The best way to install photo etched parts on a 1:350 Arleigh burke

There's a lot of different opinions about what glue to use. I use superglue, but others have good techniques too.

One thing for certain- yes, work with shorter lengths of rail. If you look at pictures of the real thing, you'll see that the rails/ safety lines or what not are interrupted pretty often for access to mooring bitts, gangways and other stuff.

Working with a long piece of PE is definitely a pain!

Getting someone else to do it?  Sorry I could not resist.  Love the detail but not the time.

I built one of those and decided to leave off the railings completely.  There were bumps and stuff all over the deck leaving no room for the railings. Not a well designed kit, in my opinion.  It looks fine without the railings.  (Trumpeter version.)

For longer railings I find superglue sets too fast. I generally use diluted white glue, but sometimes tack an end or two with CA just to hold it in place while I apply the white glue.  Each segment is different.  For very short sections I just use the CA.

Sometimes one can see the CA.  One thing I like about the white glue is that it is more invisible.

I have not had the opportunity to use it,but I hear a lot of good things about Gator's Grip Hobby Glue.The guy who makes it is a model ship builder,and many swear by it.I don't have his site handy,but you can problably google it.I believe he is from Louisiana and his last name is Kenny Loup

Scott

Keep away from superglue for photoetch railings, ladders, etc. Especially if you are new to this facet of enhanced modeling.

As others have posted, SHORT lengths of railings are easier to work with. You just need to PLAN ahead with the measuring of each railing, (where will it start and where does it end.)

  White carpenters glue(Elmers), Gators Grip Hobby glue, Sobo Craft and Fabric glue are some of the adhesives to use. What they all have in common is that they are "water based". If you drip some of this on the hull or deck a wet cotton swab  can clean it up without damaging your paint job.

 Another trick is to use masking tape or Duco "Stick-Tac" to hold the railings in place to the deck until dry. Some builders use the "tape/Stick-Tac" method and run a bead of superglue in lieu of the water based glue but that's a risky proposition if it goes where you don't want it to. Superglue is a pain to remove.

Well, there are other methods of gluing railings besides mine, pick one that works for you and good luck in your project!

Thanks for the tips guys!

Thunder1;  I purchased some elmer glue last night and I'm going to start installing the photo-etched parts tomorrow.

Can you suggest where I can post pictures of my model? So that others can look at them

Cheers

Scott

There are some forums just for how to use the FSM forums, and there currently is a thread on how to post pictures.  You need a web site to put them on (I use Photobucket), and then, by using the "rich formatting" option, you can link directly to the photo so that it will appear as a picture in your forum message.