Okay;
Lets get our ducks in a row. ( Where did that expression come from ? ) I studied the kit once again and couldn't help myself,I started dry fitting some of the loose parts. Yeah, I know. Carefully cut the Pilot and Co-Pilot's seats off the pour stub. Hmmm. Not so hard after all.
Oh, for those of you who have read my posts about resin and ships and an allergy. Somehow this resin doesn't seem to bother me unless some of the dust falls and sits on my skin for a while. So no power tools will be used here.
I used my P.E.Saws and lots of patience. 45 Minutes, both seats were on their own with no damage to their fine parts. I did notice that the seat belts were Molded on the seats.They have P.E. belts as well. Yup! Gotta use them. The control pedals are so small they took a flight into outer space and I havent found them yet. That's alright I made four new ones and used tweezers with teeth on them to work them in place.
On the instrument panel, I did follow the instructions, I filed the molded instruments off the piece. The P.E. ones look so much better! I have finished dressing the Hull/Fuselage parts and they fit gorgeous. I haven't tried with the interior or wheel wells in place, That's part three! Geez ,I wish I had another 10 mega-Pixel Camera!
Oh well, I will continue to paint word pictures. The two pieces that go on top of the fuselage also support the wings. They do fit good now. The real plane's struts all fall on those pieces. I think I can do as I planned ! The plan is to build three partial bulkheads into these two pieces and use a strip of H.O. scale 2x12 down the center and make it removeable. I can create sockets at each bulkhead and inside the fuselage the same matching ones, with .040 Wire acting as pins on the part. This will hold it solid and allow me to make it look non-Modified!
What I may do here is to Use Epoxy and fill the pylon to build it and using BrassPins on the interior, lock it and the two hull top pieces together! This definitely will make them stronger. I think I can use brass wire pins on the strut ends with epoxy too!
I am somewhat surprised they didn't include wire harnesses for the engines. I mean , They included switches and panels for the cockpit overhead! Oh, Be careful building the little stairway and bulkheads in the rear. They don't want to line up as the glue dries. Oh! Those bulkheads and the bottom of those stairs fit inside of the doorway edge.The instructions don't make this clear!
That's it till next time. Adios ! P.S. To match the photos enlarge the two window holes on the starboard forward side. Drop the glass in and glue. This way ,because of where it's at, you won't delete to much detail sanding that area down.