While I don't know what caused your model to disintegrate the way it did maybe in the future try using CA for filler as a precaution. The models you are building are quite nice and I would like to think they will stay that way. Unfortunately solvent based putties tend to shrink over time. Looking back over my HO years this is quite evident! A couple years back at the Rails by the Bay (PNW RPM) meet Gene Fusco put on a clinic covering resin building techniques and the consensus in the room was to use CA, or CA and baking powder for larger gaps. There were some IPMS guys there that swore by it. Since that time I have used thin CA exclusively for filling plastic and resin and come to like the method. A friend who uses this method has decade old models without any dips in the filler and judging by what I see at the model meets that seems like a pretty good barometer for the material's performance. Keeping fills filled and white paint white seem to be in the same category- I've been caught out by both the last few years- still working on that white paint...
To apply the CA I usually use a round toothpick. Sometimes I cut it down or on angle to get more surface cover or fit a small opening, but it depends on how wide a seam you are trying to cover. I use thin CA because it is on hand. If more fill is needed I start over by shimming with thin styrene. In either case wait about a minute or two and decide whether to add another hit of the CA then burnish the surface down with a sharp knife blade. The round tip blades work well for this initial step. From there I sand it down and finish with a flannel shirt. A pass with a No. 11 blade will guarantee flatness if you have the luxury of working over a large area. If the seams are really small and between battens it is probably best to use a form tool. The CAed tooth pick (CA maintains the edge hardness and shape) +goo+sandpaper would likely do the trick, same as what you use to work with solvent putty. The only real difference between methods is in the working time.
As for your car, can you back cut the seams and fill in with styrene? Perhaps needle emboss the lost rivets in .005" styrene , fillet them off and testors them in place? I bugger stuff up all of the time and have to try and rescue it, supposedly it is part of my "working method." Hate to see you lose a good car.
At any rate keep those models rolling! more EB please.
Andrew Hutchinson
