Or

"How I learned that building plastic models can be dangerous”

By Gennady Iosefovich Beregovoy

Here I am, stuck with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement for my plastic models. That’s P170 a bottle. Expensive stuff for such a small bottle. And the scent of it will give you headaches for weeks on end. I miss my 125ml bottle of chloroform – the only one I ever had which I got from the drugstore. At just P70, it had more binding agent than one bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin. And cheaper too! And it doesn’t smell that bad (okay, it does but ONLY if you take a direct sniff from the bottle – which can incapacitate you, BTW. Hey, I speak from experience here!). And it dries fast. And the bond is strong. And so on and so forth ad nauseum.

But no, I’m stuck with Tamiya Extra Thin. Dammit. So, what does a model builder do?

Ok, I just had had enough with the Extra Thin’s pricey price tag, and had had it with the drugstore which since last year hasn’t stocked up on chloroform. So, I figured, why not try direct to the source?

I get the phone directory for Commercial/Industrial listings. Opened it to the heading ‘Chemicals.’ I began punching numbers.

Riiiiiing!

“Hello, do you sell chloroform? No? Ok thank you.” SLAM!

“Hello, do you sell chloroform? No? Ok thank you.” SLAM!

On and on it went, until finally I got one that DOES sell chloroform in 2.5 FRIGGIN’ LITRES mind you! It went like this:

“Hello, do you sell chloroform?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good! How much?”

“May I know who’s this?”

(I wondered, why would they want my name?)

“Ah, er, I’m just a smalltime consumer, it’s for my hobby you see.”

“Okay. It’s P1170, with 20% discount, for 2.5 litres.”

“Ah ok, good! Just asking. Thank you.”

And so it was. I called more companies to check their prices and also to see which among the companies close to me was selling the stuff. Finally, happy with my recon – which netted two companies selling chloroform, I decided to purchase it from the company that first told me they had it.

And so I called again. They confirmed they sold chloroform. Then they added something that they didn’t say in my first conversation with them. They required me to execute a certificate, addressed to their sales manager, on the reason why I need chloroform. And so I told the person on the phone why I needed it (she was patient listening to my story). Not only that, they told me to put my Tax Identification Number as well. Really weird – all that trouble for just 2.5 litres of chloroform?

But I was still not happy. The company that I planned to get my chloroform was quite a distance from my residence. And considering the traffic situation in Metro Manila, going there will be like driving through Lebanon in the mid-80s. And so I got the phone directory again and inquired. Until I hit another company which answered that little questions that were bugging me in my brain – Why did they always ask my name? Why did they ask for a certification? And why the hell doesn’t the drugstore stock this stuff anymore?

This third company told me I needed to get a Mayor’s Permit and a permit from the Department of Trade and Industry. Perplexed, I asked how large is the volume of chloroform they’re selling me. 2.5 litres, they answered. Ok, still wondering and I was about to ask a follow-up query when they continued:

“We report to the PDEA those who purchase chloroform.”

Shock. Cold numbness hit me. My stomach churned. PDEA. That agency which has figured in many a drug raid recently. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is the main body tasked to clamp down on the sale and abuse of substances. Chloroform – dangerous? As in as dangerous as cocaine or amphetamines? Goodness… No wonder they were asking my name! No wonder they were asking for my Tax Identification Number! No wonder they required me to execute a certificate! No wonder the drugstore doesn’t sell this stuff already!

My imagination went overdrive. There I see meself, having bought a bottle of chloroform and was happily on my way home when I hit a checkpoint. They inspect my bag. They see the stuff. They ask for a permit to purchase the stuff. I don’t have it. They arrest me. They send me to the slammer. I get convicted. The penalty is death for possessing substances without a permit. All that for just chloroform.

Or I’m in my room, building models, using chloroform, when suddenly police surrounds my home and announce on the bullhorn for me to come out, hands in the air. They suspect I’m a drug peddler. Hell no! This is a war! Desperate, I grab my Tamiya Musashi, Dragon Abrams, Trumpeter Leopold, Revell Panzerhaubitze 2000, and Italeri Comanche. I warn them: “DON’T YOU EVER GET NEAR! I’VE GOT A BATTLESHIP, A TANK, A RAIL GUN, MOBILE ARTILLERY, AND A STEALTH ATTACK HELICOPTER READY TO BLOW YOU GUYS UP!”

Ok, fine, models then. A bluff. I get hit, they send me to the slammer. I get the injection. Good bye GIB!

