I recently had one of my favorite ships (Fel Interceptor) fall apart at the joints. I used Locktite gel to stick them back together but the wings still wont stay put.

Im asking you modders and repainters, what is the best glue for quick and precise reattachment or modification?

I've not yet used in on an X-Wing ship but my favorite glue for plasticard scratchbuilds was Tenax 7R, which is a type of plastic welder. According to the bottle, it works on styrene, butyrate, ABS, and acrylics.

Ive used normal super-glue with no issues.

normal super glue is king.

On this sort of plastic, I use Tamiya brand model glue. You brush it on and join the two parts together and the glue welds the surfaces together. You may need to repaint around the glue site, as it has been known to strip paint during the gluing process. A super glue is another option, but make sure you get a good one, as some can cure and end up very brittle.

If it really won't stay put, the best way to reinforce the joint is to pin it.

Take a small hand drill in the diameter of a small paper clip, carefully drill a hole on each side (one on the strut and one on the wing where they connect) and use a small length of paper clip to reinforce the joint.

Army Painter Super Glue. No problems.

Got to add to the voices shouting good old Superglue (aka c yanoacrylate)

A great tip for superglue is to place a tiny bit of modelling putty (aka green stuff) between the pieces to be joined if you can get away with it - the cyanoacrylate cause the putty to shrink as it dries, causing a vacuum which make the bond even stronger. IT does take longer to dry though and does need support as it dries.

On this sort of plastic, I use Tamiya brand model glue. You brush it on and join the two parts together and the glue welds the surfaces together. You may need to repaint around the glue site, as it has been known to strip paint during the gluing process. A super glue is another option, but make sure you get a good one, as some can cure and end up very brittle.

I use Tamiya as well, and the reason I like it is how it cements the model together. It isn't like other glues where the glue hardens and that is all that is holding the pieces together. It has a chemical reaction that will actually melt a bit of the plastic and when it hardens, it is actually the plastic hardening and forming a solid bond again. Very rarely have I had models glued with this stuff break on me.

I use Tamiya as well, and the reason I like it is how it cements the model together. It isn't like other glues where the glue hardens and that is all that is holding the pieces together. It has a chemical reaction that will actually melt a bit of the plastic and when it hardens, it is actually the plastic hardening and forming a solid bond again. Very rarely have I had models glued with this stuff break on me.

That's a plastic welder, so called because the two pieces join to become one, not just connected by a medium (like normal glues). Done correctly, the bond will actually be stronger than the pieces it connects.

If it really won't stay put, the best way to reinforce the joint is to pin it.

Take a small hand drill in the diameter of a small paper clip, carefully drill a hole on each side (one on the strut and one on the wing where they connect) and use a small length of paper clip to reinforce the joint.

Icareane is exactly right. Pinning is the long term solution to your problem. Wether you use super glue, plastic glue (normally recommended for plastics but the plastic used to make these ships seems a little too "rubbery"). I couldn't vouch for it. Regardless though it really doesn't matter if you use spuer or plastic glues. These ships are so small that eventually you will be reparing them over and over. And each time you do a little more glue will build up and a little more paint will be lost as you're forced to scrape away the old glue to get a proper fit.

So this is your first step. All of that extra glue that has been built up from you gluing the model back together has to be scraped off with an X-Acto knife or something similar. You'll need a good strong bond and glue doesn't adhere to old glue very well. While using that knife be careful not to remove plastic. Sounds obvious but I don't know how old your are or how much experience you have with this. I'm assuming not much. That's cool we all start somewhere. Low lets get this ship back to carving up filthy Rebel scum where it belongs!

First you'll need a pin vice. They are relatively cheap and you can get them online. Don't use GW's and don't go for one with a lot of unnecessary pieces. A standard modeler's pin vice will work fine. Do get one that includes multiple pins. They come in handy and this may not be the last time you need to use it. The second thing you will need is paper clips, as Icareane mentioned . Paper clips are really your "go to" guage for models of this size. Try and find the pin that's as close to the size of the paper clip as possible. There should be one that's just slightly larger than the paperclip itself. Carefully line up where the join has broken, make a dry fit between the pieces, and then make a tiny mark on both pieces that line them up as well as you can manage. Use a fine marker or something similar. Slowly and carefully drill into the shallower piece of the two parts you want to join. I assume this is the wing. Try and drill as straight as possible into the model. You want to sink the pin in as far as you can without damaging the model. The further in the better the hold. Just don't get over zealous. You don't want the pin vice bursting through a hole out of the other side of your wing. You'll have to use your best judgement here. Remember you want as sturdy (deep) of an anchor as possible because the wing Is the more delicate piece of the join.

