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Help! A Plastic Model Sword Broke! How to Fix It?
my little sister were playing with my older brother's action figures. Now, they have broken Chamberlain's saber. Because it was made of plastic and it's scale, the sword was already relatively weak. So it wound up breaking at the hilt/tang area. Right where the sword connects to the grip. Ordinarily, i might have used some regular elmers glue and tape (to hold it in place as it dries), but i think this needs more. Would hot glue work? and how can it keep the two halves together so it doesn't dry at an angle (because i need to be able to put it back into it's scabbard). Help!
It's a soft plastic and the model is on the larger size. Think Civil War G.I. Joe.
You will not be able to repair it in such a way it's a strong as before. If it's a thin bit it will be very hard to repair and you'll probably have to pin it (i.e. drill holes in both ends and insert a metal rod for reinforcement) and then use glue.
It's hard to say what kind of glue you should use. That depends on the type of plastic. Is it hard or soft?
Cyano-acrylate creates a surface bond on a molecular level. It's a fairly strong bond but with plastics often less effective against bending forces. Also, it's not really suited for polyethylene and possibly PVC as well.
Elmer (PVC) glue does not really glue any type of plastic. It just adheres to the surfaces and holds it together because it hardens as a shell.Plastic glues that work on a solvent base only work for certain types of plastics. The ones for plastic model kits are for polystyrene. An often used plastic for toys but I'm not sure if action figures are that material. You also have solvents for ABS (more an industrial plastic - like for a telephone) and PVC (drainpipes - not used for toys).
You can try hot glue but that can be a bit hard to do evenly and may melt some of the plastic. Try on some other plastic first.
Two component epoxy glue could be tried too. It will act like Elmer glue but will deliver a stronger bond.
You can still use tape to hold the parts together when applying glue. Just tape the sword to some cardboard support or something.
You can also contact the company that makes the action figure and ask if it's possible to order a saber separately.