Goodness! I know the hobby has its dangers, from glued fingers courtesy of CA glue, to X-Acto cuts, razor blade slices, saws, Dremel motor tools gone berserk, cancer from fine resin dust, headaches from liquid cement, not to mention the ire from your parents, spouses, significant relationships on the amount of time and money you spend on the hobby. But jail time? For chloroform?!? This hobby is sure dangerous! I think I'd rather go back collecting stamps. Much safer that way. What's that, no more stamps? Why? Email? DAMMIT!

And so my quest for chloroform was done. I will NOT cross swords with the law (well, not yet that is). I’m not THAT desperate for my hobby (okay, going to the farthest hobby shop to get that long sought after kit, purchasing it with borrowed money, then going back stealthily at home, smuggling it so that know one nows you spent someone else's money just to sustain your addiction, is just as desperate). Hell, I’ll just stick to Tamiya Extra Thin for years until someone can come up with a material that’s cheap and does not require a permit to purchase it.

Sigh…

Anyone got chloroform to spare?

Nice story.... sayang nga lang yung chloroform. Sana nagstock ka na ng sobrang dami noon

Go for Model Master Liquid Cement. 34 mL for P130. The good thing with this compared to Tammy bottled ones is they come controlled. I mean, they pass through a narrow tube kaya di sayang ang lagay ng cement. Minsan nga lang bumabara sa tip but peeling would do.

Hi GI,

Can you give me the numbers of the wholesalers who were willing to sell Chloro? IPMS might want to have a group buy and work something out.

Cheers,
Wanze

Goodluck on that my friend! You'll need a lot of papers for that as GI mentioned.

BTW GI, how's your Comanche? That kit is waaay bad

In a word regarding the quest to acquire chloroform:

Paksyet!!!



BT6

SR: I was just kidding of having an Italeri Comanche. But the real 1:1, working condition, Comanche is somewhere at my soooooooper seeeeeeeekret airbase outside Manila. Five of them, actually. #:-) As for the MM cement, yes I've used that already, but it's just like regular Tamiya cement (the yellow and white capped square bottles). Its consistency isn't that thin, thus it dries longer. Chloroform dries really fast.

Wanze: There are three. One is Belman Laboratories, the other is Theo-Pam (which sells it in 4.0 litres at P2000+) and Scientific-something-something labs (this one told me about PDEA - methinks Belman purposely did not tell me they report to PDEA under an arrangement with the agency). The following contact info is from the Yellow Pages

Belman Laboratories -

Tel: 712-0201 / 711-4382 / 711-4385
TeleFax: 712-0182 / 712-0336
Email: [email protected]
Address: Belman Bldg. II, 78 Cordillera cor. Quezon Ave., QC

Theo-Pam -

Tel: 831-4808 / 831-6463 / 831-9974
TeleFax: 831-4040
Email: [email protected]
Address: 2818 P. Celle St., Pasay City

The third company's info will be posted later. I forgot the name - will check the office's Yellow Pages as my home copy is 1 year outdated.

Hi GI,

Thanks for the info. Will past it on to IPMS-BAC and we'll see what we can do.

Hey, are you guys saying that you can't even get it in Mercury Drug!!!.. I mean.. what the...
okay here'e another solution.. have you tried the plastic signs and acrylic suppliers since they definitely supply this in 1 litre bottle... i think Jeepney might help you with the location on McDowell..

Haven't found McDowell yet but I know the general area. Maybe they're selling chloroform in small 1 gram sachets now

Hi jeepney ..

This might help you...

Niiiiiiice! Great map blitz! Methinks another field trip is in order. Thanks mucho!

The Comanche program was cancelled. For more info, read the post in the AC forum. Sayang pa naman yung craft na yon

On the Comanche's cancellation - 'BOUT BLOODY TIME! It was a waste of money... and to think it was in development for 20 FRIGGIN' YEARS! By the time it was supposed to enter low-rate production - in 2007 IIRC - it'll be OBSOLETE. Actually, it IS already obsolete. Too bad the US Army still has to cough up $2 billion for the contract termination fees.

UCAVs are the future. Comanche is just another 'jobs program' that needed to be axed.

Comrades,

It is with a great sense of joy that I am typing this post on recent developments with my quest for chloroform.

I went to National Bookstore Robinsons Manila to purchase some items when I noticed by chance a Ginebra bottle with some clear liquid in it and the label "M. Rodriguez Art Supplies Inc." I got it and saw on the label the words "adhering liquid." Intrigued, I purchased it - twenty six pesos and fifty centavos, no less, no more.

