Jump to content

F7F-3 Tigercat - BuNo 80405 - VMF 312 MCAS - El Toro, CA 1946


Out2gtcha

Recommended Posts

Thanks for all the kind words gentlemen! It really does help to keep me on task.....................

 

I have to say, Im sorry I have turned some off of HpH kits though. It never my intent to badmouth or disparage any kit or manufacturer, and after my initial negative frustrations came out, Ive been attempting to stay neutral, and just present the work necessary to get done what I want to accomplish.  

Unfortunately, sometimes it all leads back to the individual modeler, and what they expect from a kit, and this as we all know is all different to each and every modeler.  

 

 

The kit is a conundrum for me personally...............it has multitudes of awesome detail that to my knowledge is very accurate in a lot of places, and things like overall shape, and  scale seem to be on.

But at the same time, there are things.............seemingly simple things that are not right, and could have been right with just a bit more attention to detail. Im still plugging along with this one, and will be back at it, hopefully this weekend, as Im off-call starting tomorrow at 3PM CST. (YAY!

 

In anticipation of the major step after the next major step (gluing the fuse together) which is gluing the wings on, I feel I need to start thinking about how I am going to rectify the issue of the lower wing panel lines being off.
Ive put this issue out of my mind to concentrate on the fuselage, but its down to a few nitty gritty details with that, so Ive really got to start thinking about how Im going to tackle the wing issue.

Ive got some serious thinking to do.................

 

Cheers! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't worry, you didn't put me off...I look at some of your obstacles and it becomes apparent to me that they obviously don't go back and build a complete kit post pulling parts out of molds. I personally like to start an finish a kit within 3 months, I dont care to devote a full year to a single model. What you have done is just show me what to expect from this company, and I decided, I dont need that kind of aggravation in my life. But I still love to see these kits fully finished, I really cant wait to see the first built Tigercat, it should be a magnificent sight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, so here we go.....
Yesterday when I checked the mail, I got a surprise I was not expecting.  It was my "Bondic" UV gel pen I ordered from E-Bay for the instrument "glass".  YAY!
 
20180116_181637-X2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
I decided it would be a good opportunity to work on the IP/IP hood as well as windscreen and (and canopy) fit, since that was the next obstacle to getting the fuselage closed up, and I really wanted to handle the IP as little as possible after the IP glass was put on. So I went ahead and cut out both the resin windscreen and canopy. These really are gems, and are crystal clear, with 0 distortion. 
I started off by inserting the IP, and then once again fitting the IP hood.  Still fit ok, but the IP was again buried pretty deep under the hood for where the IP pretty much has to set in the cockpit:
 
20180116_183524-X2.jpg
 
 
20180116_183459-X2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then I figured I better cut out the windscreen so I could take into account the fit of that around the critical area of the IP hood. I used one of Radu's fine razor saws to get the windscreen and canopy off of their  pour blocks. This went fairly well, with no major incidents, I just need to do a bit of follow up sanding, and possibly add a small frame to the lower part of the windscreen.
After some minor sanding to the outside areas of each side of the fuselage near the front of the windscreen to bring it down to that level, the fit was surprisingly good here OOB:
 
20180116_192139-X2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
Next I figured I would add in the IP hood with the windscreen to check initial fit. BOOM. This was a critical moment.............
The windscreen had a very small lip on the front underside, that is supposed to slip under the fuselage, at the front where the two halves of the fuse meet. There was no WAY i could put the IP hood in the place I had been attempting to fit it in, with that lip there. The lip to me was critical, as least in part, to keeping the windscreen secure in the correct area, so I knew then I had been fitting the IP hood in the wrong place! 
 
The instructions are exceptionally vague in on where or how the IP hood gets placed and the only "info view" that the instructions show the IP hood in place are from very far out, and its hard to tell anything from that pic. I took the fuse halves apart again and shaved down the front underside section (a bit TOO much as you can see from the slight hole I created in the port side fuse, that I will fill later)  so that windscreen lip could slip under that area and sit where it needed to. From there on, I realized that the IP hood needed to go UNDER that curved area in the fuselage forward near the front of the windscreen not abutted up to it, like I had it positioned in the pics above where I have the IP hood in place. 
Once I did that things fell into place much better, and now I even now have room to bring the IP hood right up to the IP itself, much more in tune with how the 1:1 is.
With just some slight finger pressure, I can get the IP hood back in line, but here the tape that is keeping it from falling inside the fuselage is making things fit a bit more off than they actually are:
 
20180116_192708-X2.jpg
 
20180116_192703-X2.jpg
 

 

 

 

 

This was fantastic new to me, as I no longer needed to trim the hood down any further, and will have plenty of clearance for the gun-sight once I make that, and cut a small opening in the hood. 

