I have some Walthers structures that are plastic and have slightly bent walls. Is there any way to fix them?
Lone Geep
\
Searching the Forums for topics such as warped walls, warped buildings, etc will come up with numerous discussions -- this is one of those evergreen topics. Here is one:
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/162248/1797189.aspx#1797189
Some modelers find that putting the warped walls between two sheets of glass and putting them out in the sun for a while works. Others get no success with that technique.
I have had some luck using a heat gun intended for the rubber stamping crowd, but a hair dryer might work as well -- if somewhat slower. the thing is, once it softens the plastic it really softens it a lot and you have to do the timing just right. Having a large tub of cold water nearby to dunk the piece in is a good idea. But be careful about water and a plugged in electrical device!
It is easy to to go too far with the heat gun and I have ruined some models .
Yet another technique is to dunk the part in very hot water for a while. that might soften it up so you can bend it, gently, with your hands, or between two flat surfaces such as glass or wood. Again having cold water nearby is a good idea because that stops the bending immediately.
Dave Nelson
The "Walthers Warp" is usually pretty easy to work around. Use a VERY fast acting plastic cement like Tenax 7R or Ambroid Pro Weld. The fast evaporation of the liquid allows you to tack the walls together in perfect alignment with a few drops here and there, then you can go back and finish gluing the whole joint. Sometimes it's necessary to apply additional persuasion, as with large styrene strips (like 1/8" x 1/4"), again applied with the above cement. Cements with slower evaporation rates like regular Testors aren't useful for dealing with the warped pieces because you have to hold them in alignment for so long as the cement does its thing.
Rob Spangler