chuck540z3

Thank you very much everyone! Thanks John. Just in case there is interest, below is a cut/paste tutorial from my F-5E build that might be worth repeating here for those who haven't used Archer rivets before: Archer Decal Rivet properties: 1) The wider the decal film, the stronger the chain of rivets, but the higher the chance that it will show under paint, no matter how much decal softener you use. Checking other builds using this product, you will see what I mean. 2) The narrower the decal film, the more fragile the chain of rivets, which often break apart, but it will not show as easily under paint. 3) Rivets applied to curved surfaces should be done in short chains, for ease of handling. 4) Even single rivets can be applied successfully, so if you bump off one or two, repairs are easy. 5) Like most decals, these rivets come off the backing better with very warm water. 6) If you don’t like what you’ve done, the rivets can easily be removed with a finger nail and you can start over. 7) Archer rivets come in many different sizes and spacing, so I like to have a variety of them on hand. 8) The raised rivets are not always perfectly round, but after paint, you’ll never notice the small imperfections. 9) As long as you keep the decal segment wet, you can move it around for a very long time. Even after using Microsol decal softener, you’ve got more time to play with it than a regular decal. 10) These rivets are quite expensive at ~ $22/sheet! Application: 1) The surface should be super smooth and clean of any debris and oil from your skin. 2) Cut a long and thin strip of rivets off the sheet, then into shorter chains to be applied individually. If you’ve got a flat surface free of detail or curves, you can apply segments of an inch or more. Curves and detail require shorter segments. 3) Soak the segment in very warm water like any decal, for at least 5 seconds, then place it next to where you want to apply it for another 30 seconds or more. 4) Using a soft paintbrush, push one edge of the decal film off the backing, let it attach to the surface of the plastic, then push the rest of the decal off the backing. For longer segments, you can push one end off the backing by sliding it in one direction, then grab the backing and pull it off, leaving the entire segment behind on the plastic. If it breaks, don’t worry about it. You’ve got lots of time to get everything back together. 5) Using Microset (or plain water), re-wet the segment so that it floats, then move it into place. Using a paper tissue, pull the water away from the edge of the segment without touching it. 6) When you’re happy with the decal placement, using another soft brush dedicated to decal softener, apply some Microsol in very small dabs to tack it down. If the decal moves, you’ve still got at least 30-40 seconds to move it around without fear of destroying it. 7) For the next decal segment, apply it as above, but somewhere else! If you try to apply the next segment next to the one drying with Microsol, you will likely move it and create a mess. 8) When the first segment has dried a bit (~ 5 minutes), liberally apply more Microsol to it over the entire decal. Unlike regular decals, you can’t wreck it by applying too much softener. 9) In a bit of an assembly-line process, apply new decal segments while applying more Microsol to others, keeping new ones away from old ones. 10) If you knock a single rivet or two off, don’t worry. Just cut off a replacement and apply it in the gap. The strength of the rivet to plastic bond is mostly under the rivet and not beside it. 11) When you are done and everything looks pretty good, add yet another coat of Microsol to everything, all over again. You want to nuke the decal film into oblivion as much as possible. 12) When everything is clean and dry, I like to apply a good coat or two of Tamiya X-22 acrylic clear gloss to seal the rivets to the plastic, but also to smooth out the fine lines of the remaining decal film. I use about 2/3’s X-22 and 1/3 Tamiya lacquer thinner, which sprays very fine. Future/Pledge works just as well, but is softer than X-22 and harder to sand later if you have any imperfections. 13) Paint as usual. Hope this Helps! Chuck

