Cement & Glue: Tips and Types

Plastic or styrene cement doesn't glue but rather melts the plastic pieces together. I tend to use Tamiya Extra Thin with the green cap for 90% of my builds. It has a fat jar that doesn't easily tip over, as well as very small & precise applicator brush. In fact, the bottles are great for other cements as well, so don't throw out empty ones.

Tamiya Extra Thin (green cap)

• • Hold the pieces in place and wick the cement into the cracks. Capillary action pulls it in.
  • Don't let it wick onto your fingers, or you'll leave permanent fingerprints.
  • Can refill with Tamiya's Airbrush Cleaner (same formula)

Tamiya Extra Thin Quick Setting (lime green cap)

• • Works with capillary action like regular extra thin but dries faster.
  • Some plastics melt too much with Extra Thin, so this is a great alternative.
  • I love this for Bandai kits.

Tamiya Standard Cement (white cap)

• • You can replace the big applicator brush with a smaller brush from the Extra Thin bottle.
  • Use an old paintbrush to apply cement on large areas quickly.

Other types

• • Limonene is a naturally derived/less-toxic cement.
  • ABS cements work with non-polystyrene plastics.
  • A lot of companies these days have similar lineups of cements, so go with whatever is easiest to obtain.

Cyanoacrylate (CA) or super Glue is what I mailny use for gluing brass, resin, wire, and fingers to styrene. Applying it can be tricky, as well as selecting the right viscosity. Thus, it takes a bit of practice, especially with how fast it sets. Now, CA glue does lose its effectiveness over time, so consider replacing your glue bottles every 6 months or so. Also note, finger oils will fog up if the CA vapors hit them (aka don't use this stuff on clear parts).

Thick CA

• • Can be applied with the glue bottle or toothpick.
  • Great for parts that need extra time to align them

Thin CA

• • Stuff is like water...be warned.
  • Best applied with an applicator like the Glue Looper. Put some Thin CA in a small cap, dip the Glue Looper into the CA.
  • Hold the part in place exactly where you want it, and tap the edge with the Glue Looper. The CA will wick into the crevasses like Tamiya Extra Thin. Use a lighter to clean the Looper tip.
  • You might also try taping one end of a large brass piece down, then apply glue to the other end. This helps in keeping the part aligned.
  • Beer bottle caps work great to hold thin CA.

Black CA

• • Useful if you need to know where the excess is for sanding purposes
  • Often has rubber additives to make it less brittle

PVA or White glue is very common and quite versatile. It's essentially an acrylic, so you can thin or clean with water. There are several products I particularly like:

Gator's Grip

• • Precision tip and thick viscosity
  • Great for canopies and even small photo-etch parts

Scenic Cement, VMS Ballast Freeze, or most Pigment Fixers

• • Heavily thinned white glues
  • Great for adhering sand/terrain
  • Use a paintbrush with water to remove excess
  • Most Pigment Fixers behave like thinned white glue (others are enamel)
  • VMS Paper Shaper helps turn paper into tarps - very useful for dioramas

Wood Glue

• • Great for wood (obviously) but does well with foam-board (for dioramas)
  • Also great for bonding air-dry clay and plaster molds to a base

Epoxy glue is a special type of bonding agent that requires 2 parts to be mixed equally to bond. I have everything from 5-minute epoxies to the illustrious JB Weld.

• Best to mix with toothpicks on wax paper
• Great for odd plastics that cement won't bond to
• Great for bonding plastic to wood
• Perfect for attaching structural supports (like brass tubes to wings)
• You must brace or clamp things as the glue hardens (some epoxies take 24 hours)
• I also photographed JB's UV glue to the right. It works similarly to epoxy, but light activates it, not a hardener.

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