I could not contain my curiosity when I reached the office. Hence, I called the art supplies store and inquired on what the substance was. They told me it was used to glue "green film." I asked about the consistency. They answered it was thinner. I asked what was green film. They told me it was used in printing shirts. With that, I had thought I had bought nothing more than simple thinner used in silk screening. Nonetheless, I brought it home with me.

At home, I opened it and the scent of the liquid was akin to rugby. Indeed, my impression was this was basically clear, liquified rugby. I then got an applicator (a screwdriver - the closest thing within my reach) and applied a few drops to two scraps of 1.2mm thick Pla Plate.

Lo and behold, to my surprise, the two scraps of styrene bonded together. In a few minutes, I tried to pry both pieces apart and was pleased that I had failed. I ended up breaking one piece - not at its joint, but at the place where I bent the part. The area where the "adhering liquid" was applied remained bonded together.

The following morning, I checked the pieces. No detectable signs of pits or depressions were found. Apparently, the adhering liquid was strong enough to bond the plastic, but not strong enough to melt the plastic and create sinkholes - unless, of course, like all solvents, you apply too much.

Buoyed by the success of this previous preliminary test, I then built a spare model kit - a Dragon 1/144 F-16 - using this "adhering liquid" exclusively.

Comrades, I am holding that F-16 kit in my hands, and the pieces are solid. The adhering liquid works! I am happy to report this successful test and am recommending that adhering liquid be a cheaper, alternative source to liquid cement. At P26.50 the size of your regular Ginebra bottle, the stuff works!

I will finish my current supply of Tamiya Extra Thin liquid cement. When that has run out, I shall use adhering liquid exclusively as my bonding solvent. I reckon it is basically lacquer thinner - maybe the very same thinner Fiawrc/Hunter mentioned? Perhaps.

Adhering Liquid is available at National Bookstore. Check it out.

Who's the subversive now, GI? Hahaha!

Great job on this one. Ill probably try it myself one of these days. Im just a little wary about the rugby fumes. Might permeate the air and affect little Mikhaila. But the price is tempting.

You know what this means, last one out is a rotten egg :-) :-) :-)

Fumes aren't a big deal. I used it in me room, with windows shut, door closed, and a fan at the low speed setting. No detectable/overwhelming fumes whilst working the -16. It is only when you directly inhale it or the liquid is close enough that you notice the smell. Otherwise, it did not make me feel nauseus unlike Extra Thin. Chloroform's smell is even less detectable than adhering liquid, but more pungent-canal-like, not "sweet" compared to adhering liquid.

I examined the -16 this morning - no sinkholes. I tried to tear it apart - major assembly - the fuselage - held up. Small parts where I placed too little - admittedly, too little - of the adhering liquid still were connected but could easily be removed - which was to be expected. I also used it on the canopy. As expected, it fogged up, but not much, and only at the areas where the adhering liquid was applied.

I have begun transferring some of the contents on an empty Extra Thin bottle. I still got a 2/3s full Extra Thin left - will last me several models. Until it is consumed, the adhering liquid goes to the storage area for future use.

GI,

Thanks for that info. I'll drop-by at NBS after office and ask if they have that 'adhering liquid'.

Many thanks.

-Lipton-

you know why many drug stores are very carefull when selling chlorofor? bec it was use beforeas a sleeping agent by many kidnappers. remember seing bad guys in movies holding a hanky and placing it on the face of a victim a suddenly the victim fell asleep? few dabs of cloroform on a hanky is a good sleeping tecniq. try this with a stray cut.
hmmm nasaan na yun sexy babae kanina???? :-) :-) :-)

even doctors cant buy them. they should have S3 on their licence to buy one.

stray cat pala not cut. sorry :-) :-) :-)

WOOOHOOO!!!

Thank you GI. I bought the 'adhering liquid' last week and been using it since. It works good and yes... cheap. One thing I noticed though... it doesn't tolerate mistakes, it dries a bit faster than tamiya extra thim (at least that's my observation).

Many thanks for this new found tool.

-Lipton-

Hah! I bought this adhering liquid too a couple of days ago & it really is a great discovery GI!
although I didn't find the Gin bote size I found the smaller 60 ml bottle. It's very thin, less stinky than the Tamiya cement & dries a bit longer so I guess this one is puuuuurfect for indy links!

Thanks for the tip. :-) :-)

Whaaa!!! Cool sig Fritz.

-Lipton-