January 17/20 Following Max’s (Mozart) build of his Rhodesian Harvard, he fixed the big ribs on the rudder and elevator using Archer rivets. Thanks for the tip Max. First, this is what they look like unaltered. Way too high... Let’s look at a few pics of a real elevator and rudder. Note the fasteners behind the fabric, with what looks like fabric tape covering them as reinforcement. Also note that the trim tabs on both have fairly large gaps on either side. So like Max, I sanded down the ribs until they were barely visible and added the Archer rivets, which are from the AR 88014 “Various Scales” set. Fortunately, by cutting each row of rivets in the center, the resultant width is just about perfect to cover each remaining rib. I also opened up the trim tabs with a razor saw. After adding Archer rivets, I normally spray the rivets with Tamiya clear acrylic X-22 to both seal in the rivets, but also to hide the decal film, which always seems to be present no matter how much Microsol you use. Here’s an example from my last build of the Kitty Hawk F-5E, which has no raised rivets over the engine area, which is a characteristic feature of this jet. From decal film… To a few coats of X-22….. Then painted. Decal film edges are 90% gone. Now back to my Harvard. Since there really is a tape-like covering over the fasteners, I just sprayed a light coat of X-22 to seal in the rivets and make them tougher, but not enough to remove the decal film edges. Here’s the top, with every rivet mark repunched and every panel line re-scribed after sanding, like the rest of the model. That curved light colored smiley on the right came like that right off the sprue, but it doesn't appear to be raised so that it will show up again after paint. And the mirror image bottom. I’m going to leave all this stuff off the fuselage until I get main wings glued on, because I can tell that I will be flipping this model over and over to make everything fit and I don’t want any more junk getting in the way. Next up the wings, with revised landing gear position and full brass Eduard landing flaps to add some interesting detail to the back. Cheers, Chuck

Thank you Derek for all that great info and pics on the tail wheel! The last part would explain why the wheel protrudes sometimes and not others. Extra weight would explain why pics of a Texan taxiing to the runway usually has a low profile, while a parked Texan/Harvard, which usually has the wheel forward due to being pushed backwards into a parking stall, has a more pronounced profile with much less weight. My effort to replicate this tail wheel contraption isn't great, but it's a lot better than nothing and once painted should look the part. I suspect in time this part will become available in resin by somebody, along with many other corrections I'm about to find out about! Using Max's guide, I have Mustang wheels as replacements, but a correct set of Texan ones would be most welcome. Barracuda maybe? Time will tell. Cheers, Chuck

FYI, I have have checked out and even participated in most of the forums mentioned above, but I much prefer LSP for the following reasons, many of which are unique to LSP. 1) As the title says, this site focuses entirely on large scale aircraft, which is my only interest. Small 1/72 aircraft are of no interest to me, although a big 1/48 scale bomber, etc. is (but I won't go there ) 2) The skill level here is very high, so I learn many new things from others, just about every day. 3) Forum members generally behave themselves and if they don't, the Mod's are on them like flies, so things never get out of hand for too long. 4) As a result of the above, forum members are generally really good people with similar interests. Bullies and other obnoxious types will have no fun here, so they leave. 5) Ads and other commercial necessities of a free internet site are minimal and the ones that are here are focused on modeling, not dating sites and other crap found In other free forums. 6) New products can generally be found here first, long before other sites. 7) Product reviews are honest, objective and not contrived to support a sponsor, just because they are a sponsor. 8) Volume is huge! If you get bored with the main page of the Works In Progress Forum, just wait half a day, because it will turnover quickly. That's about it, which is way more than enough for me. Cheers, Chuck

Thank you again Bob! Checking pics of the real deal- and my subject- the steps should be roughly in alignment with the rear side intake as shown below. Further, there is a panel just under it that fits up snug to the front step at the bottom and front. The kit steps are too low as Bob pointed out. Further, I'm embarrassed to say, my side panel is way too far aft and is crowding the main panel line beneath it, because of the low steps. So I pulled off the brass panel and filled the step inserts with CA glue. If you do this, remember to not apply the CA glue too thick, or it will bubble with accelerator. Apply the glue in thin layers, with accelerator between coats, then wiped off. I then sanded the bottom off the steps, which is no longer needed to be inserted into the recesses and thinned them a bit for scale. A new brass panel applied, which now fits generally where it's supposed to, although a touch forward to hide the filled recess, just in case. That is all- and again thank you Bob, for pointing out an easy fix before it's too late! Cheers, Chuck

