have never dropped flaps on a model. would appericate any help . thx.

I have a lot of pics of BBD having just completed the Tamiya kit and using a couple different aftermarket decal sets.  If you are interested in the photos, let me know.

Note the alerions are both dropped, which should not be the case on a real aircraft.  They were just loose on the model.  I've since fixed that.

Hi Ardvark !

 Welcome to our forums . Everyone is right about going to the Aircraft thread . I will say Fermis gave a nice short and precise tutorial though .    T.B.

ardvark

hi. thx for your feedback. the kit is airfix 1/24th p-51d "big beautiful doll" most all pics i found, when parked flaps are dropped. i try my best to do lots of reasearch when building. did lots of building yrs. back, then " stalled" since i retired have renewed intrest, and am lovin it . thanks again.

 

Yes, the P-51's flaps would drop as hyd pressure bled off...as well as the main gear doors (big inner ones) which would go back up after the gears came down. Either way (up-down) is not out of the realm of possibility.

 I did the big Airfix 51 as well...back when Squadron had em for $20!!! (97-98-ish) I stuck a little motor, from Radio Shack, up front and mounted it on the included stand. Nowadays, it hangs from the ceiling...can't part with it, just yet!

Hello and a good 2016. New to this site, even though I registered almost 3 years ago! My father-in-law was in the sub service and purchased this kit for himself. Unfortunately, he passed away and never opened it. I thought I would build this model in his honor. I started the build in 2012 but finally finished my 1st model build in November 2015 of Revell's 1:72 scale submarine. I did not use any PE parts but I added WEM crew members to the sail. I used .011 guage guitar string for my railings and communication wire instead of supplied thread. I drilled missing exhaust holes into the body of the model. I also tried my hand at weathering and I think it turned out rather well. I learned a lot about submarines, the crews aboard these vessels and modeling techniques. I looked at many a photo to get an idea of colr scheme and weathering of ships at sea, in particular the USS Crevalle 291 ( even though it was a Balao-type submarine). If I can ever figure out how to post pictures, I'll try to share them. I'm now trying a build of Trumpeter's SS John Brown Liberty ship. Cheers!!!

Fermis's method is right on. You have to add the rounded leading edge the the flap part that was cut off. I cheat though and buy half round Sprue stock from Evergreen. 

FJ_ hit it right. Any time this kind of thing is planned, do find references.

Welcome to the Forums!  Glad to have you aboard!

Jim  

Welcome to the forum. .

Welcome to the Forums, ardvark!

Nice tutorial, fermis!

Welcome!

I scratchbuild flaps quite a bit. It really is pretty easy! Here's a diagram I draw up for another guy...

I do rudders and elevators the same way. 

The results...

Then, there's the other style flap...(this one was "invented"...couldn't find any good ref pics, but looks "logical" at least!). Being that this one is 32nd scale, I just used sheet styrene. When I do this in 72nd, I'll use aluminum(pop can).

Welcome Ardvark!

Like Modelcrazy mentioned, post this question in the Aircraft section and you'll get tons of responses.  Dropping flaps can be a tricky thing but it all depends on the aircraft.  Some flaps were simple hinges while others may have been the complicated Fowler flap system.

If it's a matter of a simple hinge system, what I've done in in the past is take some sewing thread and basically use it like a saw to make cuts on the left and right side of the flap.  You'll be AMAZED at how fast simple thread cuts right through the plastic!  Then I take an Xacto knife (or a panel scriber) and I score the hinge on the underside of the wing.  When I've scored a nice enough channel, I then gently bend the flap downward and set it with superglue.

Also, depending on the kit, it just be one that comes with separate flaps such as Tamiya's P-51 or Monogram's P-61 as examples.  I like it when they give us the flaps as separate parts!

Eric

Welcome to to forums Ardvark.   You will get more responces to your question if you post it in the Aircraft section. What kit is it?