Back in the hobby - Need advice

Welcome back to the hobby rinkrat. I don't model cars but I think I can answer your questions anyway.

1. stage build before painting ie engine block, frame, interior, etc. - painting on the tree is generally not a good idea in most cases.

2. I prefer CA glue for everything, I never use Testor's glue anymore

3. Not necessarily, they each have properties that make them useful. Thin glue is great for attaching the parts together but thick glue has gap filling capabilities that thin will not work for.

4. Websites...here you is..just keep asking questions and the answers will appear...remember there's no such thing as a dumb question.

A good place to look for sites about cars and building tips is www.scalemodelindex.com

Just look for the section devoted to cars. Good Luck!

Hy; Welcome back !
1) It depends on the size of the part you're dealing with. Paint small parts when they're attached to their sprues, it will be easier to handle and it prevents loosing small parts.
2) CA is excellent. But as it dries very fast, you can't adjust the parts.
3) Thick Super Glue is better, as it goes exactly where you want.(unlike the thin which can flow and ruin your model).
4) You're at the right place !

Good luck !!
Tom.

Most thing ... I paint as they are going together. I try to paint as I go along as much as possible, but it really depends on the individual parts, what will be around them... etc.

I use CA for photo-etched parts, parts that have tiny points of contact (like ignition wires)... and things that need to set quickly. BUT mostly I use Tenax and Testors. I like the way Tenax will flow along a joint, and set pretty quickly.

Thin glue is better for seams where you need it to flow thru capilary action... like when putting fuselage halves together. Thick is better for parts that have a small contact area.

There are a lot of good sites for info (including MINE... see below). BU tyou are at about the best one. I also recomment hobbytalk.com as a good place to get info too.

Good luck, and have fun... and realize there are a lot of different views on things. People find what works best for them,a nd you will find what works best for you too. So take all advice in that light... and try everything to find what YOU like!

I won't answer each of you questions because I think the other posters have covered them fairly well. As for glue, I actually use both Testors and CA. CA is strong and quick, but I've found that over time the glue gets 'brittle' and can break relatively easily (that can be a good thing if you're trying to take a model apart to restore it!). I most often use CA whenever I'm gluing trying to glue something other than plastic (ie. wire, p/e, metal, brass, etc). I actually use a liquid glue called Ambroid and I absolutely love it. It melts the plastic at the joint. The two pieces essentially weld together. The benefit to this stuff is that usually some of the plastic 'oozes' out of the joint. when it dries, you simply clean up the 'ooze' and there is a very good chance you will NOT require any filler at all. The disadvantage is that it doesn't set/cure as quickly as CA glue and you can't use it unless your joining plastic to plastic.

I'm quite impressed with Ambroid. I think it is stronger than Testors. The advantage of the Testors is that if you get a little bit on an area by accident, you can quickly wipe it up and it likely won't mar the plastic. Ambroid works quick and chances are that a similar incident would leave a mark in the plastic.

I also use a Touch-n-Flow applicator which allows very precise placement of the glue into the seams.

M.