Beautiful Spitfire! It's obvious that your skill level is very high. Cheers, Chuck

Thanks Bob, I had not noticed that until you pointed it out. I'll see how much hassle it ill be to move the foot steps and then go from there. Cheers, Chuck

As you know, we modelers are always bombarded with given facts on a variety of aircraft we try to replicate, and found that for any rule, there are always exceptions. Just try and ask if rivet marks ever made it through P-51D puttied wings over time or what color the landing gear bay should be- then duck! How camo paint was applied to Spitfires is another. For every given rule, there are exceptions. The Hagedorn book is excellent on the history of the aircraft and all the versions, but weak on specific details that differentiate each version in photographs, which is what I was looking for. Still, if you want the bible on the T-6 Texan and all variants like the Harvard and Wirraway (Australian), this is it. Cheers, Chuck

Beautiful work! This will soon be a contest killer. Cheers, Chuck

Not quite. While all the Canadian Car and Foundry (CCF) aircraft were called Harvards, many more were produced by North American before and after CCF to Commonwealth countries where they were designated Harvards, rather than T-6's. This is found all over the Hagedorn book, but here's a snip from Google: "The Harvard series of advanced trainers were British Commonwealth Air Forces versions of the North American Aviation (NAA) T-6 Texan used during and after World War II. NAA delivered its first Harvards in October 1938 to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The US-built Harvards included the Harvard I, based on the North American BC-1, immediate predecessor to the AT-6; the Harvard II (AT-6); Harvard IIA (AT-6C); and Harvard III (AT-6D). In all, North American built 2,989 Harvards. Due to NAA being so heavily involved building its B-25 Mitchell and P-51 Mustang aircraft, a license to build Harvards was awarded to Noorduyn Aviation Limited in Canada. Noorduyn built 757 Harvard IIBs for the RCAF and an additional 1,800 of the Harvard IIB/AT-6A type designated AT-16 for lend-lease. Following World War II, Canadian Car & Foundry (CCF) in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario, built the Harvard Mk. IV, introduced into RCAF service in 1951. The Mk. IV was similar to the US Air Force remanufactured T-6G Texan. Of the 555 Harvard Mk. IVs built by CCF, the USAF purchased 285 as T-6Js, built to T-6G standards, for the Mutual Defense Assistance Program." Most of the Harvards with long exhausts mentioned above were made before 1945, so they could not have originated from CCF. Cheers, Chuck

Thanks Alain. This book has hundreds of photographs of all sorts of Texans and Harvards, but as usual, photos of the right side exhaust are not as plentiful as the left side where you board the aircraft. I did not find a pic of a short canopy and long exhaust. However, while most of the aircraft had stubby exhausts, I did find a South African Mk IV (p. 201), Jordanian Mk IIB (p. 199), British Mk IIB (p. 194), and even a Chinese Mk IIB (p. 187) all with long exhaust stacks, to prove that some non-Canadian versions had them occasionally. Having said that, maybe they originated in Canada, since they all have canopy pipe heaters? Cheers, Chuck

I’m sure it is, which is why I tried to order the modified aftermarket rear canopy in mid-September, 2 months before I started this build. Unfortunately it never arrived after 3 emails to the supplier, so I got my money back and I’m stuck with the kit parts, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Accuracy for once, is not a priority in this build, so I’m now free to do whatever I want for a change. Cheers, Chuck

Thanks. This is one of two rear canopies supplied in the KH kit (2 windows at top & rear, triangular sides, high angle rear sill) which many have been saying is wrong for a Harvard. For the Harvard Mk. IIA and III, it's correct, at least according to the Hagedorn book. Cheers, Chuck

Thank you very much Gentlemen! Thanks Eric and that AT-6 is beautiful! If anybody else wants to post a pic of their T-6 or Harvard here, please feel free. The more we can see as references the better. Cheers, Chuck