The IP hood has a big space between it and the IP, but that is just the tape, and with it glued in place, I have no fear it will fit like it should, right on top of the IP itself. 

I also got the canopy cut off its block without too much trouble, and it seems to fit well too, although it doesnt have to fit nice up to the windscreen, but it still seems to:

 

20180116_193830-X2.jpg

 

20180116_193838-X2.jpg

 

20180116_193823-X2.jpg

 

20180116_193835-X2.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

MORE..........................

 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great description of the detective work to figure out the correct placement of the IP hood!   You could've easily removed too much material from a component trying to make it fit the prior way.  I'm glad you figured it out in time.  Pity the kit's instructions are so vague on such an important detail.  Very curious to see the bondic lightsaber tool in action.  You say it is for the instrument glass?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great description of the detective work to figure out the correct placement of the IP hood!   You could've easily removed too much material from a component trying to make it fit the prior way.  I'm glad you figured it out in time.  Pity the kit's instructions are so vague on such an important detail.  Very curious to see the bondic lightsaber tool in action.  You say it is for the instrument glass?

 

 

Thanks John!

 

Actually its supposed to be for "welding" of plastic, wood, ceramic ect, ect.   I've seen very mixed reviews on that aspect of it, but I had no trepidation about buying it however, since my application really had nothing to actually holding anything together, I for my purposes, didnt need it to be strong, just clear and quick. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Next up with the canopy slid open, as I plan to display the aircraft when finished:

 

20180116_194025-X2.jpg

 

20180116_194003-X2.jpg

 

20180116_194007-X2.jpg

 

 

 

 

Now that I felt I was much closer on the fit of the IP/hood I figured it was time to try out the Bondic UV gel pen. 

I was waiting to attempt to install the IP to get the "glass" installed because with my ham-fists, I figured if I installed that too soon I might mess it all up with all of the handling needed to get the IP fit correctly. 
I normally use Future for IP glass, but found its runny consistency meant that it ran in between the PE layers of most IPs, since most PE IPs are stacked, just like the OOB  HpH Tigercat IP is.  On this build I was kind of tired of that, and as I have tried MS "Krystal Klear" (which in my experience is not always very crystal or clear) with mixed results, I decided to try the UV activated gel for the IP glass.
 
The results were as good or better than I could have hoped for. The consistency of the Bondic gel is somewhere between medium and thick CA, and seems absolutely perfect for this application, as it stays where you need it, doesn't run, and you can make convex instrument glass faces if so inclined, that could never be done (at least not by me) with Future. It also literally does cure in about 5 seconds. That part is nice too, as you dont need to let the IP set up like when using Future. 
I will not be using anything but this UV curing gel for IP  instrument glass from now on. I'm exceptionally pleased with the results:
 
20180116_201651-X2.jpg
 
20180116_202001-X2.jpg
 
20180116_201751-X2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
Hard to tell from these pics, but the center radar and the large altimeter to its right, are both very convex, and to me, give the IP a neat look (even if not 100% accurate). I have not yet added any of the PE handles or switches to the panel yet either:
 
20180116_201734-X2.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
That's it for this update gents. However, this was a pretty critical milestone in the build, even if it doesn't look like it. I really needed to get the windscreen/IP/IP hood conundrum figured out in order to move closer to getting the fuselage closed up, which is now looking much closer on the horizon. 
 
 
Cheers till ur older! 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent work, Brian! I'm a convert to UV-curing clear gels, too. I have the Gaianotes brand, however, rather than the Bondic one.

 

Kev

 

 

Wow! Good work Brian, and that IP looks great with the 'glass!'

 

 

I'll have to give Bondic another try. My attempts with an equivalent product found in a local DYI store in France would never really cure with the supplied UV source ...

 

Neat job overall, Brian !

 

Hubert

 

 

 

Kev, Ray, Hubert, thanks for the kind words.  Ive never attempted the UV gel before, and after using it, like K1, I think Im a convert!    It was SO simple, and since it doesnt actually have to retain any strength as a "bond"  I think this application for this product is spot on.

 

I spent some time last night cutting out the PE handles, stretched sprue switches, and painting some emergency buttons on the IP. Im almost ready to assemble and finish the IP, which means Im 1 step closer to closing up the fuselage. I still havent worked out how Im going to glue it all together, but gluing in the most important parts first like the cockpit and wheel well pack, will be first, as those have critical fit points, and I can add the heavy lead weights after. Im thinking Im probably going to us JB weld on those to make sure once in place, they never move again, as they are so heavy, it would be disastrous if they ever somehow dislodged. 

 

Cheers! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember when something bad or disastrous would happen during a build, and maybe something good thrown in, and maybe even some finished stuff that was sub-par, and Id make those "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" update posts?

 

 

 

Im going to title this next update:  "The Good and the Very VERY bad."..........................

 

Pics in a few min.  :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...