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Does anyone have a trick for separating parts bonded with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement? I finished making a Vindicator a while back, reworked my army a bit, and want to give it a storm bolter. The problem is I can't get the old commander's hatch off.

Most plastic glues work by melting the plastic, the active ingredient then evaporates and the plastic reforms. So there's no bond or join surface to break apart, its fused plastic.


This is different to things like most superglues, which form a distinct layer between the two surfaces and the glue itself grips and holds both halves together with itself in the middle. So there the bond can be broken because its only as strong as the glue itself (and it typically becomes brittle when cold/frozen).

As Overread explained above, plastic glue (not CA glue) works by actually 'melting' the plastic and fusing the pieces together. Despite, depending on how much plastic glue you've used, the joinery can still be the point of the weakest link. If that's the case, your best bet is to freeze it with some water. The water expanding as it freezes may help lever off the piece. Repeat a few times and try to pry it off with an xacto. Pretty much, you're trying to replicate the process in which potholes are formed.

Either way, the piece will likely need some repair via putty.

Interesting. I'll give it a shot

As above, freezing can work.
The main issue is that you actually used decent glue that bonds insanely well.

If freezing doesn’t work, cutting is usually the next step.

If you don’t want the top hatch though, you can always drill through it and then carve it from there until it’s gone, replacing it with what you want.

This is the main reason I tend to use super glue for everything.

Just a thought but couldn't you just put the stormbolter onto the hatch area? That is on many tanks that have top guns it doesn't mean the user has to have the hatch open to be using the weapon in the model; the weapon could just be mounted ready to use.

Went to check on the Vindicator while I was making dinner and uhhh... I may have over done the freezing lmao.

Well, at least it's not a soda can under pressure!

See if you can figure out how well the hatch is bonded down once the tank's out of the permafrost by working something thin like a paint scraper around the edge. If it's a large surface, full melt, there's almost zero chance of snapping the parts from each other. Cutting the bond is generally the only choice at that point. If there's only a little glue it's possible to separate with lever or torque force.

Maybe magnetize your options this time, so you can change your mind more easily in the future?

Good luck with the hatch removal! It's not going to come off easy.

If you are getting desperate, you can always cut off the hatch and get a new hatch bit, cut away the extra and reglue where the last one used to be. Many tank upgrade sprues have hatch bits, and you might also be able to find hatch bits online.

That's a good idea. New hatch could be mounted on something cylindrical that would fit in the hole, allowing it to rotate too while also providing the joint.

Classic "it's not a bug, it's a feature!"

 Iron Git wif da Hamma wrote:
Went to check on the Vindicator while I was making dinner and uhhh... I may have over done the freezing lmao.

Let it thaw and repeat the process a few times. Check for looseness at each iteration. Key takeaway is that the ice needs to melt completely (particularly at the gaps) so that fresh liquid water can seep back in to freeze again.

My landraider took 6 freezes if my memory serves me properly. (It was also assembled with tamiya plastic cement in the late 90's) My wife was quite confused when she saw my 'toy' in the freezer.