Pattex Blitz Plastic liquid Adhesive for Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP)
Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig is a modern adhesive which will bond Polyethylene (PE) or Polypropylene (PP) plastic. The adhesive set consists of an Activator pen to prime the surfaces of the parts to be joined, and the actual cyanoacrylate adhesive in a 4 ml tube.
The editors of Military Miniatures Magazine have tested Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig in the course of a new modelling project, converting Airfix 1:76 scale German Infantry to German Marines who fought in the Boxer Rebellion and Herero Uprising. The heads with the Pickelhaube helmets had to be cut off using a scalpel knife, and new heads with pith helmets were scrounged from Zulu War British Infantry available from ESCI. To ensure a good bond, the joins need to be level and clean. Both joins were painted with the activator pen and set aside 60 seconds to allow the activator liquid to prime the surface. When the activator had dried, a small drop of Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig was applied to one of the parts and the parts were then pressed firmly together for 30 seconds. Excess glue was squezed out of the seam between the bonded parts and we cut this off with a scalpel when the glue had dried.
Testing the Bond
We allowed the figures to dry overnight and put them through a series of brutal tests which we would not normally subject our miniatures to:
For the first test we dropped the machine gun team from a height of 180 cm ten times. We held the soft plastic base, with the three machine gunners glued to it, facing down so that the men would land on their new pith helmet heads. On the fifth and eigth turn a machine gunner snapped off the base, but the helmets stayed on undamaged. The glue on the gun stand and around the feet of the disconnected gunners was easily removed with a fingernail.
Then we glued the converted German Marines onto a wooden ruler, using white glue, to facilitate handling the figures during painting. In our second test we wanted to pull on the newly mounted heads until either they came off, or the intact figure snapped off the ruler. Half of the figures survived this new test: the heads stayed on. This result is interesting, because the adhesive surface at the figure’s neck is tiny compared to the large figure base which had been glued to the ruler.
The wooden ruler is 30 cm long and there was one figure on it which had received a new arm during the conversion. To test this bond, we picked this figure up by its arm and carefully lifted the ruler off the table. This experiment was successful and it gave us the idea for a similar, but more rigorous test.
For the next experiment we clamped combination pliers weighing approximately 200 grams to the base of a converted German Marine and picked the figure up by its head. The first figure lost its head after 30 seconds, but the second figure survived the test unharmed. Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig did a surprisingly good job here.
The final test involved holding the converted figure in one hand and pressing the thumb against the side of the figure’s head until it snapped off at the join. We had to excert some pressure to do this, but eventually all the heads toppled. Unlike polystyrene adhesives which melt and fuse hard plastic model kit parts, Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig cannot bond soft plastic figures permanently. However, the bond is exceptionally reliable. If you’ve tried other bonding techniques with soft plastic figures you will remember that the heads typically start falling off if you just stare at figure.
Conclusion
Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig is an excellent adhesive for modellers interested in converting and bonding soft plastic figures made from polyethylene (PE). This glue does not fuse the parts permanently, but diorama builders and wargamers will be excited about the results they get. Finally, here is a quick and easy way to convert soft plastic figures. Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig will stimulate the creativity of plastic modellers all over the world.
Pattex Blitz Plastik flüssig is sold in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and the United States under the brand name Loctite / Pattex All Plastics or SuperPlastics.