gluing a bridge together

[Anonymous]

I am putting together two new bridges on my first layout. im only 13 so i dont know to much about materials. the bridges are an Arch Span Bridge made by Life-Like and a Pratt Truss Bridge mad by central valley. Im wondering wut kind of glue to use. they are both styrene.
help would be appreciated[:D]
if you have any addvice on putting them together that would help too.

[Big_Boy_4005]

[#welcome] to the forum.

There is no doubt in my mind that you should be using a liquid plastic cement. There are a number of brands on the market, and some people have personal favorites. Most contain MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) as the active ingredient. This type of cement actually welds plastic by disolving and softening the surface material, then quickly evaporating. When properly done it forms strong clean joints.

The only advice I can give you is to make sure the pieces you are joining have a good dry fit with no gaps. This will allow the cement to flow along the joint.

[MisterBeasley]

First, if you are planning to paint the bridges, do it before you glue them together. You will get much better results that way. I bought a couple of Atlas bridges. I used "moss green" spray paint for one, and I was very happy with the result. With the bridge in pieces, it was very easy to paint handrails silver (or whatever) and walkways brown.

Go to your LHS (that's Local Hobby Shop) and get a jar of liquid styrene cement. It comes with a little brush applicator attached to the top. Just brush it on the parts to be joined and pu***hem together. It hardens very quickly, too. Don't get the stuff in tubes. It's too thick, it's hard to apply properly, and it dries out in the tube after a while.

And welcome aboard! I've still got the trains I got when I was 13. That makes those trains 45 years old, and most of them are still running.

[Javern]

I also glue some extra styrene pieces on the under side of the bridges to help hold them together, I conceiled them in between the beams and are not visable. This helps hold them together

[bogp40]

Testor's model master or what I use , Faller Expert is liquid cement with a neddle applicator. These liquids can be placed precisely and won't dry/ evaporate like Testor"s liquid(bottle/brush) this gives you some working time that is needed, especially on large or long pieces such in a bridge. I have definatly had the best results w/ both of them.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

Have a good bridge pier to support the point where the two bridges join, just like the way the railroads did it. The glued joints will not support the full lenght of the two bridges together.
Will

[ARTHILL]

I just finished the Pratt. Great Model. I used both tube and liquid glue. I did end up with some glue showing, but a little steel wool took the shine off. I then painted with a spary can when all was finished and I think the slight inperfections look more realistic. It probably is true that I would not win a contest, unless I was the judge.

Good luck and post a picture.

[claycts]

[:D] Welcome
Ah! to be 13 again! Anyway the advise you are getting is great, the only thing is that, as my mom said, glue Stinks (smells) make sure you have air moving around you or headaches will ruin your fun. Get your self a copt of Building Basic Plastic Models, a Kallmbach publication from your LHS or using the links from the forum. It will tell you how to glue what and how to make sure things are straight and how to make them look better.
Have fun and be careful.
George P. ( older than 13x4)[:)]