Advice for attaching open gun port doors...

David_K

Hello all-

So I've reached the point in my 1/150 Revell Vasa that it's time to attach the gun port doors.  But I can't seem to reach in to fit even one on, without knocking off exposed barrels from the the cannon inside, or above, or below!....the nub to attach them in the open position is little more than a wrinkle in the top of the door.

I have no idea how I'm going to get 50+ of these things attached...any advice would me most appreciated!

I feel like I should have attached them long ago, before all the cannon were installed...at least then I could turn the hull on it's side and try to reach it with tweezers....

Thanks!
David

I usually make a hinge, out of a 1/4" wide piece of thin brass bent at 90 degrees. If you can get it glued to the underside of the door, then put some superglue on it when you do go to install it and hook it up into the opening and hold it there.

As you've come to realize, about 95% of your time on as ship model is spent doing tedious, repetitious and downright stupid things over and over and...

Ha!  It's true....

Thanks for the info, Bondoman!

I'm considering building some kind of jig/stand that will support the hull/deck assembly on it's side without disturbing the gun barrels....I have an inch or so at the stern, and the beakhead is more or less clear on the sides....I'd like to have the hull on it's side, so the gun doors will rest in their final position (against the hull) while the cement dries, letting gravity do the work of lining things up....do you think that's a bad idea??

I could wait until the very end to put them on, but I really think it's going to be even more precarious, and I fear I'll cause more damage!!

David 

One important thing is that the glue joint must be plastic to plastic. If you have painted the hull and gunports, you have to scrape the point from the joint surfaces before gluing. I keep a spare knife handle with an older #11 blade in it, one with just a smidgeon of the point broken off (I get a lot of those, discard most but always keep one around to use as a scraper.

Sometimes even that is too difficult to use.  In that case I drill through the paint and leave just a shallow hole, thirty mils deep or so, in a few spots to allow CA to penetrate into the plastic for a good bond. I use about a # 65 or so drill in a pinvise.

Thanks, Don!  Good point!

BTW, you mentioned CA glue.  I have always used Testors Liquid Cement in the little triangular plastic bottle with a metal needle applicator....am I missing out by not using better glue?  CA is just super glue, right?  Cyanoacrylate?  Or is there some other kind (brand/style) of cement I should consider that will hold better, easier to work with, etc.?

BTW, here are some FB pics if you're interested in seeing some of the progress...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150652386816312.389965.582946311&type=3

Yes, CA is super glue. It CAN hold better, in some situations, and there are several types. Instant hold CA is usually very thin, like water, but bonds in a few seconds when the parts are joined. Gel-type CA can have bonding times ranging up to 20 seconds and stays where you put it as opposed to running like the thin CA. All CA glues may fog adjacent plastic and painted surfaces, especially clear plastic, so that's something to watch out for.

I build a lot of 1/700 resin ship models and slow-setting gel CA is my glue of choice because of the longer working time, it stays where you put it and it's a little more forgiving.

CA glues have good tensile strength - they resist pulling apart.  Remember the guy hanging by his helmet from the overhead beam in the ad for Superglue.   They have poor shear strength - you can twist or tear the joint apart fairly easily

For a narrow parts such as a gun port lid with not much surface area, that might be subject to the unintentional knock of an errant thumb, you may want to add some brass wire pins to strengthen the joint.    These would be a good choice whether you were using solvent glue or CA.

Good to know...thanks for the advice!!!

CA is a bonder, Plastic cement like testors is a solvent.

Lot's of modelers on this forum have reported that they can successfully bond together painted parts I'm not so successful at that and stick to the old rule that it bonds only to the paint.Which is fine if the paint is applied well. Probably it's some of both, and I use CA mostly, but WHEN possible get a clean unpainted joint, and a little mechanical assistance helps, esp. if the things are going to get wanged again.

David_K

Thanks, Don!  Good point!

BTW, you mentioned CA glue.  I have always used Testors Liquid Cement in the little triangular plastic bottle with a metal needle applicator....am I missing out by not using better glue?  CA is just super glue, right?  Cyanoacrylate?  Or is there some other kind (brand/style) of cement I should consider that will hold better, easier to work with, etc.?

Good question.  Best answer is convenience.  I build many other genre of models in addition to ships, and most of the folks I know keep both liquid cement and CA glue. Liquid cement is best for long seams (like two hull halves going together) where you need time to adjust parts and want a very slow set.  But it also takes a long time to fully set/harden.

CA is nice for attaching smaller parts and making smaller subassemblies.  You can glue the part on, and in a minute do other work, instead of waiting several hours after attaching each part. I use gel CA for two reasons.  First, it sets a little slower than regular CA, which is too fast for me.  Second, the parts do not need to match perfectly at the gluing surfaces.  The gel fills small irregularities. I do keep some regular CA on hand but do not use it very much (which is good because it is expensive compared to liquid cement.

These comments of course are for plastic models.  For wooden models I also use CA for small parts, but for long seams I go with white glue.  Again, I use gel CA- regular CA doesn't work so well on wood as it is too porous.  The gel stuff fills the pores better.  Also it is great for attaching metal or plastic to wood.