Ta 152 - Pacific Coast models - desperation!

[PJP]

Gentlemen - I'm struggling here.

Any help would be appreciated.

The cockpit (mostly completed), wheel wells, nose, exhaust stubs, propellor boss and sundry tiny bits are made from polyurethane.

Each PU moulding has a big lump of PU attached to the back, however small the actual component. The moulding has fine flash around the edges and has sunk a little on the waste side.

The only adhesive that seems to work is superglue but it is slow setting on this plastic.

Paint is a sod.

Even after Halfords primer, it comes off way to easily.

Questions then:

How do I best cut off the waste as the PU is both hard and brittle, so bits break off, parts are consumed by the carpet monster and bits are broken off when unwrapped (e.g top half of a rudder pedal). I am ruining lots of knife blades and finger ends? Do I need to buy a small vice?

Any alternative adhesives, or a CA glue with a very fine dispenser/nozzle so I don't have to keep unsticking bits from me, tools, cloth, dogs, coffee mugs etc?

What paint can I prime with to stick to the PU? I am finishing using Lifecolor which works very well by brush or AB and am having to keep recoating tiny bits where primer and paint have come off.

I am losing the will to live here and am seriously wondering if Pacific Coast are worth the high prices they charge, or is it just that as a newbie I have to suffer to learn. If the latter, I don't object, but I would like to know.....

Help??

Peter

[Ian M]

Hm! Sounds like you are not having a fun experiance here. Polyurethane as in resin? Hard as hell if I recall! Forget the knife. You will end up loosing a finger, if you dont run out of blades first.

Cut them off with a micro saw. File them down to shape. Sorry but I dont know an easier way.

Painting it is not usually the problem? Have you washed all the parts in WARM soapy water. I can imagine there is loads of release agent or maybe even talcum powder over every thing.

Auto primer would of been my best suggestion.

Glue? Got me there. I would of though super-glue (so called) would of done the trick. Epoxy? I know its slow stuff but you can find one thats hard as glass in five mins. Just dont mix up to much at a time. If you need a finer nozzle for your CA try to find a bit of polypropelen plastic tube. The clear stuff is a soft and milky white plastic. Warm it carfefully with a lighter and stretch it just like sprue. Be carefull as being a soft plastic it melts real quick. Pull it very slowly and hold it untill set again. (30 secs.) cut with the shrapest knife you have and you have a soft plastic hypodermic thinie for your CA.

I hope that some of the above is of use to you and helps you on your way.

Good luck

Ian M

[stona]

Hi Peter,the joys of model building eh!

I'm not sure what you mean by PU but I'm guessing,from your description, that this is resin. To cut parts from their attachments I would suggest a razor saw followed by sanding.

I think you will have to persevere with the CA glue but remember the damned stuff does go off. If you are using an old bottle/tube it might be worth buying new. To apply small drops of CA glue nick a medium sized sewing needle from SWMBO and cut off the top of the eye. This will leave a little U shape which you can use to accurately apply small drops.

For a primer I'd nip down to Halfords and get a can of Halfords "Grey Plastic Primer". It's the best primer I have found and seems to stick to anything. Acrylic paints certainly stick to it. Remember that acrylic paints dry very quickly but take longer to cure so don't rush to mask. I know people say "I masked so and so after twenty minutes" but it won't hurt to leave it a few hours. You need to leave the Halfords primer for 24hrs before you rub it down or apply your paint over it,even though it seems dry.

Don't get discouraged,you've started a fairly challenging kit and are bound to have a few hurdles to clear! It will be an experience which will stand you in good stead further down the line. It isn't by all accounts the easiest kit to build.

I've attached a piccy of the primer. The trick is not to apply to much,give short bursts from about a foot away. Take your time and mist on several light coats. You can apply another coat as soon as the previous one looks dry. I leave only about 10-15 mins between "mistings"

Any other questions just fire away,we'll all do our best to give you a hand.

Good Luck.

Steve

Ian beat me to a couple of points but his very good point about release agents apply particularly to those resin bits!

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[PJP]

Thank you for the suggestions.

Based on what you say Steve it'll be resin. It's just that the instructions (actually pictures with arrows showing the general area to be joined, but no detailed locations), call it polyurethane. As you say, hard as hell.

I'll be off to buy a razor saw tomorrow then.

The primer you show is the same as the one I have been using after washing the bits. The resin/PU does feel very slippery though, so I'll wash again & spray as suggested.

Thanks for the tip with the tubing. I'll try to find some and give it a go.

I did pick up a forum tip about nail varnish remover working on superglue as well and I can confirm it does separate me or other stuff from the bits I haven't lost yet!

I will post a few pictures of the state of play so far, when I can summon the nerve.

Thanks for the help.

I'm just going to lift several glasses of the scottish variety to settle the nerves and put recent experiences behind me.

Thanks

Peter