I'm new to the hobby of RC. I picked up a couple of .40 trainer kits at a garage sale and am getting ready to start building. Both kits of detailed instructions of speacial tools and supplies needed. However, they don't mention the qty. of glue needed. I was getting ready to place a order with Tower Hobbies and notice most of the adhesives come in 1/2, 2 & 4 oz. qtys. I don't mind buying the larger sizes, but if the have a short shelf life I'll probably only buy enough to due the two kits. What size should I purchase.

It would be a guess on how much glue you would need to build 2 airplanes. I am assuming you are talking about CA glues. Yes they have a shelf life. A lot depends on how warm your building area is, and the humidity. CA's dry faster in warm air and humid air. I buy my CA's in large quantities and keep it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. I use a 2 oz bottle to build with. When I am finished building for the day, and I know it will be awhile before I need the glue again, I put it back in the fridge. Just let it warm to room temperature before using. The cold can retard the drying time. I use a lot of titebond, and normaaly if I keep the bottled sealed, it will last quite awhile. Make sue you use good ventilation when working with any kind of glue especially CA's. I keep a small fan blowing on my face. You do not want to breathe or let the fumes get in your eyes.

I would buy a couple 2 ounce bottles rather than one 4 ounce. I personally find the smaller bottles easier to work with. If I were you, this is what I would purchase (just my opinion of course):

1 2 ounce bottle of thin CA
1 2 ounce bottle of medium CA
1 small bottle of thick CA (I rarely use the thick stuff but it is nice if you need it)
1 CA accelerator
30 minute epoxy
Alphatic resin glue (wood glue) such as Tite-bond or similar. (I think this stuff has a lot of applications, especially on joints that may need sanding such as sheeting. Sig-ment or Ambroid will work good here too.)

And make sure you use good ventilation and or a mask when you use the glues, esp Ca. Doc

CA, PROVIDED it is stored in a COOL AND DRY location, an open bottle will keep for several months. I have a 2 oz bottle of thin CA I have had for going on 5 months now and it is still good. I keep it in the basement (my primary building area ), it is open and has a micro-tubing inserted in the regular nozzle to use for gluing.

As for the amount of glue you will use, that is a little difficult to determine, everyone is different with the amounts they use. I do a fair amount of scratch building. I recently finished the framework on a 68" span 40 size plane.

I used ABOUT the following amounts of glue:

Titebond - 2 - 3 oz (sheeting, wing assembly and some fuselage assembly )

Thin CA - 1/2 oz

Medium CA - 1/4 oz

30 minute epoxy - 1 oz mixed, about 1/4 oz - 1/2 oz used (firewall & tri-stock. lg blocks & tri-stock )

A lot of gluing is matching the glue to WHAT you are gluing and how the part is going to be used (the amount of strain it will be put inder).

Thin CA - balsa to balsa with a tight joint.

Medium CA - balsa to balsa with a loose (not sloppy) joint and balsa to lite ply.

Titebond - lite ply to light ply (or regular ply ) and MOST other joints of all types when I can leave the joint clamped/pinned to dry.

30 Minute Epoxy - high stress areas (firewalls, landing gear blocks, etc AND any associated re-enforcing pieces, plywood wing joiners ).

FWIW - I, personally, have no use for 5 minute epoxy on glow or gas powered planes. The weight is the same as a 30 minute epoxy, however you only have about 1/4 - 1/3 the strength.

Hope this helps.

Another way to extend the shelf life of CA is to store it in the refrigerator if you are not using it. Good Luck, Dave