Seeking advice: Kato shells

[ednadolski]

Anyone have any advice/expertise on what is the best glue to use for joining sections of Kato diesel shells?   These are a very soft plastic, so I was concerned that ordinary liquid styrene cement like say Testors or Tenax might be harmful, or perhaps might not produce a good strong joint.

Any/All info greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Ed

[Philip H]

Ed,
Given that joining shells implies kitbashing, do you have a couple of scrap sections you can test? I haven't worked with Kato shells much, but figured they were all styrene based on my limited sample size. If so, your Tenex should do well, applied from the inside with the smallest brush you can find. Capillary action should do the rest.
Philip

[wcfn100]

Not Kato, but FWIW, I tried a few different cements on a couple different project that used Atlas and LL shells and also styrene.  It seemed to me the the Testors' plastic cement in the glass jar worked the best overall.  I should add that I always cut back the bristles on the brush to just a handful so I can't apply too much at one time.


Jason

[DKS]

Many moons ago, I bashed a low-nose GP35 into a high-nose. IIRC, MEK applied with a 3/0 brush to the inside of the shell worked fine.

[pnolan48]

The plastic in Kato shells seems to dry out and become a little brittle, or at least chippy under a razor saw, over long periods of time (let's say 15 years).

The plastic in any shell of age 15 may be similarly dry and brittle and chippy.

I use Tenax with a small brush.

[sizemore]

I'll have to echo what DKS stated, use a small brush with natural bristles. I may even go as far as using an ultra thin strip to reinforce the joint after youre happy with the fitment of the shell parts. And you'll probably want to lightly file the chassis nubs, that way your shell comes off a little easier and you wont run the risk of damaging the joint when removing the shell for maintenance.

The S.

[ednadolski]

Thanks everyone for the excellent ideas.   Sounds like I should give it a go with the Tenax, plus maybe some kind of reinforcement.  Might be worth trying with a micro-brush, if the cement won't eat the brush ...   

Phillip, you're right, it's a kitbash.   I wish Kato had made their re-tooled C44-9W with the proper alternating-height grid panels.  <rant on> They got it right on the AC4400CW so what's their excuse -- getting their mileage out of the older tooling?  Most Dash-9s have the newer alternating panels.   Ah well, maybe this would make a good photo-etch part.... <rant off>   Anyways I don't usually end up splicing shells together so this is a new venture for me.

Thanks again guys!

Ed