Gluing warped saucer halves

[AZRhino]

I am in the process of constructing a RM Cylon Basestar, and the saucer halves are slightly warped. Gluing the saucer in sections should allow me to allign the parts that need alligning but I am curious as to which would be a better gluing method.

On styrene, I love Tamiya Thin, and use it for just about everything, and being a styrene glue it will melt the plastic and "weld" it together. I am worried that the pressure from the warped saucers will cause the seams to pop over time.

The other method I am thinking about using is 5 Minute epoxy. It will allow me time to align the parts and hold them in place until the epoxy sets. My only concern is how well the epoxy will hold the styrene, considering it is a thin film between the parts. It should hold, but will I have seam cleanup issues once it is cured?

Any opinions on either method? Is there a better method I am missing?

Thanks,
Mike

[srspicer]

Five minute epoxy will be a pain to clean up if it squeezes out of the seems, and it will not have the holding strength you are looking for. Using liquid solvent ( Tamiya Thin) will hold the best if you use the proper amount, not to much to melt though. Super glue will hold as well, but it does not give you the working time that the solvent will. Using the solvent will let you take a look at alignment after you have everything clamped into position and shift the parts if needed. Super glue will grab right away and never let go. At least that is what 30 years of experience tells me.

Good luck!

Scott

[irishtrek]

Got any photos? And is it an original series base star?

[AZRhino]

Got any photos?

Not yet...

And is it an original series base star?

Yes.

The "warping" is actually more of a slight twist in the saucer halves. Very fixable, but as I stated earlier, I am concerned that there is enough of a twist to cause the seams to pop over time.

[en'til Zog]

Use Tenax or equivalent. Coming a part will not be a problem. Just use enough solvent so a little gooey styrene squishes out of the joint.

Let dry.

Solid.

[irishtrek]

If I remember the basetsar kit has cross beams around the rim of the saucer and if there depending on the gap between the beams on the top and bottom you should be able to some how clamp the saucer pieces together, and if you do it right the saucer pieces should hold after you glue them together.

[Warped Speedster]

Mike

I sympathise with your problem. I think severe warping (and mis-shapened parts) is the main reason why a lot of models I bought in the past never got built. (You'd think a guy with a name like ~Warped Speedster~ would be more help, huh? )

Lotsa good advice mentioned above, and I can't add much to the glueing suggestions.

I've never built that particular kit, and I don't know how bad the parts are, but I do know that sometimes forcing a couple really warped pieces of plastic together, to glue straight, will just end up warping both pieces anyways, or eventually tear the plastic. Of course, there's always the hair dryer. Heating, bending, stretching deformed parts back into shape, close enough to glue together straight. Sometimes it works.

There's also the "pie cutting" method (the saw)--making the section bigger or smaller to fit together better, and then re-doing any hosed-up details. Lotta work but I know it works.

Ever kit has its own problems, I guess.

[Old Wombat]

Solvent glues should give you the strongest styrene-to-styrene bond as they literally dissolve the styrene at the bond sites & cause the two pieces to become one when they dry. thus you have a single piece of styrene.

The other glues are more likely to separate over time as they bond to each surface with a film of glue between them.