I’ve had a couple flight stand nubbies snap off ships and CA glue does not seem to hold as well. What does FFG use?

Flight stand nubbies? The nubs on the front of the base? Those are part of the plastic mold, they're not glued on. You should, however, be able to reattach them with "plastic weld" (Methyl-Ethyl Ketone; paint thinner from your local big-box store will work exactly the same). Just keep it well away from your painted mini...

3 hours ago, ZealuxMyr said:

Flight stand nubbies? The nubs on the front of the base? Those are part of the plastic mold, they're not glued on. You should, however, be able to reattach them with "plastic weld" (Methyl-Ethyl Ketone; paint thinner from your local big-box store will work exactly the same). Just keep it well away from your painted mini...

MEK is nasty stuff. I don't recommend being near that stuff without proper resporator and filters.

I've worked with that stuff during my days as an industrial painter.

I guess you could call it "plastic welding" but technically you are just melting the plastic to itself. With a very strong industrial grade solvent to boot.

Wouldn't those classic testors model glues work just fine? Those glues pretty much just melt pastic together as well

As an old WH40k player... have you tried Citadel plastic glue? Or locktite superglue.

On 10/25/2019 at 10:40 AM, ZealuxMyr said:

Flight stand nubbies? The nubs on the front of the base? Those are part of the plastic mold, they're not glued on. You should, however, be able to reattach them with "plastic weld" (Methyl-Ethyl Ketone; paint thinner from your local big-box store will work exactly the same). Just keep it well away from your painted mini...

I am (poorly) describing the thing under the ship that connects it to the base post.

I have reattached a couple. What I do is drill a shallow appx. 2mm hole where it attaches (1/8" drill bit I believe). This gives the glue a couple of millimeters of side-wall to adhere to - much stronger than trying to glue it to a flat surface. Just make sure it's straight/level and lined up on the right direction.

On 10/25/2019 at 5:23 PM, executor said:

MEK is nasty stuff. I don't recommend being near that stuff without proper resporator and filters.

I've worked with that stuff during my days as an industrial painter.

I guess you could call it "plastic welding" but technically you are just melting the plastic to itself. With a very strong industrial grade solvent to boot.

Wouldn't those classic testors model glues work just fine? Those glues pretty much just melt pastic together as well

Technically I am depolymerizing the plastic over a finite surface area. That is to say, MEK is breaking bonds and reducing the polymers on the exposed surface into its base monomers. By applying this technique to the surface areas of both pieces and forcing the two pieces together, as the MEK evaporates, the plastic reforms its inter-molecular bonds and combines exposed monomers from both pieces. This reformation of polymerized bonds creates a connection between the two pieces of plastic on the molecular level and thus provides for a stronger bond (compared to traditional glues; not superglues - I'll explain why further along). In the interest of technicalities, the plastic never melts; the plastic's phase of matter has not been changed due to the application of heat.

The entire Testor's Model Glue product line is comprised of industrial grade solvents of varying strengths*1*. If you read the bottle you can find everything from petroleum benzine*2* (CAS#64742-49-0) to Methyl-Ethyl Ketone (CAS#78-93-3). In most cases the bottles will be labeled with something adorable, like 2-Butanone instead of Methyl-Ethyl Ketone. This is because the public will recognize MEK as a health and cancer risk, but you won't think twice about 2-Butanone. Regardless of what you call it, it is the same arrangement of 4 Carbon Atoms, 8 Hydrogen Atoms, and 1 Oxygen Atom that makes for both a fine industrial grade solvent and plastic model glue.

You do make a good point that, before using ANY modeler's glue or solvent you should ALWAYS check the Safety Data Sheet (SDS; formerly called MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheet) and ensure you are aware of what you're working with and conscious of any associated risks to your health (and other soluble items around you). Superglue is no better for you, its chemical name is cyanoacrylate and like MEK contains an active bonding ketone group while also sporting a wonderful little nitrogen atom triple bonded to a carbon atom; we commonly call that arrangement of nitrogen and carbon "cyanide" (don't panic; if ingested the superglue, catalyzed by the water in your mouth, will seal your throat and mouth off long before your body makes an attempt at biological uptake - i.e. you will die of suffocation before there's any risk of cyanide poisoning). Fun fact, superglue only works due to hydrolyzed chain-growth polymerization. So, just like MEK, you are using an industrial solvent to depolymerize and then repolymerize the two pieces of plastic. The major difference here is that superglue adds its own chemical structure to the polymer and essentially creates a polymer bridge between the two pieces of plastic. In the absolutely simplest of terms (oversimplified to the point where it gets the idea across but technically isn't exactly accurate) if the broken plastic is polycarbonate then binding two pieces back together will result in the creation of something that would look like this: carbonate - carbonate - carbonate - cyanoacrylate - cyanoacrylate - carbonate - carbonate - carbonate .

