Federation Commander

Okay... so I'm at a tipping point (HA!)...

Has anyone else felt that the BC needs to be pinned to the neck? Or do we think it'll hold with simply with glue and putty?



Thanks,

---Guy

ive had to hold mine in place for about 5 min using gorilla super glue

So far mine have held up pretty well with just super glue. They are light weight so it shouldnt take a lot to keep em together.

I've glued 6 of hte BCs together so far and haven't eeded anythgin morethan a drop of super glue and a little patience.
Two of them have already been dropped during use and all they did was bounce off the concrete floor.

The 2500s are very light and very resilient.

Make sure you wash them off thoroughly with Ajax or something like that, as the mold release can interfere with the glue and the paint.

Right! Thanks guys!

I'll put the dish on right away!

So who here read the topic title and thought, "I didn't know detatched saucers could pin enemy ships in F&E"???

new star trek episode: Gravity Well and the Concrete Wall of Space

I haven't done assembly on mine yet, as I was waiting for more discussions just like this to establish the needs/lack-thereof for pinning.

I have noticed that the frequently mentioned ever-so-slightly porous nature of the resin does seem to be true. It looks like these will really, really, let superglues "tooth in" well (even more-so for epoxies). Given the far lower density of the resin vs. pewter, I'm certainly leaning toward not pinning.

I will agree those that the joints on the Fed saucers, and Klingon cruiser engines are giving me pause. Those are established problem points on the legacy metal minis and lots of us have 20+ years of history dealing with them popping off. It will take some time to adjust to the new material.

As mentioned up-thread, I think surface prep will be just as important on these as on metal. Clean, oil-free, *flat* surfaces will be critical for best strength.

I've noticed the resin ships' dorsal necks will have a tiny bit of "flash" on their upper face. Make sure to file that away so the "pegs" are clear and nothing interferes with their fit-up into the corresponding "holes" in the saucer.

A "jig" would be advisable to help assure that the saucer is being glued on level, both side-to-side and forward-aft. The jig could be as simple as some stacked washers, or more involved and permanent if you intend to do a lot of these ships (I do, so mine will be made using cheap "craft" sticks, like THIS ONE for my metal Fed cruisers).

On the Klingon cruisers, I've also noticed that they can benefit from some file/sanding work to make sure the engine "wing" and rear hull joint is clean and flat. Any protuberances will cause the engine to not be at the correct angle.

Well.... so using Weldbond is not the answer:



I guess it will have to be Gorilla Glue. I let the BC sit for 24 hours and just popping it on the stand both popped it off the mount AND snapped the dish off.

Not sure what WeldBond is, but if it is typical plastic model kit "glue" then no, it won't do anything on these.

Welding-type "glues" work by using toluene or another solvent to partially dissolve the polystyrene or ABS plastics, welding the two parts together.

The resin used for these new minis (and most resin kits in the small-run "garage kit" market too) does not react with "weld" type glues.

The clear stands themselves are probably polystyrene though and will react to that kind of glue, but with noting to weld to it will just turn the stand peg to goo and deform it. Once the solvent all evaporates out, the peg might still be usable (Hopefully).

Gorilla Glue might work on these minis, but I've never used it and can't speak to what it is made of.

The best glues for these resin minis that I can recommend from my experience would be cyanacrylate "super" glues (gelled "gap filling" kind would be best for most joints) and/or 2-part liquid epoxy glues. Both are a bit of a pain to use (superglues bond everything, including skin and epoxy glues have to be mixed from two liquids) but they are both "surface" bonding glues and will work well on this resin.


BTW - I note that you chose to fill the grid lines on the saucer with greenstuff. You're the first person I've seen do that and it will be interesting to see who they look painted up as "smoothies".

i only use the gorilla super glue and it probably works too well, some mistakes are hard to fix.

djdood wrote:I've noticed the resin ships' dorsal necks will have a tiny bit of "flash" on their upper face. Make sure to file that away so the "pegs" are clear and nothing interferes with their fit-up into the corresponding "holes" in the saucer.

Beware: The BC saucer (IIRC - I;m at work right now and not in front of my minis) has "ridges" on the top of the dorsal neck in addtion to any flash that may be present. Those ridges fit into the grooves /weld lines / shield grid on the underside of the saucer to prevent unslightly gaps from appearing when assembled.

Scoutdad: Thanks! I'm going to head off to a store for glue then in a bit.

Re:grid lines: yes, I have a plan! Well... I have an idea... we'll see if it turns out good or not. For the most part I've set it up so the CAs, DD's, SCs and Tugs are all Zocchi and the bigger ships (And the FFs) are 2500s. They work well together (It makes the BC seem a whole LOT bigger, which is reasonable and the DN is MASSIVE! ), but they won't match since the grid lines pop OUT on the Zocchi and they are recessed on the 2500s. Hopefully, this will work out to "Average" the two out I'll certainly keep you posted!

Sgt_G wrote:So who here read the topic title and thought, "I didn't know detatched saucers could pin enemy ships in F&E"???

ME!