Small Scale Military Headquarters

I just purchased a 21st C 1:32 Panther G off ebay and it came with free customizations like stowage and extra crud glued to it, even the turret hatch has been glued to the open position.
A very unusual technique was used to apply the glue. One I had not seen since I was 7 years old. It entails taking and entire tube of glue and squeezing the bujeezus out of it and letting it run down the the sides of the model. Making sure that not only your parts are glued but that the tank is preserved in a partial hard shell of model glue. That or this guy was trying to simulate water running down the side but definitely off-scale.
I think the guy didn't give 2 squats and I have never seen a pre-built tank weep so much glue.
Of course, I don't know exactly what type of glue it is. I first thought it was super glue. Well acetone does nothing, Denatured alcohol zero, Lacquer thinner did a good job of taking the paint off the hull and Tenax failed to re-activate it (but not enough experimenting to be sure and it took the paint off good too). I tried some of my Windsor newton low odor solvent (spirits? not sure) and it at first looked good, but no. Goo-gone did ziltch and I am at a loss on how to dissolve model glue (which is my current guess at its make up). This is the old die cast hull type of tank so the glue didn't get to fuse plastics together and didn't seem to discolor the paint at all.
So I guess i have 2 questions. How to you break down model glue and if it isn't model glue what other solvents can I try to narrow down the possibilities? I plan on repainting this panther anyway, so solvents that hurt the paint are ok and If all fails I will use a dremel to buff it off with a file. I just wanted to get the hatch unstuck (which may be impossible and i can live with that. But some of the stowage needs to come off too and I am not against just snapping that off, but then I need the residue gone.
Let me know what ya know

* I just would not have bought it in the first place.

2nd. - I use Z-7 Debonder. Debonding agent for super glues. Comes in a 1 fl.oz. bottle and sells for about $3.99 ,.. that you can get @ your local hobby shop if you have one nearby. ... * Which you would have to go through several bottles of this stuff to remove what you want and could be quite expensive. * + = ........ Good Luck w/ it !


* Removes cured Cyanoacrylates from skin , work surfaces , etc ......

* Will not craze most plastics



Mitch v MG

well,
true. i wouldn't have bought it...if the item auction had mentioned the glued on items or the lack of care that is now evident in person

but i will look for this glue debonder and hope it works on my glue...whatever it is, it doesn't appear to be super glue

A weak sulfuric acid - but watch your skin and clothing

Hammer and chisel?

fine sand paper and re paint?????

Sorry to report, it can't be done. If it's actual model glue (Testors), it's formulated to melt the plastics together - super glues are a topical bonding agent, and can be disolved/removed, but model glue has already disolved the plastics and that's that. HOWEVER, you can remove excess model glue by cutting and sanding. In any case, I don't envy the work you have ahead of you.

oh well,
21st Century Panther needs a nice zimm tamiya putty coating anyway, since 21st c has never heard of zimm

Something I've used to get really stuck on crud off of models and other things is isobutane/propane. More commanly known as chewing gum remover. You can get it at any carpet care center. Just don't freeze your fingers useing it.

what other solvents can I try to narrow down the possibilities?

There are all sorts of possibilities with regard to solvents, one that comes to mind that we use in the prosthetic fabrication process is Methyl Acetate, which melts some plastics quite readily, but I really have no idea what to tell you to try for your problem. One thing I will caution you about with solvents...they absorb into your skin (and therefore your bloodstream) easily, and some of these are quite nasty to your health, so I would recommend some rubber gloves of some kind as protection.

well the glue is mostly used to join plastic random stowage (an MG 42 on the front of the tank....uh anyone need gun out there to assault us with?) on the diecast hull,so the bonding is occuring with plastic and the metal (and paint.) I bought some de-bonder (the kind in the hobby shop in small plastic pointy tip bottles) and wow that stuff takes paint off, it made the paint crackle and some eve popped in the air as it ran down the tank, I am scared to use it on the plastic turret.