"Assembling resin model vehicles" Topic

I've never built one but now I have two. Both have a warped sponson. How do I correct the bend?

I've read hot water, how hot?
How long do I immerse it?

The resin is quite light weight, will it float?
If so do I need to weigh it down so it is submerged?

Once I have removed it from the water do I just bend it?
If so, and it is corrected, will it just stay in that position or do I need to rubber band, or tape, it to a straight ruler?

The two sponsons, left and right, are smooth at the attachment points, as are the hull sides. There are no guiding points, should I drill and insert pins?

What glue should I use to attach the sponsons?

What else do you suggest?

As hot as you can stand, or freshly boiled if you don't stick your body parts in it. Immersion depends on thickness. Swords et al take just a few seconds, but thicker pieces will take longer. You want the part to get hot, so if its still cool when you remove it, stick it back in.

I tend to create a jig of some kind to press the piece into. If you have a flat side, say the back of a tank sponsion, find a nice, sturdy, flat edge or surface and firmly press the piece onto it. You can clamp it if you like, but its not essential.

You can the set the new shape by immersing it in cold water (or running under the tap, if feasible) once you have the required bend in place.

If the warp is pronounced, you can do this several times to fix it by degrees, but let the piece cool each time or you can risk undoing previous deformation attempts.

Thank you.

I had not thought of using the tank side to set the bend. Fortunately the bend(s) are slight but definitely noticeable. I am a bit concerned about the strength but it necessary I'll rebuild it from plastic.

One final question, glue?
Superglue, 2 part epoxy, something else?

I use gap filling super glue gel usually on small parts.
2 part five minute epoxy on the bigger pieces.

A quick scruff up with sanding stick where the glue will go helps the glue to stick on smooth resin surfaces.

Epoxy also works to fill any air bubbles in resin.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Superglue or epoxy are fine, but for either I ensure I key the mating surfaces, either with a few swirls of coarse sandpaper or lots of scribbles with the knife blade. For very large parts i might pin them just to add some stability, but that's only really on truly enormous or heavy bits.

Thanks guys!