Some information with regard to gluing plastics that I've learned through modeling over the years.

Styrene plastic: This is like the plastics that model airplanes, ships, trains are primarily made of. This is the type of plastic that EVERGREEN produces in sheets, angles, tubing, etc. This is a really nice plastic to work with because you can use "glues" that actually weld the pieces together.

My favourite is called TENAX 7R, but I've also used a product called AMBROID ProWeld. The unique features about these products is that that it is in a liquid form and you can use capillary action to get the glue in the right places. This is best applied with a fine paint brush.

Other types of plastics that can be glued with this type glue are Butyrate, ABS & Acrylic. Also you can glue plexiglass. (this will work on cockpit canopies).

Good ol' Testors model glue falls in this same category although it is much thicker and takes longer to set up. When glued properly these form a strong bond.

A word of caution when using these glues. Because the glue actually melts the plastic some distortion can occur if you glob it on!

CA glue (aka superglue) is great for gluing delicate pieces together but it isn't all that strong because the cyanoacrylate bonds to itself. Also when the chemical reaction is setting up it produces an off-gas which can discolour the surrounding plastic. Especially on painted surfaces!

A third type of glue for plastics is an epoxy, these typically come in two parts, a hardner and an epoxy. When mixed equally they set up quickly and are great for gluing resins.

So how does this all apply to gluing Joes back together?

It's been my experience that most of the ARAH vehicle shells are some form of Styrene or ABS plastic. (It looks like your shuttle body falls into this category.) However, many of the accessories are of some different type of plastic. My guess is that it is some form of polyethelene, which is used for a lot of food containers you buy at the supermarket. It appears to be of the same plastic family as milk jug caps. Has anyone every tried gluing a milk jug cap? Forgettaboutit! This stuff won't bond. And it's the same plastic Hasbro used on some of the following toys: FANG, skids and rotors, red engine cage; Dragonfly skids and wings; Tomahawk, turret gun, wings and stabilizers; Thundermachine,front axle, gun cage.

The only thing that I've found that will bond these types of plastic is CA. But it is not strong, so it is very delicate. For example I got a cherry FANG, but one side of the rotor blade was snapped off. CA is holding it back it place, but I know I have to give it the white glove treatment.

If anyone has found something that will actually bond this type plastic, cleanly, I would love to hear about it!

Happy Gluing and Yo Joe!