They are made from a plastic that "reg model glue" "Testers" works on.

I have fixed 12 or more of them and it works.

none of my repaired fighters have come back apart.

I stepped on Dash one time, Gorilla Glue fixed the damage, though the shame lives on

Generic super glue from Harbor Freight works.

Cyanoacrylate is what we call "super glue". It comes in different thicknesses, which van be useful for controlling flow, but AFAIK it's essentially the same stuff underneath, cheap or expensive.

An accelerant need only cost you a couple of pounds. I'm not aware of cyanoacrylate melting any plastics.

You are correct.

"Superglues" are indeed, generally, Cyanoacrylate, and their mediums (gel, liquid, etc) are all consistency based.

But that is where we get into the differences between a glue and a cement in the modelling world....

A Glue is a substance that, effectively, attempts to infiltrate or be partially absorbed into a material and then harden itself - so that it forms a sort of 'bridge' between the two pieces it is holding together. This bridge has some excellent compressible strength, but its tensile strength is lacking... Which is why, for things that are heavy or affected by gravity, you generally require a pin of sorts to hold things in place (as like reinforced concrete, the pin is increasing the tensile strength of the overall material). Cyanoacrilate really only requires a semi-porous surface to bond (which is why it works on plastic, but hates Glass), and moisture - Superglue was designed to bond flesh, because our flesh is both semi-porous and moisture rich - even by exhaling with a wide mouth, you can put on enough water vapour to effectively act as a Superglue accelerator. BUT, accelerating Superglue also makes it more brittle, shatter able, and further compromises its tensile strength.

A cement on the other hand, forces a chemical reaction with the substance. Effectively, it chemically melts it, to the point that when you apply that melted surface to a solid or semi-melted surface of the identical substance, the material melts together, welds and chemically bonds... Then, generally, the cement has faded, evaporated, or chemically changed so it is no longer working, or even in existence... This forms welded bonds which are generally as strong as you'll get both in compression and tensile, as the material itself... Downsides is that you often have little control over where the chemical goes, and how effectively the cement will melt the material - and by virtue of the fact that you are melting the material, there can be some overall density or size loss as things are compressed together. Additionally, every plastic has its own cement, and oftentimes, identifying the plastic in part is difficult.

So there's the treatise on glue vs. Cement.

I remember plenty of accidents melting plastic Mk6 space marines with an overenthusiastuc application of polystyrene cement. Or just melting expanded polystyrene, because it was fun.

I'm interested in the info about making super glue more prone to shattering with accelerant. Source? (Not being facetious, I spent about 3 hours researching battery chemistries a while ago because I got distracted whilst following a link).

The info about it being *designed* as a skin bond is apparently urban legend, though. It was used in Vietnam as a field dressing solution but wasn't designed for that purpose from what I remember (if Wikipedia is reliable on this source, which we all know it is, obvs)

I'm interested in the info about making super glue more prone to shattering with accelerant. Source? (Not being facetious, I spent about 3 hours researching battery chemistries a while ago because I got distracted whilst following a link).

Well, I fully admit the whole bonding skin thing was passed on to me from my medical training - and I do remember a certain Surfer taking a chunk out of the bottom of his foot on some razor coral, and was able to compete the next day by filling the hole with Superglue (and requiring surgery after the competition)....

But, for qualities, I have this on my computer (and if I can shirk some toddler duties to the sick wifey, I might be able to search for more for you)

From "Edge Joining Boards and Superglue" - originally found on www.routerforums.com

Curing time and slow-setting inhibitors

The hardening reaction can be described like this. The cyanoacrylate is a polymer which contains its own hardener compound. However, a weak acid is added acting as an inhibitor, preventing the reaction and “holding apart” the molecules which accounts for the liquid consistency of the compound. When exposed to water, the acid is dissolved. It triggers a chain reaction and the compound cures to the solid state. Manufacturers use the inhibitor to control the curing time of the glue. Slowsetting superglues have a larger proportion of inhibiting acid in the basic mixture.

Accelerators

Besides water, cyanoacrylate polymerises also in presence of alcohol and basic compounds (including weak amines). The latter can be used to produce a superglue “kicker” – a compound which triggers quick polymerisation of the glue. Baking soda is one well-known substance with this effect. If you apply a layer of superglue to a seam and gently pour baking soda over it, the glue will cure very quickly. It makes for most effective filler for smaller jobs, and the baking soda results in a slightly rough surface which is good for sanding. The great advantage of using superglue as filler is the total absence of shrinking which plagues most solvent-based fillers on the market. There are also commercially available liquid accelerators, but as baking soda has the same effect, I personally prefer it over another harmful chemical in my workshop. Like water, the accelerator also affects the reaction through surface contact, so it will be much less effective on thick layers of glue. When filling larger recesses with superglue, it is therefore advisable to build up the volume in several thin layers rather than applying a large volume of glue at once. With these precautions (i.e. working with small amounts at a time), CA can also be used for moulding smaller detail parts, which I have tried with success.

Super interesting to find out about the method of retarding the curing process with an acid, and its dissolving being the method by which the glue cures. Thanks!

I recently discovered about water being a catalyst because i was using cotton wool buds to apply superglue (ironically, I was trying to glue the spout back into the superglue bottle). I don't know if you've ever tried that but it causes the release of an extremely acrid gas that burns the eyes and nares and makes you choke. When investigating this I discovered that it was something to do with either moisture in the cotton wool or something which reacts to release water (I'd need to check), combined with the huge surface area of the cotton wool, which causes the glue to react and evolve the gas. Apparently, it can cause cotton wool to combust with the heat from the reaction.

Reminds me of on episode of something like McGyver where they use cyanoacrylate next to fingerprints lifted with sellotape to react with the moisture in the tape to reveal the print.

I'm always getting cuts and scrapes at work and just use a bit thick superglue with a dusting of catalyst to seal up anything which is catching or bleeding. Far more effective than a plaster for getting me back to work quickly and protecting the wound. I did recently slip with a knife and stabbed myself in the underside of my forearm, hitting the bone. There was about 5 seconds where I looked at the hole that opened and wondered if I could just glue it, before common sense took to me to hospital.