You’re a big boy now…
As a kid builder you only had one tube of cement. It was likely to be Revell or Pactra in North America and Humbrol in the UK or Australasia. You were expected to stick the Airfix or Monogram or Revell kit together with it.
You were also expected to get it on the canopy or windows – usually with your fingerprint – and if you didn’t, you went up a pay grade.
At the same time, other, poorer kids were trying to get things to stick with Tarzan’s Grip, school mucilage, or Selly’s Aquadhere. A surprising number of them succeeded, which should tell you something.
Now you can stretch your hand out for urethane glue, cyano-acrylate cement, epoxy resin, and UV-cure adhesives. And ultrasonic welding, ultra-thin cement and Bolivian spider mucus. Whether you get your hand back is another thing – some of these new stick-ums have hidden hazards.
The point of this is…do not think that you can build your dream kit with one tube o’ glue. You are advised to study all the available options, use them wisely, and accept the fact that sometimes you can see the glue line.
If it is not between your finger and your eyelid, consider yourself a success.
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