Any suggestions for the type of glue I should use for repairing 3rd party TFs? Testor's? Super glue? In particular, I'm gluing part of the leg of my Divine Shooter back together. (nothing shattered or broke in half, rather two pieces that were glued together came undone... and then I took it apart completely).
Transformers (including 3P) (and LEGOS) are usually made of ABS----that's just different enough from polystyrene that most "model" glues won't do a great job---you'll want one that is specifically for ABS, if you go the solvent/welding type of glue route. (almost all of them will list ABS, and they WILL bond with it---just not very well. The ones purely for ABS, are quite a bit better at it, like this one: Tamiya Cement (for ABS)) Superglue does have great TENSILE strength, but is brittle, and heavy side-loads will shatter the bond. As pretty much every figure out there inherently relies on the flexibility of the plastic to transform and tab together, a flexible but weaker bond is often "better". Which takes us back to trying ABS-affecting model glues and the like. If you want to test something cheap before trying it on an expensive 3P figure---use some LEGOs. See how the glues work. Same type of plastic. (so long as they're not clear---clear LEGOs are made of polycarbonate, totally different stuff) However---if you're "re-gluing a factory-glued joint"-----factories tend to use variations of super-glue, as they are not "welding the parts together" but rather "holding them in place". Basically, it comes down to 'repairing a break' vs "just putting back together". You want welding/solvent glues for the former, and "thick" glues for the latter.
Likes others said, it depends what you're fixing but my general go-to brand is this one: JB Weld with the brush built into the cap. It's easy to apply without overdoing it and it tends not to get that nasty white residue that "original" super glue gets on some stuff. It bites down pretty darn hard to everything I've used it on (including Transformers, models and other stuff around the house). Oh, because it has a screw on cap, it lasts a long time. The super glue in tubes always tends to start drying the whole tube hard as soon as you cut them open and a week later they're junk. I can make a bottle of this last 1/2 a year before it goes bad. Most hardware stores (Ace, Menards, Lowes) carry it. It's still a super glue but it seems somehow a superior formula without a lot of the negatives the original one seemed to have.
E6000 and a toothpick. Careful, it can be stringy, but it my #1 choice if just about any plastic breaks.
Oh my god someone had an actually informed answer My response is the real fix requires you to buy a applicator gun and tube of 2 part apoxy that cost more then the toy
Thanks, everyone! Especially @David Hingtgen - super informative! Anyway, as for the pic request: Make Toy's Divine Shooter, aka God Bomber by Alt Mode, on Flickr Version Make Toy's Divine Shooter, aka God Bomber by Alt Mode, on Flickr If you look at the gap on the back of the right leg (the toy's right, top picture), it was like that out of the box. I didn't think to ask the retialer for a replacement at the time. It is the front and sides of the right, upper leg as seen in the bottom picture. I just took it off completely - intentionally - when trying to figure out why it wasn't on all the way.
I haven't had much luck repairing (or joining) anything at all with superglue of late. Couldn't tell you why but it just isn't curing properly. Perhaps it's just too old...? In any case, I've been using SciGrip Weld-On with frankly rather amazing results. It's not really a glue, so much as it's a solvent with clear acrylic suspended in it. In essence it behaves like welding - the two pieces are basically fused into one and the suspended acrylic (hopefully) fills any voids. I keep both #16 and #4 on-hand. #16 is a runny gel, while #4 is a thin liquid. There are others numbers available but since I had to import it from the US I just chose a couple at either end of the spectrum. The difference between them is that the thicker stuff gives you slightly longer to work with it and can be applied without extra tools (like a needle), but it won't wick into things like cracks and splits. Since it's not a glue, however, you can use any non-plastic to work it, and the worst it will do to the tool is leave a thin film of easily removable clear acrylic. Most recently I used it on a Chokogin G Class Henkei Liolæus my siblings got me for Christmas. There's a small piece of decoration on the knees which mounts on a pin barely 2mm (1/16") across, which had sheared off where it meets the knee proper (it was second hand, so I suspect it was already damaged). Tried superglue first and that just stayed gummy while re-flowing the paint, which didn't make for a very good joint. Used the #16 to put a small dab on there, held it in place for ~20 minutes, then let it cure for 8 hours and it's like it's one piece again.