MEK, unlike superglue, will work just as effectively regardless of the ambient humidity. If there is 0% humidity (no water vapor/moisture) your cyanoacrylate will be missing a crucial component in order to undergo its chemical polymerization process. Without the presence of water, cyanoacrylate will not actually dry nor work as a glue. MEK, however, will work just fine. As humidity increases, you'll find that superglues will bond faster (this is why you can glue your fingers together SO MUCH faster than you can glue your plastic models together; more moisture in your skin than on your TIE Fighter) and if the moisture content is too high the bonding will occur so rapidly that it will be brittle once dried. Ever had something you superglued together fall apart with minimal force applied? The humidity was likely too high when you originally glued the two bits together (this is assuming both bits are compatible materials).

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This Post Has Footnotes :

*1* Now, there are some Testor's Model Glue products on the market that are labelled "non-toxic" - those quotes should absolutely be interpreted as sarcastic air quotes - this actually does not mean it is not toxic. For example, Testor's Cement Adhesive 3527C is described as follows: "Non-Toxic Liquid Cement for Plastics with Precision Applicator; Fast drying general purpose glue; Use for polystyrene and ABS plastic; Precision needle applicator makes easy work of gluing even small intricate detailed parts; Recommended for ages 8 years and up." ( Sauce ). If you go online to the SDS you will discover it is comprised of two Hazardous Substances (listed in section 3): D-Limonene (CAS##5989-27-5) and Polystyrene (CAS#9003-53-6). Compared to something like methylpropanone (yet another name for MEK), it's not "that" bad for you. It does, however, still pose a significant health risk upon inhalation, dermal application, and eye/oral intake. So be safe, read the bloody SDS for anything you're about to work with.

*2* This is not a spelling error, it is benzIne not benzEne.

Edit: Thanks to @Transmogrifier for sharing this instructive video from a fellow cat owning, chemist from the great state of Maine (not me):

On 10/28/2019 at 3:53 AM, Pewpewpew BOOM said:

I am (poorly) describing the thing under the ship that connects it to the base post.

Your best bet is what @Bullox has suggested, and now you have an excessively lengthy post to explain why having more surface area makes a difference: it's all in the name of maximizing polymerization! No matter your industrial solvent of choice, from Acetone to Z-Poxy! (I would not actually recommend using Z-Poxy on anything X-Wing related...)

woah

Where in the world will you ever find somewhere with 0% humidity anyways?

Even dry deserts still have some moisture in the air.

It's safe to say, use the glue. Industrial solvents need to be handled with care.

You are clearly either an expert in the use of industrial solvents or you have no clue and instead just did a bunch of research and posted your findings that look like they were taken from a wiki page

Either way. MEK is not something people should be using if they don't know what they are doing or how to properly handle and dispose of industrial solvents.

Anyways. This next msg is for the OP. Stick to the testors glue or better yet; contact FFG and explain your issue. Their customer service is top notch and they'll probably just send you a new bottom piece free of charge. Then you can just use a safety pin, heat it up and melt it into the piece remaining in the ship, wait for it to cool down and pull it out

You never know. It's worth a try

They possibly might even replace the model for you.... Maybe

Given your two options, that I am either an expert in the use of industrial solvents or have no clue, and weighing in my professional and educational background as a Chemist; you have forced me into selecting the former option.

Therefore, as such, my expert advice was intended to convey the message that commercially available plastic glues are industrial solvents ; the two are synonymous. The only reason Testors Liquid Plastic Cement (3502XT; seems to be one of the most commonly used product as best I can tell by a quick Googling) works is because it is a small bottle of industrial grade organic solvent - whether you're willing to be aware of it or not. Another common modeler brand of glue is Plastruct Plastic Weld Cement (orange bottle; my personal preference), truth in advertising here as the manufacturer clearly labels the front of the bottle as containing MEK.

My goal was to provide my expert advice to help ensure the end user is aware of what they are exposing themselves to and use their product of choice in a safe (and well ventilated) manner; whether they buy Testors Liquid Plastic Cement from their local hobby shop or buy straight MEK from the painting supply section of The Home Depot. I do highly recommend watching the above linked informational video; it is quite informative.

I get that. But exposing yourself to a drop of glue versus opening up a can or container of MEK is a major difference in the amount of solvent that will be released into the air.

I know you are even aware of that. Why is it even a question? You as a chemist should know of all people why MEK is really bad for ones health without proper PPE.

Plus if they use too much of it they are very likely to destroy their model in thr process as MEK continues to melt and disfigured plastic until it has all completely evaporated.

My personal opinion is again. Don't use it unless you are familiar with the product and have experience using it.

Reattaching nubbies with pinning and super glue has been fine for me. I make new nubbies by sawing a peg down to size.