Jump to content
ray88853

Is there any tips on Tamiya tank model? I am stuck with some tiny parts

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone, I am new to tanks and tank scaled model and I had bought a tank model French Somua S35 and I found tank model very difficult to build. I do not have any experience of scaled model building, not even gundam.

I have bought the required tools and followed the instruction step by step. Today I have to put several tiny rods ( handles on the tank body? ) on and I have difficulties gluing them.

I also broke one of these handles accidentally. Looking from the instruction, I have to put the handle on the shallow "hole" but I am not sure glue is good enough? It is very difficult to put them on that spot AND hold it until it stay. It is hard to grap it with my fingers, and it is hard to apply force with a tweezer.

To be honest, I yelled "it is ridiculous", but I think there are some wisdom to it, otherwise the Japanese won't put it there. By the way, the details of Tamiya model is incredible to a point that building the model is very tedious...

 

Any tips? Thank you

 

rod.jpeg

hole.jpeg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What type of glue are you using to stick the rails on with? Styrene cement? To be honest if it was me building it I'd use a bit of superglue for a small part like that 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If using styrene cement you may be able to hold it in place with a small strip of masking tape while it dries.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven’t used it but I think uv glue is popular now for small pieces. You hold it in place with tweezers then shine a uv torch on it to cure it in place.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 hours ago, Supercoolnothing said:

What type of glue are you using to stick the rails on with? Styrene cement? To be honest if it was me building it I'd use a bit of superglue for a small part like that 

A yellow cement provided by the shop staff when asked. I don't know about it. The brand is "Academy"

yellow_cement.jpeg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yup that's styrene cement, with that type what you're supposed to do is place the parts together then with the supplied brush apply a small amount the cement along the join to fuse the pieces together. Where some people run into trouble with that type is they apply it to one or both surfaces to be stuck together then they put them together and wonder why it's not sticking and it's because the small amount of adhesive has already evaporated unlike the old school plastic glues that comes in a plastic tube. 

You should be able to get it to work using the method above or you can use a small bit of superglue applied with the pointed end of a cocktail stick which is a bit faster but comes with a higher risk of gluing yourself to the model. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Best thing you can do for small plastic bits like handrails etc is drill holes all the way through the body and use copper or lead wire instead. If you plan on running it at all, the little plastic details will ping off immediately so always over engineer where you can. 

Some Tamiya tanks have parts made from plastic which is not like ABS. Normal plastic glues rely on melting the two pieces together, but they do not work on all plastics. Superglue will work but nothing is as strong as a hole all the way through!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...