First timer with PE

[cptan]

Guys,

I'm a first timer handling PE... especially on ship. Wonder if anyone can help or guide me:

- What kind of glue best to apply between PE and plastic ship?
- How do U attach railing (1/350)? On the side of the hull?
- How do U "fold" an inclined ladder? (eg. fold all the steps first then the side?)

Regards
CPTan

[Timmy C]

You would use super glue for PE.

[tony t]

Check out Mike Ashey's book on building ship models, it has good tips on PE.

Alternative to superglue is white glue, its more forgiving if u make mistakes, but you'd have to paint the ship and PE first before gluing the PE (which I tend to find easier anyway)

[Ron Smith]

...

[cptan]

Check out Mike Ashey's book on building ship models, it has good tips on PE.

Alternative to superglue is white glue, its more forgiving if u make mistakes, but you'd have to paint the ship and PE first before gluing the PE (which I tend to find easier anyway)

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Sadly, it's quite impossible for me to get a copy of the "Ashey's book" at my local book store....

Lets say if I painted the hull and the PE first, then glue the railing on the side of the hull. I presume I'll need to patch up the "gaps" along the PE edge with putty, right (these gaps are quit obvious on 1/350)? But I did notice some of the ship models display on ModelWarships.com gallery, which shows the PE railing some how appears to be attached on the deck (not the hull side), any idea how this was done?

[Kelly Quirk]

Welcome to the world of PE! Here's how I do mine: First, you are correct to paint the PE first. Any flaking or chipping is easy to touch up later. For long stretches of railing, I tack it down about every inch or so with a tiny spot of superglue. I then take a thin wire, dip it in a puddle of superglue, and run it along the entire seam (where the PE meets the deck). After this is dried, there really should be no seams to fill. You can very lightly sand along the bottom of the joint to smooth it out if necessary. Then, do your paint touch ups and you're good to go! Hope this helps.

[tony t]

Cptan,
The railings are usually not glued to the side of the hull, they are glued to the horizontal surface at the edge of the deck like u see in the gallery. There's no great difficulty in doing this as long as you're careful. As long as there are no bumps or uneven spots on the edge of the deck you should not have any gaps. If there are, simply file them flat of fix it as neccessary before assembly. Also just make sure the rails are standing straight up, not leaning to the right or left.

You'll also notice on many ships the forecastle slants slightly upwards towards the bow. Many manufacturers include slanted rails for these areas too.