Help with seam filling

I use a "Bondo product found in a tube @ wally world in the automotive dept & its inexpensive , a tube of this will last a long time if you keep it sealed . it sands great & it will apply alot better than "testor's or squadron putty. I use it on ships. It can also be wet sanded. it is a red substance & is in a goo state but hardeneds quickly

When one side is higher than the other, sand!
When a seam is hard to reach,or is in a risky position to put blades or sandpaper, don't bother removing it! It most likely won't be very noticeable!
Or, in the case of your guns, try removing the seam before installing the guns, next time!
Finally, I always use putty. The only super glue I have, while not dangerous to plastic itself, creates fumes that melt, liquify, and warp plastic, so I try to avoid it like the plague! The putty I use is Testors Contour Putty. The stuff works miracles! I usually use it to add detail to small-scale hardpoints on my aircraft, or ammo belts for my Gundams. When I'm going to use it for seam filling, I try to use it much like an adhesive! First, I put down some model cement on part A, then I cover the cement with putty, then add a line of cement on top of the putty, and attach part B! Once it's dried, the bond is rock solid, and the contour putty has shrunk just enough that only light sanding will give you a perfectly seamless appearance!!

I use regular old Testors putty and then a cotton swab with nail polish remover to smooth the putty.

Check out this site for a description of the process:

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/

The specific page with info on filling without sanding is here:

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/TnT_Archives/Filling.htm

FWIW, the "Filling without sanding" technique seems to work pretty well when there's a deep gap, but I'm having a little trouble with smaller gaps. I'm sure a lot of the problem is my relative inexperience building kits.

Regards,
-Drew

I've stopped trying to sand wing leading edges between the guns. I remove the guns, drill holes in the proper locations for the replacements, sand the leading edges, and then, after painting and decaling, replace the guns or blast tubes with fine metal tubing or plastic rod. It is important to drill the holes for the replacements before sanding to maintain their exact location.

It is also a good idea to glue a small piece of plastic inside the wing behind the guns before assembling the wing so that the replacement guns do not have to be very long. I use G-S Hypo Cement to glue in the replacements. This allows enough time for perfect alignment. I recently used this method on a 1/72 P-47 Thunderbolt (four closely placed blast tubes on each wing) and had no problems whatsoever.

I often do this for pitot tubes also. How many have you broken off in handling the wing assembly?

Good luck,
Pete

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfink I have some problems filling seams, especially where one side of the seam is higher than the other. What is the correct approach? Should I scrape down the high side so that it is even with the low side? this seems to 'flatten' the profile of the aircraft.

Dry fitting helps a lot here. Are the pieces just off-center so you have the same problem on both sides? In a case like that you may just have to modify or completely cut off the mounting pins and glue it together 'free-hand'. If the problem is just on one side you can use a combination of sanding and puttying. Try and 'rock' the sanding stick so you don't get the dreaded 'flat spot' or use a Flexi-file that conforms better to the rounded surfaces.

QUOTE: Finally, when do you use CA vs. Putty? If you use putty, which do you use, and why?

I use an automotive putty called Evercoat Eurosoft. It is mentioned quite a bit in the magazines and I've had excellent results with it. It is a two part substance so you do have to mix a small amount up when you need some but the results are worth it. It sands great, feathers into the plastic nicely, and doesn't react with any of the paints that I've ever used.
I have never used CA for filling. The putty has always worked for me so I have never had a need to try something else. Some comments I have heard though say that if you don't sand CA within the first 24 hours it tends to get quite a bit harder than the surrounding plastic and if you need to do more sanding work on it that may pose a problem.

Ray

I use three materials for filling seams. My first choice is usually CA. Once you've learned how to use this material it will work wonders. I buy the cheap stuff in the 4pack at Home Depot. The secret is to use it with accelerator and to sand it early, before it gets too hard. My second choice is automotive filler putty (kinda like bondo) that comes in a tube. Use it for very SMALL gaps, pinholes and ejector pin marks. My third choice is Evercoat Eurosoft. This is great stuff for leveling large areas.

If I get a very uneven fuselage half, I use the Eurosoft and build up the low side. Filling and sanding between small structures like gun barrels, etc, usually takes come creative sanding stick fabrication. Use sandpaper wrapped around various pieces of foam (from egg cartons), or balsa sticks. Be gentle.

Tom

I primarily use Bondo spot/glazing putty, but Ray has peaked my interest more than once in the Eurosoft stuff. Haven't used it yet, but plan to someday. I tried CA once, but didn't find any big advantage over the Bondo.

Murray