Assembling and gluing

Acetate is a term used in modelling to describe many types of plastic film or sheets and is so called because it's made from a material called cellulose acetate.The chances are, if you like making model aircraft, you will have come across...

Contact adhesive (also known as contact cement) is an all-purpose adhesive that's popular amongst modellers thanks to its clear finish and versatile usage. It also has the advantage of a short but not instant bonding time that allows modellers to...

Conventional plastic model cement is not an option for attaching Photo-etch (PE) parts to plastic models as it will not form a bond between these two significantly different materials. Many modellers use Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue which is a form of...

The internal gluing technique is a common practice employed by modellers to avoid glue being extruded from between parts as they're married together.The process is simpler than it sounds and involves modellers temporarily dry-clamping or...

There are a number of glue options that are available to a modeller when assembling a Metcalfe Card kit. Each glue has unique characteristics that will make them more suitable to certain projects but less useful for others. One important issue for...

There are a variety of figures that modellers can choose to populate their layouts. One of the key things to bear in mind when attaching figures is what is the size of the surface area of the figure to be attached. An adult figure in a standing...

Creating bespoke buildings for a layout is actually surprisingly straightforward and is a popular sideline for many modellers. One of the most time-consuming parts of creating a building from scratch would be painting the brick or stone facade....

There are a number of different options for attaching figures such as a horse and rider to a layout. Perhaps the first thing to decide is if the figures in question are to be permanently glued in place, or should they be removable. If the answer...

One of the trickiest tasks when model-making can be the positioning of very small or delicate parts. In most instances, modellers will generally use tweezers to achieve this. The problem with exceptionally small parts is they can be difficult to...

Metcalfe Card kits offer the Railway modeller a great selection of buildings and infrastructure to help populate a layout or diorama. They are provided in both N and OO/HO gauges and when completed can bring a great degree of realism to any...

There are a number of different types of Cyanoacrylate or CA glue and each type has specific characteristics which help to determine where best to use them. CA Glues are readily identified by their respective viscosities. Regardless of...

There has been a trend in recent years for plastic kit manufacturers to create what are sometimes called 'multi-media' kits. These generally include a mix of part types including standard injection moulded plastic, resin, photo-etch and sometimes...