Well, this past Saturday was Modelzona, IPMS Phoenix’s annual show and contest. Needless to say, I went. The vendor rooms were well supported by local and regional retailers and private sellers. There was a fine selection of kits to be found, a d I found these two. Combined prices for both were still less that what either one fetches at most online shops
I’ve been wanting both of those for my collection since they were each released.
Value Gear was also present with his full line of products, as was a different vendor with lots of tools! My angle nose tweezers were in desperate need of replacement, so….
A couple of long awaited kits found their way to my door today. Took a while for these Gecko kits to hit our shores, but they look well worth the wait.
I have that problem too. The hobby shop has the R35 kit and I keep going back and forth on getting it. Either for a Bulgarian vehicle or French for my Alpine figures……choices choices.
Although I’ve built the earlier Aero Screen or Pneumonia Wagon version, I can confirm the kit is worth every penny. The intricate detailing and superb fit both give a sound base for superdetailer like you, Mike!
Some spare sandpapers (280 and 400 grit) for the Multi Angle Sliding Sander I recently acquired.
Plus the Steeples Adjustment Circular Cutter Locator- an useful device when placing the Cutter on specific spot is required(for example when cutting holes for gauges in an instrument table).
I still lack the Cutter actually- it is out of stock in Europe- but I’ll have it one day, I was promised.
That stuff works absolute wonders for PE parts. I use it almost exclusively in place of super glue. It’s got a very strong bond once fully dry, remains somewhat flexible so little bumps won’t cause PE to fly off into another dimension, and best of all without being sandwiched between two parts it doesn’t adhere that well so once dry you can clean up and messes with a flick of a number 11 and some very light sanding.
@SdAufKla directed me towards it and I have had a much friendlier time with PE since. It’s also nice in that if you wet a brush dip it in the medium and then touch it to the side of the PE part it has some decent capillary action, often I’ll fix a PE part with a small dab of the medium and then once dry I’ll strengthen the joint with a little touch using the capillary action
Caution with the Liquitex gel. I’ve used it for years. DON’T let it get wet. It will soften and maybe let go. I used it for water scenes. After a while the dust collected so to clean it up I use a damp/wet cloth. It softened the surface and went tacky. Here where we have almost 100% humidity it can take forever to cure.
For PE I use craft tacky glue. ie thick pva.
Basically just a gel acrylic medium without any sort of texturing or aggregate material. Just about every brand of artist materials has a similar product in their lineup - Grumbacher, Golden, Valljeo (in their artist acrylic paints line), and, although I’ve never seen it, I suspect that W&N also sells something similar.
All thin and clean up with ordinary water. The strongest bond results after drying overnight. Once dry, just like with acrylic paint, the glue bond is waterproof (unlike PVA - white glue - which can be redissolved with plane water).
The liquid acrylic mediums also work quite well as light duty adhesives with the same waterproof bond. I use liquid acrylic matt medium all the time as an adhesive as well as a component in a homemade acrylic paint thinner for brush painting Vallejo, Citadel/Games Workshop, Reaper, etc.
For thick applications to create clear textures (like water surfaces), once the gel medium has dried out, it can be over-coated with a clear acrylic like Future floor wax to harden the surface.
“Thick” is a relative description, though, and I’ve found that it’s best in multiple coats to build up the textures gradually. It’s not suitable for thick “deep” applications. Not only does it take a very long time to dry, but it also shrinks quite a lot.
SdAufKla I’ve used the Liqitex gel for a harbour scene on a railroad layout. Applied in one shot at about 1/8" thick. It goes on white and becomes clear over a few days. But put anything wet on it and will soften. I’ve had no issues with shrinkage.
It’s great stuff but I would use with caution.
I can be used for that. Also works well for clear parts - canopies, windshields, light lenses, etc.
It does have to dry completely, though, to reach full strength. My experience is overnight is necessary, really. It will appear dry and reach a clear state in only an hour or so, and this can be misleading. At that stage, it will still be very soft and flexible.
Once completely dry, it has excellent shock resistant qualities and good shear and tension strength. It’s not the absolute strongest glue, nor is it the fastest curing. The total strength of the bond is a factor of the cross section of the glue mass and the area of adhesion.
In very small cross sections, it may not have the strength needed, so it may not be suitable for edge joints or assembling large PE subassemblies.
It’s real advantages show with PE to plastic bonds where it resists the infamous “popping off PE parts” problem. It will usually flex and then return to its dried state whereas PE glued on with CA often just flies away when bumped hard enough to break the glue bond.
The gel should be on all modellers work bench. I said I prefer tacky glue for PE parts but that’s my choice. If you want a diorama with water the gel is magic. I doubt it would ever go hard. More like a strong rubber consistency over time.
The below image is the gel about 1/8" thick over a painted ply base. The water coming out the pipes is the gel brushed over a fine piece of wire. This scene is about 4 years old and I can still push my fingernail into it. You can push and pull it for a few hours before it starts to solidify. This surface took about 48 hours to become fully clear. But we live in a sub tropical climate so the time will vary.
Had a quick scan through and as you’d expect with the Tankograd books lots of great images and a good few in colour.
Lots of scope for more kits now, with all these images to use as a reference.
