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I just bought a pretty rough and roached MKI Whirlwind on Ebay hoping it would be a quick rehab. Upon openning the box there were glue clumps all over the place and the right side is at a 5 degree off center so it won't sit flat on its tracks. Trying to take the model apart I think that this personob used an entire tube of Testors model glue by some of the melting and warping of the plastic. One of the sides won't come off and i am fearful of cutting away.

So is there any product that can loosen this glue or has the plastic been melted and bonded together? So do I need to just cut and repair or hope that there is something that can break that glue down?

I read recently (can't remember where for a link) that most model glues start to lose strength at low temperatures, so popping a model in the freezer for a bit can help. Also, when I strip models in superclean/simple green the glue loosens sometimes, so depending on the glue you might try that.

Thanks. I will throw it into the freezer when I get home. Really hope he didn't use as much as I think he did.

Plastic glue melts the two pieces together. Putting it in the freezer won't affect it at all. You will have to cut the pieces apart.

If there's not too much detail in the area you want to separate, and you can create a small gap along the joint. Try dripping poly cement into the gap. It should weaken the bond in the same way as it created it
WARNING. Do NOT try this on detailed areas as it will destroy them.
I have tried this on old airfix models with some success, although I have never attempted it. On a mini.

Polystyrene cement actually melts the polystyrene so when it dries it's almost been welded - one object.

Simple Green and other strippers I've used have never broken the bond of cement for me before. It kills super glue no problem but plastic stuff will need to be cut for sure I think.

This is true but poly cement bonds inevitably have gaps in them. Using a similar product on the bond will temporarily weaken it, as long as it is not allowed to fully dry it should be possible to separate the two parts.

Unfortunatley, as i remember, that freezer trick is for super glue not plasy glue.

Puttin it in the freezer will make the joints brittle and ripe for splitting. An ultrasonic will loosen some seems.

If the model is glued with plastic cement, you aren't getting it apart unless you break the plastic. When you use plastic cement, you are actually preforming a solvent welding process. A proper weld joint is always stronger than the base material and no amount of freezing will break the bond. You may make the plastic brittle, in which case it could break uncontrollably with enough pressure, but the joint itself will not break.

So in other words, you're pretty much boned. Cutting or sawing are really your only two options here.

Plastic weld joints are not stronger than the plastic. It will crack easy in the freezer. I had done this many times on tanks and infantry I am refurbing. The key is to use something metal and flat, like a ruler to leverage the pieces apart. Scoring with a sharp blade can help also. Just be careful not to break the plastic with force.

Green stuf can be used to patch up any damage you cause.

 TheLionOfTheForest wrote:
Plastic weld joints are not stronger than the plastic. It will crack easy in the freezer. I had done this many times on tanks and infantry I am refurbing. The key is to use something metal and flat, like a ruler to leverage the pieces apart. Scoring with a sharp blade can help also. Just be careful not to break the plastic with force.

Green stuf can be used to patch up any damage you cause.

Sorry, solvent welded joints are not adhesive connections and are stronger than the base material, that is the benefit of welding. No, they aren't always orders of magnitude stronger, but strong enough that when you apply pressure, the plastic will break right above the joint, leaving a nasty marred surface. The junk GW makes is not a quality plastic cement and will easily break when exposed to cold, dropping on a hard surface, a light breeze, etc. The OP is talking about an actual plastic cement, a solvent, which breaks down the plastic and recombines the polymers in it in to a jumbled mess that is indeed stronger.

Yep its testors plastic cement this guy used. Freezing did nothing so I had to cut. What everit turned that plastic into was rock hard. I used a wire saw to get between the main hull and the side. Never seen anything like it. What an f'ing mess.

Thanks everyone for their input. The damage to the rhino can be repaired with some card and GS but damn.