Once you're satisfied with the depth prepare the paperclip and cut just the straight part off with a pair of modeling clippers. If you don't know what that is it's just wire clippers, same thing just on a smaller scale. You can get them in the beads making section of wal-mart. Now when you cut the straight part of the paper clip from when it starts to curl it will fly everywhere and anywhere but where you want it to. INCLUDING YOUR EYE! So be careful and save yourself some hassle by throwing a cloth over it or something. Now take SUPER GLUE and apply it to the paper clip end that is going into the wing. Make sure to hold the clip as straight as possible until you feel comfortable that it isn't going to move. Now leave it alone. Go do something else. You want this to dry 100%.

Now this stage is a little tricky. Take the wing and slide it near the rest of the ship. Make sure the other mark that you put on the ship's wing/cockpit connector thingie (technical term) match up. I know it's hard because the wing has a big paper clip sticking out of it. Just do your best. Once you're satisfied with the positioning it's time to drill the second hole. Again make sure to drill slow, steady and above all straight. It doesn't have to be deep but the deeper the better. Do a "dry-fit inserting the paper clip into the second hole. This will tell you how much more of the paper clip you need to trim off. Trim as little as need be for a stronger bond. Pinch the clip at the base of where you glued it in the wing so that when you cut the excess length of paper clip off it won't weaken the super glue bond from the jolt of clipping it. Test fit your two pieces making sure you're happy with the join and that the paper clip is completely sunk into the second join. When you're satisfied apply glue to the paper clip ( Oh this is important. Always apply the glue to the paper clip and never the model. Nothing about strengthing bonds but everything about making a goopy mess all over your lovely Interceptor. )

So yeah, hold the two pieces together for ages. Make sure that the join is where you want it. There is the tiniest bit of wiggle room due to the every so slightly larger hole the pin vice left and the smaller paper clip size. So you have a small bit of leeway. If the join wasn't completely straight, and don't feel bad it was your first time, some paint can fix that as long as it's not TOO far off the mark. I love working with small models. Easy to fix. Anyway if you need advice on cheap paints or good paints or whatever PM me or something. I'll be happy to help.

Good Luck!

On this sort of plastic, I use Tamiya brand model glue. You brush it on and join the two parts together and the glue welds the surfaces together. You may need to repaint around the glue site, as it has been known to strip paint during the gluing process. A super glue is another option, but make sure you get a good one, as some can cure and end up very brittle.

I use Tamiya as well, and the reason I like it is how it cements the model together. It isn't like other glues where the glue hardens and that is all that is holding the pieces together. It has a chemical reaction that will actually melt a bit of the plastic and when it hardens, it is actually the plastic hardening and forming a solid bond again. Very rarely have I had models glued with this stuff break on me.

Yeah, I've had a few models survive the "bounce-test" when they've fallen off the gaming table. A plastic welding glue is by far the best when it comes to plastic models.

I just use good ol' Testors plastic cement. Superglue is good if you need a quick dry.

Thank you all for the advice. I hadnt considered pinning as a workable idea on something this small before.
The glue i used turned out really lack luster so ive removed the wings again and in doing gave me a better idea on what to do with the parts.

I use the all red interceptor for Fel most of the time anyway (Red Baron of the 181st) so, while this one has seen a lot of use, i think I'm going to use the parts for something else.

More of that to come.

But now that I have an idea of better ways to keep everything together my idea is doable.

Thanks again

My Toddler grabbed an Armada TIE flight stand from my desk and ended up stepping on it. One tie ended up wingless, so it had to be fixed and pinned...

Moral of the story, nothing's too small to be pinned. If it is, you just need a smaller pin.

I've found that regular super glue is too brittle. It usually breaks at the first stress again. Zap-a-Gap is much better, in my opinion.

There is also E-6000, which is considered "plumber's glue". It's more gel based. I say it's always good to have both. It is much gooeyier. It is also much more pliable. I've found that sometimes that works best on some things, but not usually for small and fiddly X-wing stuff. If you are having a hard time with things staying together, though, I have used a small amount of E-6000, and then after it's dried, I've used the Zap-a-Gap. That usually works great.

Pinning is also not as hard as it seems. The trouble is finding the small drill bits and brass rods.

The trouble is finding the small drill bits and brass rods.

Especially for a small join, Paperclip is often enough.

Got to add to the voices shouting good old Superglue (aka cyanoacrylate)

A great tip for superglue is to place a tiny bit of modelling putty (aka green stuff) between the pieces to be joined if you can get away with it - the cyanoacrylate cause the putty to shrink as it dries, causing a vacuum which make the bond even stronger. IT does take longer to dry though and does need support as it dries.

Used this technique when assembling metal models makes breakage very rare.

Especially for a small join, Paperclip is often enough.

Is it? I'm really not the best or most experienced, but I have done it a score times. Honestly, more for Warhammer Fantasy, though. Paperclips seem huge for some of those fixes and X-wing is smaller. Then again, maybe it works better with industrial looking stuff?

Oh, I guess you can do it on the ends and not have it show. Duh. That works.

Sewing pins work pretty well also. They're a good bit smaller than paper clips.