Best Permanent Glue for Plasticville structures

Clean surfaces help.

How old is the glue - tube or bottle?

Good questions, Martin.  Testor's glue for styrene may, indeed, deteriorate in the tube/bottle with age.

Another suggestion might be to consider using a more generic type of glue...e.g., Plastruct's Plastic Weld, MicroMark's Same Stuff, Tenax 7r (which has some other aging issues...like totally disappearing in the bottle!!!!).  It's entirely possible that the current mfr is using a different polymer, maybe more to the ABS-side rather than straight styrene.  As long as the material shrinkage factor, et al, is compatible with the die design (could affect part-to-part fits), that could very well happen....especially considering overseas practices/availability/costs of different materials.

Unless you're just trying to keep things really together while living on the San Andreas Fault, Aileen's Tacky Glue does a pretty decent job of keeping things connected as the trucks go by the house...or your wife's Zumba class has their weekly session in the room above the layout!!! 

FWIW, always...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

KD

Had not considered that possibility.....bit of a sticky wicket were that to be on the table.

Other option would be the film of Goo on one surface and CA on the other.....

It is the glue in the bottle with the long tip. I did think that it may have been the glue but still no dice with the new bottle.  I will try cleaning the surface this time.

The problem with this forum is that questions often send me to go look at something.

I was once on a kick of kitbashing various different shaped RR stations out of the familiar Plasticville one, so I went to look, as I didn't remember what I used.  I think it was Testor's tube stuff for plastic, as I use that the most, and would otherwise have

chosen two part epoxy for about everything else I build that is not wood, involves wire or metal, etc.

I find that Sinbad glue works great!!  I seem to find it at York in the Orange Hall.  A husband and wife team sell it at their booth.  Sinbad is practically usable for any materials.  I even use it to glue rocks together for my mountain.  

I don't believe sanding the joints would be helpful in this particular instance.  It's necessary for a good bond with epoxy types (which should also work here) but not so much for solvent types.  I'd guess, as mentioned above, that the plastic has been changed.

Try mwb's suggestion if you have the materials, or white glue (the one with the picture of the bull) which is actually very handy for many plastics.

Failing them, TENAX 7R is also a good bet.  You could position the parts and then apply it.  But if you don't have some already, I don't know as I'd run out and buy it.  It was $7.50 the last time I bought it.

Bondic would certainly work, but that's even more expensive - about $21.  Just using it on the top and bottom tabs of each joint would hold it, I would think. 

Another test you could make....   Dribble a bit of the glue on an insignificant interior surface/wall.  Let it stand for a few seconds.  Gently rub the gluey spot with your finger.  Is it sticky?  Does it seem like the plastic is softening from the glue?

If yes...you should be good to go at the joints...as long as the parts are clean, per Martin's suggenstion.

If no...I'd suspect a your building is of a different material than straight styrene.  IWC, try one of the other weld-type plastic bonders...or tacky glue...as suggested above.

Just a thought....

KD

Liquid nails.

I use Crazy Glue. Hasn't failed yet in 35 years.

Jerry