PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

Thanks Jack and Joe for your input.

Joe--that is my concern as well.  The rivet detail is right at that gap. Your solution using acetone seems reasonable because sanding seems out of the question. Applying a minimal amount of filler seems key and that is where I still struggle.  I need to come up with a procedure to make the filler more pliable because out of the tube it is just to thick.  It goes on like paste.  NASA..do we have a procedure for this?  I just rewatched Apollo 13, hence the procedure reference. . I love that movie.  What a privilege it was to grow up in that that era. I miss it.

Jack--your option is interesting.  I suppose I could stretch some sprue thin enough to get in there.  I have more questions though and please understand I am not being critical.  I just want to understand better.  So you are suggesting that I shim the wing.  Are you suggesting this for the purpose of adding strength to the join? Or is mainly to fill the gap with something other than filler? Or both?

Thanks guys.

Steve

Steve - no, I'm suggesting to open up the 'mouth' area where your upper and lower wing areas are, by the use of a shim or two.  Maybe a photo will help.  Where the two red arrows are, you just need to stick something in there to increase the space just lightly, so that  when you place your wing against the fuselage, that gap should disappear.

Of course,  if the design construction for your particular bird is different in the suspect area, Joe's option would be easier.

regards,

Jack

Jack... I totally get it now. That is an awesome idea.  On my kit the end of the wings are enclosed  but  it would not be that hard to open them up with my dremel.  Then do as you say and add a spacer in there to open that up.   I think I will try that first because the gaps on the underside of the wing are even much worse.  If I can  spread that open some, I might be able to get away with not using filler, or maybe just use a little gap CA would be enough.

Thanks guys.  You have been extremely helpful!.  I will let you know how it works out.

Steve

Another option, Steve, if the gap isn't too huge, is to run thinned white glue in there, until the gap is pretty well closed.  Let it dry, wipe it smooth and clean up any overage with a damp q-tip.

Then paint, and when you're into the weathering stage, run a dark wash in there, just as if it were a panel line.  Many wings were attached to the fuselage as a separate assembly, so there can be a seam there where they were attached on the prototype.  

It's not always the right/best solution, but it has the advantage of preserving any detail near the wing root.

I did it with this Wildcat, and although part of the seam is concealed by the walkways, up near the nose the joint is no more evident than an engraved panel line.

Whatever you try, hope it works out for you.

With the start of the school year I've been pretty busy, but I just wanted to say there's a lot of good work going on in here

Hey Checkmate... That is an awesome idea as well!.  I guess I never heard of using white glue for gaps.  I like the idea because it would be somewhat self leveling.  I might try that. The gaps underneath the wings are pretty large so I will first try Jacks idea to get things fitting better, then if needs be, follow up with a gap filler of some type.  What type will depend on the size of the gap.  So maybe the white glue.  

You guys have been very helpful.  All three ideas are excellent.  Oh..and thanks for the weather tips.  Maybe you have some advice along those lines.  The Avenger I am building will be painted in sea blue.  That is a dark color.  Do you see any benefit of panel line weathering?  I was planning on doing some paint wear and chipping.  Any other thoughts?

Thanks guys.

PS:  I like the looks of your Wildcat. Nicely done!

Thanks, Bakster.  White glue is an option to choose among many.  I think I first read about it in the pages of FSM back in the '90's sometime.

I could see where it would be a problem with huge gaping gaps.  

As for weathering and panel lines, I seem to remember years ago, people would put a contrasting white or light colored wash in the lines of dark colored aircraft.  Not sure how that would look, so I've always stuck with a dark wash.

Well, I finished up the Corsair F4U-4 today! I had figured on it going much more quickly after painting, but there were a bunch of little jobs to do, plus quite a bit of decaling (took me two sessions to complete). First, the basic coat of Sea Blue with Future for the gloss:

Not perfect, but by far the best results I've gotten from Future to date. I sprayed straight from the bottle at 8psi, I think three coats. Unfortunately, the underside doesn't look nearly as good - not nearly as uniform a shine, plus I had some drips that accumulated near the backs of the wings. I think in hindsight I would have sprayed each side independently of the other and made more of an effort to keep the plane level while it was drying. Live and learn.

Finished pics:

The markings I chose are described in the instructions as VMF-214 "Black Sheep" squadron, USS Sicily (CVE-118) Korea, 1951. I had intended on doing late WWII markings, but I realized belatedly that the 'WE' tail marking is, I believe, the ship code and not the plane's individual code. Oops. Overall, I'm happy with how the model turned out, despite my teeth-grinding frustration with the build. I'll be happy to display it on my shelf. Thanks for reading, and for having me in the GB.

Well, despite the difficulties, I think the Corsair still turned out looking pretty good!  Nice work.  Well-painted and detailed.  Really sharp!

Hey Raven--

I agree with Checkmate.  It looks really sharp!  Congratulations!  You did it!  

Steve

Thanks kindly, fellas. She had me down, but not out, and I came out on top.

