Dry fit everything?

Lufbery

Member since
December 2002
From: Harrisburg, PA

Dry fit everything?

Posted by Lufbery on Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:19 PM

Hi all,

I'm Drew, and I'm a compulsive dry fitter.

(Hi Drew)

I pretty much dry fit everything before I put it together. However, I've read a two or three reviews lately where the reviewer has lamented the fact that he didn't dry fit before glueing.

So I'm wondering if other folks don't dry fit as often as I do. To me, it seems natural to fit each part together, sometimes taping them temporarily, to see what work needs to be done, and to plan how I'm going to glue them.

Now, I have yet to work on a kit that goes together easily. Most of my fare consists of Monogram kits with a Glencoe one I'm working on now.

So, am I the only one who pretty much test fits each part before glueing?

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:23 PM

Depends on the Kit and the manufacturer, but I do dry fit a LOT too.

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Foster7155

Member since
July 2003
From: Pensacola, FL

Posted by Foster7155 on Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:28 PM

I would guess that I dry fit at least 95% of all parts. Often it's just a quick "yeah, that fits there" dry fit while less frequently it's as in-depth as taping the parts together. Those instances are limited to critical components or highly visible parts that require tight fit.

Robert Foster

Pensacola Modeleers

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djmodels1999

Member since
December 2002
From: United Kingdom / Belgium

Posted by djmodels1999 on Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:56 PM

I should, but I sometimes don't and it always lands me into trouble..!

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knight667

Member since
January 2004
From: Philomath, OR, USA

Posted by knight667 on Thursday, November 18, 2004 5:41 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by djmodels1999

I should, but I sometimes don't and it always lands me into trouble..!

John "The only easy day was yesterday." - US Navy SEALs "Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." - US Marine Corp. "I live each day/Like it's my last/...I never look back" - from "I'm A Rocker" by Judas Priest

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, November 18, 2004 6:05 PM

I find myself compulsively re-dry fitting the same bits over and over.

I need to buy a Tamiya airplane and take a break and not dry fit anything.

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tho9900

Member since
July 2004
From: SETX. USA

Posted by tho9900 on Thursday, November 18, 2004 6:06 PM

I learned my lessons early on getting back into this... I dry fit almost everything now... it's saved me a lot of headache... sometimes I might even dry fit the same piece 4 or 5 times just to get the rythym for how it twists in at such and such angle, how to hold it just so to be able to glue etc...

---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Thursday, November 18, 2004 6:44 PM

I dry fit about everything. It's when I forget that trouble always seems to strike. Course recently I dry fit a tricky little part at least 3 times to be sure all was well & then proceeded to CA glue it in upside down. Hey, nobody's perfect.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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qmiester

Member since
May 2003
From: Central USA

Posted by qmiester on Thursday, November 18, 2004 7:06 PM

Any more I rarely work on a kit that I don't dry fit. And a lot of it isn't just between the tow pieces.I mean how many times have you fitted the fuselage together and find that several of the vertical panel lines don't meet at their respective seams?

RICK

I thought I was the only person who did that.

Quincy

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MusicCity

Member since
January 2004
From: USA

Posted by MusicCity on Thursday, November 18, 2004 7:32 PM

I dry fit most things. Only way to be sure. Like Robert though, there are some parts I just don't bother with (and they, of course, come back to haunt me). Or I'll get them fitting exactly right and put enough glue in there to float a boat. Or I glue them in the completely wrong place (upside down wasn't good enough for me, oh no, I put it 2 inches from where it was supposed to go and where I had just checked the fit). I can find enough ways to screw things, and dry fitting is a means of eliminating one of them.

