ADHESIVES

We are often asked about the ‘correct’ adhesives to use when assembling our items. Although we do not directly advocate or recommend specific adhesive manufacturers or products, we can advise you of the products we use ourselves in our production:

IMPORTANT: WE ASK THAT CUSTOMERS STUDY AND ADHERE TO ADHESIVE MANUFACTURER(S) GUIDELINES AND SAFETY INFORMATION WHEN USING YOUR CHOICE OF ADHESIVE(S).

Chassis Components to Chassis (left)

Humbrol’s ‘Liquid Poly’ has served us well for years! Any adhesive that will mildly ‘melt’ both of the contact surfaces would be best.

Glazing to Bodyshells (below, right)

Medium ‘grade’ cyanoacrylate adhesive is best for a speedy assembly. The drawbacks with this adhesive is that it is not the most flexible and that if you happened to have touched the glazing or bodyshell with un-gloved fingers, the fumes from the adhesive will collect on these areas and turn them white! A 10 or 15 minute cure epoxy-resin is a very good adhesive to use as it is flexible and holds a strong bond. Do not try to use a corrosive type (such as Liquid Poly) as the glazing material will not react to this adhesive.

Weight to Chassis (below, left)

Wickes Solvent-Free Instant Grab Adhesive will provide a very strong bond. You do not really need to use an adhesive – a strip of tape over the length of the weight to the chassis should suffice as if you glue an interior onto the chassis it will keep the weight from falling out!

Coach Interior to Chassis

Thick ‘grade’ cyanoacrylate adhesive. The drawbacks with this adhesive is that it is not the most flexible and that if you happened to have touched the interior or chassis with un-gloved fingers, the fumes from the adhesive will collect on these areas and turn them white! If this does happen use a slightly moist cotton bud to clean away the residue after it has been left to dry. Here, again, an epoxy-resin is a very good adhesive to use. Do not try to use a corrosive type (such as Liquid Poly) as the interior material will not react to this adhesive.

Bogies

Medium ‘grade’ cyanoacrylate adhesive. The drawbacks with this adhesive is that it is not the most flexible and that if you happened to have touched the bogie parts with un-gloved fingers, the fumes from the adhesive will collect on these areas and turn them white! If this does happen use a slightly moist cotton bud to clean away the residue after it has been left to dry. A 10 or 15 minute cure epoxy-resin is a very good adhesive to use as it is flexible and holds a strong bond. Do not try to use a corrosive type (such as Liquid Poly) as the bogie material will not react to this adhesive.

Any of our separate components

All of our Chassis Components listed on our website along with the MLV Cab components, Airpipes, Periscopes, Handrails and Rubbing Strips will react to and can be applied using mildly corrosive adhesives as well as resins.

CUSTOMER'S OWN PROJECTS

Many of the BR spares and accessories we produce have 'generic applications' to other BR vehicles not in our range of ready to run items. Some of our customers have purchased parts from our range and have then used them in various modelling projects. Listed below are some examples of these applications:


Mike Bunker - Project: E68000 Motorised Parcels Van (MPV)
Mike asked us whether we could supply parts to construct this unique vehicle that started it's life on the Tyneside electrified lines before being relocated to the Midland region. Using measurements from our MLV and BG bodyshells, we produced an impression of what the unit would look like. View and download a copy here: 2 page PDF - 78Kb. Mike was able to construct an authentic looking vehicle bodyshell using on our parts and added the nessesary details to produce a finished model. An image of the bodyshell 'construction' is shown below, the finished model was viewable on Mike's Fotopic site - we will aim to get an image of the completed model on this page shortly...




Ian Shorthouse - Project: Class 416/2 (2EPB)
Ian purchased bodyshell parts from us to 'cut-n-shut' and make the power and trailer cars for the EPB. The image below aims to show you the 'genesis' of the power car, though does not really do justice to Ian in terms of the level of detail and accuracy he has achieved with this project. Review the EPB project in full on Ian's RMWeb blog (external link) here: EPB PROJECT. Ian's latest project, a Class 414 (2HAP) (also using our parts to create the bodyshells) can be seen at his RMWeb pages by clicking on this external link: HAP PROJECT.




Nigel Spate - Project: Class 501s
Nigel has been purchasing our suburban bodyshells and MLV cabs for some five years now. He has constructed many (even we've lost count!) Class 501s in different liveries and has even produced a model of the unique 'Beastie' vehicle. The image below shows just a few of the units in his 'fleet'. Nigel's layout, Croxley Wiggenhall Road Depot, can be seen on his website pages by clicking on this external link: 501 DEPOT.

If you have used our products in your own modelling project(s) and would like to share your creations on these pages, please e-mail your JPEG images for consideration to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Likewise, if you have any projects featured online we will be happy to add an external link to your website.