News from your model shop - 14th February 2021

Hello

Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips located at the bottom of the newsletter.

Keith Tompkins sent us the following pictures. They are 2 photos of his N gauge Christmas snowy mountain layout and one photo of real snow in January on the garden G Scale. Click on the photos to see them in larger size.

 

 

You may have noticed there are numerous different types of glue available to modellers, this is because different glues are good at different things, dry at different speeds and with varying degrees of transparency. The large range of glue available simply reflects this and matches glues appropriately with particular tasks.

To give you an idea of glues in general, PVA glues are best suited for porous materials because they are water-based making them ideal for card or wood that allows the glue to penetrate deep under the surface creating a superb bond once the water has evaporated. Solvent-based glues are better suited to plastics because they melt it allowing the two surfaces to become one and epoxy-resins turn into a strong hard plastic-like substance that can be used to fill larger gaps, bond metals and can even be sanded. But within these categories, there are many more types of glue which can get confusing if you're not a glue expert. If this sounds familiar then you may want to consider a task-specific glue, there is a good selection out there to help you, for example:

Plastic Magic - Its speciality is to bond plastics commonly used in kits, quickly and without glue lines
Rocket Card Glue - Used for very quick adhesion when constructing card kits such as Metcalfe and Superquick
Speed Bond - A quick-drying (approximately 5 minutes) PVA used for wood, paper and fabrics
Scenic Glue - A spray adhesive specifically for the job of adhering scatter or grass to baseboards or dioramas
Rocket Cyanoacrylate Gel - A superior 10-second bond non runny super-glue for most materials
View Glue - A specially formulated adhesive for applying backscenes

 

 

 

There are also glues and related products with even more specific tasks in mind such as 'Rocket Cyanoacrylate Odourless' an odourless super-glue with good adhesion but a slightly slower setting time to allow for final adjustments and because it is odourless, it will not mist clear plastics, 'Ballast Bond' a super-thin adhesive for minerals such as ballast or coal that dries clear, 'Rocket Blaster' a formula that accelerates the bonding time of super-glue, 'Glue Buster' to undo a super-glue mistake, 'Glue n Glaze' a unique glue that not only adheres but can be used to form crystal-clear glazing up to 6mm wide and 'Speed Epoxy II' for formidable strength and quick drying times.

 

 

 We keep on adding modelling tips to our website. Here are the latest ones:

• What does DCC fitted mean?
• What is feedback on an analogue controller?
• What is a unifrog turnout?
• What is the difference between bullhead and flat bottom rail?
• What is the difference between square and round signal posts?