Scott Craig -- Nashville, TN -- My Website -- My Models Page

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berny13

Member since
February 2003
From: Panama City, Florida, Hurricane Alley

Posted by berny13 on Thursday, November 18, 2004 7:47 PM

I dry fit most of an assembly. Just to make sure, if I have to do any sanding to get it to fit right. That is a throwback from the days of ill fitting kits that didn't have a flat surface at all on them. I have learned not to dry fit the Tamiya 1/32 scale aircraft. I dry fitted some parts on the F-15E and couldn't get them apart. They just seemed to snap into position. Some I had to get apart so I could install one or two of the umpteen screws included in the kit. I also made the same mistake with their F-4D. Now if it is a Tamiya kit I do not dry fit anything.

Berny

Phormer Phantom Phixer

On the bench

TF-102A Delta Dagger, 32nd FIS, 54-1370, 1/48 scale. Monogram Pro Modeler with C&H conversion.

Revell F-4E Phantom II 33rd TFW, 58th TFS, 69-260, 1/32 scale.

Tamiya F-4D Phantom II, 13th TFS, 66-8711, 1/32 scale. F-4 Phantom Group Build.

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mm23t

Member since
September 2004
From: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Posted by mm23t on Thursday, November 18, 2004 8:33 PM

I dry fit everything. I've learned it's better to be correct the first time. It keeps the cussing to a minimum. Laugh [(-D]

Medals are not "Won", they are "Earned".

Mike..

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Lufbery

Member since
December 2002
From: Harrisburg, PA

Posted by Lufbery on Friday, November 19, 2004 8:56 AM

Great! I figured most folks dry fit. I mean, it's the natural thing to do. Smile [:)]

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 19, 2004 10:38 AM

hi, im reggie, and im a dry-fit mis-gluer

(hi reggie)

it seems that i dryfit everything that needs dryfitting, then just before i glue the part together, gremlins come and swap seeminly identical but different parts. (gremlins are an excellent place to shift blame to when things are really your own dumb fault) after gluing the dryfitted part together wrongly, i will then go and watch TV for a while and allow the wrongly glued part set fully. after which i will pry the wrongly glued parts apart with a knife and cuss and swear.

i have been mis-glue free for all of 15 minutes. my sponsor has lost his voice. oy veh

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Lufbery

Member since
December 2002
From: Harrisburg, PA

Posted by Lufbery on Monday, November 22, 2004 9:06 AM

Ha!

I've only mis-glued a couple of times, but boy is that a problem!

I glued the wrong bottom wing half to the wrong top wing half for one of the wings of the biplane I'm working on. Luckily, I noticed it pretty quickly and was able to separate the pieces with an x-acto knife before the glue had fully set.

Regards,

-Drew

Build what you like; like what you build.

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J-Hulk

Member since
February 2003
From: Tochigi, Japan

Posted by J-Hulk on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 11:43 AM

I dry fit everything. You just never know what you're gonna get, even from the big boys!

~Brian

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Jim Barton

Member since
February 2003

Posted by Jim Barton on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 12:22 PM

I dry-fit everything, sometimes repeatedly. Even then, the gremlins (or old Murphy himself) are waiting in the wings, just hoping for a chance to screw something up, even if it's just a chance to watch me hunt frantically for the toothpick I was going to use to hold something in place for a few minutes; and meanwhile, the glue is setting with the part at the wrong angle!

"Whaddya mean 'Who's flying the plane?!' Nobody's flying the plane!"

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Tailspinturtle

Member since
February 2004
From: Connecticut

Posted by Tailspinturtle on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 5:12 PM

I not only dry fit everything, I compare some things like landing gear struts and wheels against a 1/72 scale drawing to make sure that the "sit" will be right.

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 6:48 PM

I never dry fit.
I never screw up with quantities of glue.
My paint jobs are ALWAYS pristine, and
I never, EVER make any mistakes of any kind.

Then I wake up. Disapprove [V]

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KJ200

Member since
July 2003
From: Bicester, England

Posted by KJ200 on Thursday, November 25, 2004 6:29 AM

I dry fit everything.

It's the glueing bit that I often screw up.

I spent 10 minutes dry fitting and correcting the landing gear strut on my Ar555, only to glue it on backwards, with CA!!!!!!

Karl

Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF