Secret Santa- WWII Aviation GB

Well, here is the fun part

This fus has a nasty warp in it that I could not correct. I tried every trick in my book to fix it, but that is the best I could get it.

So, the solution is to cut the fusalage at the twist point. I thought about forcing the two together, but that twists the whole plane to where the wings are not level and the tail has a noticable bend in it.

It's not going to be without comprimise mind you, I won't be able to open up the detailed gun bay. The shim I will need after I won't be able to hide inside. It's the worst warped piece I have ever seen.

I'll post pics of the completed interior when I finish it. For now, it's off to cut this beautiful thing in half

Sounds good Drew! I know when I worked in a woodshop doin' spiral  staircasings we steamed the railings & had "peg boards"  we set them in as they cooled. Have you thought of something like that with this twist?

Lookin' foreward to some pics of your Cockpit color

WOW!!!!, Drew you have your work cut out for yourself there with that warpage, I am sure you will solve the problem though. I think cutting the fuselage is the best way to go. I am looking forward to seeing how it works out. Good luck with it.

Steve

Howdy from Texas.

I know its been two months since Santa visited, so I figured I better get a move-on with my P-40 Chop-Chop plane.

Not too much done at this point and its kinda a bad photo, but progress is being made on the pit.

Trying to make my own belts from masking tape for the first time, but could not get a good photo.

Just proving Im still here.....

Hippy-Ed wrote:

Glad ta see yer still here... NOw Git 'er Done!!!

Aye aye capt.

 Spent most of the day on the Chop Chop.  (with one break to Hobby Lobby for the 25% off sale)

I'm about 90% pleased so far, but there are some minor fit issues.  Note the killer gap at the wing root.

Not sure about Hasegawa's decision to seperate the fuselage into two halves, but some more putty work should work out okay.

As mentioned in my last post, I tried making some masking-tape seatbelts with mixed results.  I think I need to add some sort of buckles or something, they also look a bit stiff, but then again this is my first effort in belts.  Ideas?

(Satisfied for the moment Hippy?) 

Now 25% off  is a good reason to go to the Hobby shop I see what ya mean about that gap in the wing root. Looks like some shims are in order thin strips of styrene tucked in there.

andto be honest with ya, those belts look abit thick for that scale.

Not bad for your first go around

Yes, I am satisfied for the moment Doin' good so far & that I.P stands out nicely!

Hey CJ, not bad at all. Yea, maybe a bit wide in the belt, but nothing wrong with not wanting the pilot to fall out. A bit of silver paint on the ends replicated the buckel ends very well.

As for the wing root, I have used .005 (5 thou) card with great results. 10 thou looks like it may be a bit thick, but give some a try. If it fits in, superglue it and sand smooth.

Looking very good. Can't wait to see it painted.

DrewH wrote:

Hey CJ, not bad at all. Yea, maybe a bit wide in the belt, but nothing wrong with not wanting the pilot to fall out. A bit of silver paint on the ends replicated the buckel ends very well. As for the wing root, I have used .005 (5 thou) card with great results. 10 thou looks like it may be a bit thick, but give some a try. If it fits in, superglue it and sand smooth. Looking very good. Can't wait to see it painted.

Thanks for steppin' in Drew knew someone would  clarify things

Sturzkampf wrote:

i couldnt get the chilean markings decal sheet, so i think i'll be doing a plain soviet-marked Yak-3

Man, that's a bummer!! would it be too difficultt for you to have a set of decals made in those markings? There are a few people here who can do something like that.

Hey Guy's, been kinda quiet out here lately so I hope it's because of all the building going on. I have been making some progress on my C-47 and have the fuselage buttoned up and the wings completed with all the other major assemblies also done. Some sanding to come next and then priming.

With all the work on the interior it's a shame most of it can not be seen. There is some nice interior parts to this kit and the fit was excellent. Oh well, at least I know it's in there. Now for the major problem that I just discovered. On dry fitting the wings to fuselage joint, there is a gap on both sides like the grand canyon!!!!!.

I guess I will now get a chance to do my first shim job and see how that works. I think it's too big to fill with putty.

Steve

Looking good Sidure, get shimmin buddy

 I have got the hardest part over with. I cut the thing It was hard to take that first slice with my razor saw, but I did it. The cockpit is now complete, and the forward fusalage is glued together. Here's the pics you dawgs

It's been quiet arond here and now I see why: everyone's been busy on his model and everyone's made great progress.

Me, too. So here's a pic of a dry fitting:

DrewH, what a wonderful looking interior, great job. Comming along nicely.

Avus, good looking cockpit and as a dry fit it looks like it will be a good looking aircraft.

Steve

Marc,   You know that was a pretty good idea about checking the dihedral of the wings.

 While they were pretty much in alignment, a simple 1 mm shove in the right direction made all the difference between a simple putty job, and filling the Grand Canyon....thanks.

The rest of the builds look great, Drew, your seatbelts make me sick.  Mine look so silly by comparison.

Well, progress has been made slowly. It is getting together bit by bit. The gear and details have been painted a base of floquil old silver. The lower wings are now on and the last of the nasty warp issues is about to be dealt with. It is so isolated not it has become nothing. The cannon bay has helped in keeping the rear fusalage in alignment and the correct width. Thanks Tamiya for the superior engineering! It would have been a real bear ir the cannon racks weren't there.

Drew, it's comming along nicely. Very nice progress, keep up the good work. Good luck with the fuselage

Steve

Time for a little

BUMP ...

It looks like the "surgery" on your aircraft went well, DrewH.
Looks good.

My progress is not worth being show as you'll hardly notice it. I've been puttying, sanding and twiddling around with PE in the last week-ends.
Actually I was ready for priming yesterday but found out, to my horror, that my Maskol was completely dried out ... will have to wait till next Saturday to get a bottle.

Thanks Steve and Avus. IT's getting there. I tried to paint it last weekend, and had a couple of things to sand out and fix. So I applied a second coat yesterday and something went drastically wrong The first glossy coat turned flat after. Wha!?!?!?  I have no idea why, I'm using the same bottle of paint as the first, same thinner etc, just something didn't mesh.

 So.... a stripping I will go, a stripping I will go.......

Sorry to hear of your painting wowes Drew. Same thing happened to me a while back. Best explination that I got was the difference in humidity!!!!!!.

I have been slaving away with a seam problem that just wont go away. ''Fill, sand, and prime over and over again and I still see it. I have the invasion stripes on the wings of the C-47 and have started on the fuselage. They are proving a little more difficult to get straight and am on my second attempt. I will prevail though.

Hope everyone else is progressing well.

Steve

Time for another

BUMP!

... and a progress pic:

Primed and preshaded the "Tank-Killer"!
Next WE the paint will go on ... I hope.