NP Radial Roof Boxcar Build (was request for ideas)

[mmagliaro]

Jaw dropping as usual     I would have broke off each and every one of those roof rib ends...

HA HA HA!  Thank you, sincerely, Chris.  Your modeling is so darn good, it means a lot to me that you think
I did something decent here.

Seriously, on those roof rib ends, that's another one of those wonderful learning experiences, and there always are
some on a project like this.  Wetting them with liquid cement and waiting about 30 seconds is the key.
No more and no less.  With some experimentation, I found that waiting that long was enough time for them to soften,
before all the liquid cement flashed off.  If I waited less, they would still be too rigid and would break. If I waited
longer, they started to get TOO soft.   And use the Testors liquid cement.  The Plastruct stuff is purer and
turns thin styrene strips into goo in an instant, and then flashes off before you can do anything with it.

I long ago decided never to use the Plastruct cement on the smaller .010 x .020 stuff.

[Chris333]

I use a gallon jug of MEK I guess that is similar to Plastruct glue?

[mmagliaro]

I use a gallon jug of MEK I guess that is similar to Plastruct glue?

Yeah,... ha ha  straight MEK is about like the Plastruct stuff.  It's pretty harsh.  I like Plastruct and Tenax, but
when I need more working time and gentler dissolving action, I use the Testors.

[Chris333]

I just built two flatcars today out of styrene and MEK. It dries very fast so if I put too much glue on, just blowing dries it up fast.

[SAH]

Beautiful work Max.  So many great tips in your step-by-step posts too.  Thanks.
Steve

[hegstad1]

Beautiful work!!

[peteski]

Yeah,... ha ha  straight MEK is about like the Plastruct stuff.  It's pretty harsh.  I like Plastruct and Tenax, but
when I need more working time and gentler dissolving action, I use the Testors.

Are you sure?  Testors liquid cement is MEK (or mostly MEK).  MEK evaporates fairly slowly.  The one that evaporates very fast is Methylene Chloride (used in Tenax and few other brands).

[sirenwerks]

Piece of art, Max!

[mmagliaro]

Are you sure?  Testors liquid cement is MEK (or mostly MEK).  MEK evaporates fairly slowly.  The one that evaporates very fast is Methylene Chloride (used in Tenax and few other brands).

My mistake.  You are correct, sir.  Plastruct Plastic Weld contains some MEK, but is mostly Methylene Chloride.
Soooo.... Chris, it would appear that yes, MEK is a gentler-acting solvent than the Plastruct stuff, which is why
it works well for small bits of styrene.
I have never gone "industrial" on my cements (like I did on the paint thinners... ha ha ha!).  I have just
used the hobby brands and never bothered to research how the raw ingredients behave.

[Chris333]

I didn't mind buying the small bottles till I knocked a brand new one over    Went and bought a gallon and use in in the Testors bottle/brush.

[OldEastRR]

So Max did you make a mold of the car body or the major components (roof, ends, sides w/doors) so you can cast more and fit them to other MTL frames?

[mmagliaro]

OldEastRR:  The short answer is "no", I did not make any molds.   It's just not the way I like to make
models.  I have no quibbles with molds or the idea of making and using them.  Heck, without them,
we probably wouldn't have any kits or models!

But for me,  I will be content with the one car, and if I really wanted 2 or 3 bad enough,
I would make them.   The duplicates from molds would  just never look as good to me as the original.