Don't Ever Use Gorilla Glue!

[Jabba the Slug]

I thought I would put this here as a sort of warning to my fellow collectors ever in need of glue...

Every year at least a few times I dust off my entire collection (which is on a shelf), which usually involves a couple of unfortunate figures falling off the shelves and breaking parts. Well, that's what happened this time. *sigh*

My ROTS Kit Fisto fell, which caused the little peg on his lightsaber (damn those things!) to snap. Out of Krazy Glue, which is what I normally use, I turned to the small bottle of Gorilla Glue we had. Hey, it's supposed to be "the toughest stuff on Earth," right?

I apply a small dab of glue, and, 5 minutes later, the lightsaber blade is not attached to the hilt. The wet glue dried into a foamy-looking substance, which stands out a lot against the dark gray plastic. So, in other words, the glue sucks. Using this glue on plastic is like using school glue. The blade didn't even stick even a little onto the hilt. Lesson of the story: Don't. EVER. Use. Gorilla Glue!

[Jesse James]

Glues and plastics will often react very badly to one another if you're not using the right stuff...

Find Devcon plastic welder, as it's more suited to a variety of plastic types.  Other modeling plastic welders are good for only specific plastic types.

Devcon's plastic welder is a 2-part you have to mix, and it's thick, but it's superior for durability on a saber hilt.

[Jabba the Slug]

Thank you for the tip! I've always found Krazy Glue to be both very efficient and useful, but I will definitely keep this glue in mind.

[Morgbug]

I've always used Testor's modeling cement for gluing plastic bits.  As long as you use it sparingly it works very well and doesn't deform anything.  You do have to hold the bits together for a bit of time until it starts hardening but then all is good.  Plus the aroma from that stuff takes me right back to childhood.