Hey Raven, You have done a marvelous job on your Corsair. Nicely done in taking an ill fitting and ill detailed kit and turning it into a very fine finished model. That is certainly what modeling is all about and you have done very well. Very well indeed. Congratulations on finishing and Thank You very much for sharing with us.

Hey Raven,

Kudos on a great job on the vintage Monogram kit!  I've only built it once as a kid and know all of the 'challenges' that come with the kit.  You've done an outstanding job making that old jewel shine!

I've got one on ice somewheres around here...one day I'll take another stab at it.  Thanks for the inspiration.

Dave

Raven: That Corsair put up a tough fight but it looks like you beat it! Nice work! What pic do you want me to put on the front page?

Steve: Shimming the inside of the wing like Jack suggested is probably the easiest way of getting that gap to disappear if the white glue trick doesn't work. The wing does fit in there seamlessly at two points so I thik it's just a matter of getting the area in between beefed up a wee bit.

Joe: Damnit buddy, you've done it again! You keep amazing me with your attention for detail and the precise paint jobs you pull of in that small scale! I didn't even notice those panels before but you really pulled that one off perfectly! My Hellcat kit includes a bit more PE to mess around with including those black panels for the cockpit. The red levers are molded in place on the styrene parts but there is no way of knowing how they should be painted without having good reference pics of the area in question. Same story with the black panels they are mounted on (but those are not molded in place). Thanks for that info, mate! I'm finally going to make a start on the Hellcat, but progress will be slow with all the other projects on my bench ATM. Those PE gear bays (literally nothing except PE in there) look like they are going to be fun to assemble! Well at least they hide the gear bay seams...

Thanks Clemens. Good to hear that the 1/48 version includes a bit more detail. Here is a cool site with some good detail pics of the cockpit and tail wheel:

www.thescale.info/.../Hellcat-Cockpit-photos.shtml

Thanks again, guys! SS, I guess the first pic is the best, the 3/4 front/side view. I really need to work on getting a better background set up for finished pics.

Hey Clemens!

I just realized that I'm still a "TBD" and I need to fix that.  Since the build is decidedly American/Allied I will build from the other perspective: the Japanese.  I will be building either an Airfix Zero or an Airfix Val.  Both are in 1/72nd scale.

Nice work being done all the way around; very impressive gentlemen!  Thanks for sharing your builds!

TAD

hey gang, I'm still here.  Work and family seem to take up most of my time.  I did find a few minutes to squeeze in a little work on the Hellcat.  I removed some of the control surfaces for cleaning up and test fitting.  Also I'm still working on the engine.  Hope to get the fuselage and wings put together soon.  I also received the 2.5X Optivisor in ordered from Amazon.  It's nothing fancy, but works great.  Should make modeling much easier.  I think I'm still on track to finish this year. 

Craig 

I'm sure you'll like the Optivisor, Craig.  Very helpful!

Nice work on the engine, too!

Hey There Craig, Nice to see some progress from you. And very nice progress indeed. The engine looks great. Sweet work there. I'm currently working on my engine also. I've got the Alclad aluminum on the case and about ready to glue on the PE plug wires. Oh Joy!

JR - I used Tamiya aluminum.  It looks OK I guess.  I'm really interested to see how the Alclad  turns out on your engine.

Hey Flyerduke, Here's a pic just after I sprayed the case halves. Not a terrific pic but, it'll give you an idea. I'll have better pics when I get a little further along.

Craig--you are moving along nicely.  Looking Good!

Joe-- engines look good with the Alcad paint...

I thought I would update you on my wing issue.  I was able to cut open the glued joins with my hobby knife and then cut open gaps large enough that I could insert a shim. It took some futzing but I got to where its a pretty nice fit.  I will still need to use some filler but it won't take that much.   I think Checkmate's white glue suggestion will work well for that process. These were simple solutions to a headachy problem.

Thanks again everyone!

Below:  Not a great picture but the join is much tighter now.

Ah Yes! Much better Bakster. That extra bit of work you did with the shims made a heck of a difference. A little white glue treatment ought to do the trick. After which you'll be golden. Nice job pulling that off by the way.

Nicely done with the shim fix there Bakster.  I'll be sure to add that technique to my bag of tricks.

Bakster: That sshim seems to have fixed your gap very nicely!

Craig: Your Hellcat's looking great!

Say Joe, Rob, and Craig-- thanks.  Both wings fit really nice now.  I am glad Jack suggested it.  It is a simple idea but one I didn't think of.  Something learned.

Steve

Hi guys.  I've not posted any pics for a while but I have been making steady progress. All I have left is some minor stuff (canopy, a few cockpit details, flaps, and the landing gear) and then I can try my hand at weathering. At the moment its still wearing an overcoat of Future so it's quite shiny. Despite the Future the MM Acryl Navy Blue is still fragile and today I had it back in the "shop" for some touch-ups.

Great looking Devastator, Rob.    Well-painted!

Hey Rob, Really glad to see an update from you. You have made some really sweet progress. The paint job and decals look great. Yea, that seam filling and sanding stuff just takes practice. But, before you know you'll be a master at it. Looking forward to your weathering.