The Little World

Draw Nigh And Listen Unto Me. Cement it twice and glue it three times.

For that is the only way that thou wilt be able to keep the pissy little landing gear legs in their position, or the canopy on firmly. Or indeed the fuselage halves together. Add another layer of cement or glue and thy doubts will be assuaged.

I rarely cement major parts with thin cement alone. I know it is the fashionable and favoured thing to do in the expert classes, but I am far from that. I join a wing or a fuselage with a viscous cement and then clamp as well as possible. Then I allow the thin cement into suspect areas to run where it will.

When I am dealing with the landing gear leg that has nothing but a butt-join on a very small cross section I give it the viscose, then thin treatment and then frequently re-enforce it with PVA or cyanoacrylate deep in the joint. Most gear legs are buried deep enough to escape scrutiny as long as they stay in and at the right angle.

I am also distrustful of joining parts that are carefully painted beforehand. Sometimes this is the only way to get a proper demarcation line or even to get paint into a tight area, but I know the paint will cause the joint to run weak. In many of these cases I use a strong PVA and just accept any small join line. The PVA can grab further than cement while still remaining fairly unseen.

I have been known to epoxy when most suspicious. It is a sad trait, but I stick to it…