a 30 minute set time.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ThomasModels @ Nov 25 2006, 07:43 PM) [snapback]1365441[/snapback]</div>
All of the cements you have mentions are 'hot' solvents. Try using Testors liquid cement, or the tube type squeezed out and thinned with liquid cement. Do this on a solvent proof surface. With your styrene strip positioned, hold one end up and apply a tiny amount to one of the long ends, and press into place.

Or you could try using an epoxy adhesive which you can get with upto a 30 minute set time.
[/b]
Click to expand...

Well I had the same problem when I plated my SS millenium falcon. The glue dried before I put the plate on the hull. So I put lot of glue to keep the styrene "wet"but you cant do it since your styrene is too thin. The styrene could melt :/ You can use cyano/superglue but now the other problem is you cant do a mistake while putting the plate in place.

This is a great subject and my wish is to get this minicraft kit (I love the Titanic). But if I should re do the plating, I wouldnt use styrene sheet but Bare Metal. Lots of boat's builder use this technic to plate the hull and it works very well .

I hope it can help,

Tox =)
 
I hate to say this, but you'd be better off getting another hull (probably a new kit) so everything is nice and clean. Forget about replating it and just concentrate on what people will really look at, which is the superstructure. And at 1:350 scale, there is no way you are going to make nice, clean rivets.

The reason I say this is you will constantly have the problem with the very thin plastic versus the best way to stick it down. No matter what you do, the plates will either come loose or turn to mush somewhere. An alternative is to use cardstock, but it has to be sealed before painting (a clear coat). Regular index cards may be thick enough or you can go to an art store and dig through the various cardstocks they have there. A coated stock would probably be better than non-coated. You can stick the plating down with contact adhesive, but not the spray kind. You want one that won't give up when the paint is applied.

If you are concerned about drill out portholes, you should be able to punch them using brass tubing. I take a file and sharpen the inside edge of a tube, which keeps the outside diameter accurate. Or if the tube is not exactly the size you need, you can sharpen the outside of it until the diameter is correct. You'll need several and you'll need to punch the porthole out before applying the plate to the hull. Having the hole in the hull a bit oversized will give you a more scale look to the thickness of the plate at the hole because you won't see the thickness of the plastic.

The nice thing about this technique is its cheap to experiment with.

The only other method I can think of is to use tape and body filler. You can even achieve the laps in the plating rather easily with this method.

Scott
 
Thanks for the tips guys.

I have actually purchased another two ( 2 ) hulls from Minicraft, just to be safe.

Have already sanded one down by hand using various grits of plain old wet and dry sandpaper, learning from my first experience and not using mini electric sanders and chisels, and its turned out quite well, infact it appears to have been quicker, easier and with a far better result.

Scott, do agree with you that most people will focus on the super structure, but after ALL the research I have done, that thick/ugly plating, I just cant swallow. Plus it gives me the opportunity to fix ALL the placements of incorrect port holes etc etc. I'm just a sucker for punishment.

The pic with the hull starting to be plated was the initial attempt and I think alot has been learned.

Will keep you all posted with my progress and again thanks for ALL your tips.


Nick
 
use a great glue called "Plastiweld" It is very easy to brush on in a thin coat, and thin position your plate, then give the edegs another lite swab. This will actually bond the plastic to the other plastic. this stuff also comes in handy when you're gonna have to bend alllll that railing(unless you do photoetched ones). as for the riviting, you may want to cast one or two plates with riviting, and then ca glue them to the hull, but fair warning, the aft quarter of this big girl is a real pain to do. Don't forget to rivit the triple screws too.
 
I'll say it again... LOTS of work for a fairly small scale.

Probably spend equal or less time scratchbuilding a larger hull...
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PHArchivist @ Nov 28 2006, 08:28 PM) [snapback]1367307[/snapback]</div>
I'll say it again... LOTS of work for a fairly small scale.

Probably spend equal or less time scratchbuilding a larger hull...
[/b]
Click to expand...



Yes but it's the thrill and challenge of such a task. To make a 1/350th look more accurate hasn't been done with any success up to this point.

I commend your bravery/insanity......LOL. I'm on my second 1/350th.......got all my PE details and references standing ready............just can't make myself actually open the box and begin. I am holding off so that I can get the Hahn plans in that scale first. I still don't own a set.

Dave :)
 
And to each, their own too... I'm currently matching every drip, drop, and brushstroke of the 32" Millenium Falcon, all in 1/72 scale, which is pretty small. That has got to be an equal form of insanity. ;)
 
I been told many a time that I'm "INSANE", everytime that I tell the "OTHERS" ( that is people who dont enjoy making/creating something ), that I enjoy and that it relaxes me, when I tinker away in such small detail.....

Believe me I also was dreading opening the box, while it sat on the shelf for 2 years, dreading that I would have to go into detail, but that didn't stop me from ordering the PE sets, the reference materials and the Hahn plans or downloading and printing the Rivet Counter Tutorial into 3 large A4 and 6cm thick folders....

Can someone remind me how thick or more appropriately, how thin the actual instructions are, that come with the kit...... :cry
 
Updated pics of my Titanic hull.

Most of the underside is now plated, with just a bit at the stern to go. A number of plates have blemishes in them due to the adhesive, but will fix all of these with a little filler and sanding once the entire hull is complete. Will also give the entire hull a light sanding with steel wool when complete in order to blend the plates and give a more accurate look to scale.


Let me know what you think....
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NoHumorMan @ Jan 18 2007, 10:26 AM) [snapback]1399886[/snapback]</div>
That's looking real nice. Great progress. :thumbsup [/b]
Click to expand...
:eek

i just swallowed my tounge call 911.

j/k

looks incridible. more pics.
 
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