January 10/20 Happy New Year! Below is my assembly and detail of the main fuselage, but before I get into that, I’m learning more and more about the T-6 and Harvard from the reference book I have in my first post by Dan Hagedorn. This book is very thorough on the history and development of this aircraft, but unfortunately there are almost no close-up pics that we modelers can use as a reference. Having said that, it has some good info on some details, like what the differences are between a Texan and Harvard, depending on the version. Two months before I started this build, I ordered an aftermarket rear canopy assembly, because I heard that all Harvards had it and it was a defining feature of this version. Well, sort of, as can be seen on Page 93 of this book. According to this reference, early Mk IIA and III Harvards had the same rear canopy as supplied in this kit, while other Harvards, like the one I’m trying to replicate, had the modified one on the right, which has a much shallower angle to the rear. Also note that the baggage compartment door and roll-over cage are different. This kit has the early door with the angle on the left side cut off, but the roll over cage is an “N” and not an “X”. Fortunately, I’m not too worried about exact and “correct” details as mentioned many times before, because after almost 4 months of waiting and a few emails to the supplier who did not even ship the part for 60 days, this canopy part never arrived, so I got my money back from Paypal. Had it arrived earlier, I would have cut and modified the rear of the fuselage to accommodate this part, but now that I have everything glued together, it’s too late, so I will just use the kit parts and pretend I’m building an early Harvard Mk III I guess. As I found in other builds of this kit, there are two fairly big fit issues with the fuselage. At the front, there a noticeable step at the rear of the top part D5 and the overall fit is a bit crude. Some have squeezed these parts together and glued them with clamps, which I have found is almost always asking for trouble. With any stress this join can fail later leaving a big crack, which always seems to appear after painting. Further, there is a lot of raised fastener detail that can be easily sanded off trying to fix these joins. At the rear is part D-6, which is too small for the spine, leaving bit gaps that need to be filled and presumably rescribed. Lots more raised rivet detail as well. The bottom has its own challenges. How do you fix that seam without destroying the circle and panel detail? As you will see below, you don’t worry about any of it. Now the good news. After checking many references, none of the raised fasteners are real. There are big slot fasteners, but they aren’t raised, so I can sand at will and replace them. Here I have re-done the front fuselage, rescribing every panel line and repunching every rivet with a needle in a pin vice and replaced the large raised fasteners with impressions made with my Mega Tool. I did this for the entire fuselage, then used Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color like I usually do to check for flaws. After extensive surgery. Some panel lines were added and some removed and several holes were drilled for vent holes, etc., according to references. The two holes on this side are for the exhaust heater. My subject has a panel just aft of the front foot support, so I made one from brass. A small brass screen was also added to the front of the side intake. This was especially good news at the rear, where I also found that part D-6 does not replicate any panel lines that I can find at all, so the gap should be completely eliminated, while other panel lines should be added later. Using CA glue to fill the gaps, the first bits of sanding aren’t pretty. There are curved panels around the horizontal stabilizers that should be visible, so I used curved vinyl tape to guide my scriber. Eduard brass plates were used at the back to house the rudder control arms I’ll be adding later. You can still see the ghost outline of D-6, which was filled with clear CA glue. My subject has an oval antenna of some kind at the back, so I added one made from sprue. Now some interesting info I found about the tail wheel. As Mozart pointed out to me earlier, it should have a housing around it with a shock absorber at the rear. Here it is on the real deal with the shroud removed and the wheel in the forward position. Most of the reference pics you can find of the tail wheel will show it in the forward position, as the aircraft is pushed from the front backwards into a hanger, etc. Note that the wheel housing hangs down a bit and is fairly prominent. In the reverse position, however, the housing seems to tuck up into the fuselage more, becoming less noticeable. I found this to be true in just about every pic of the tail wheel when the aircraft was moving forward- but not always. Sometimes it still hung down a bit. So I made a little gizmo from the stash that looked somewhat similar and glued it into place. In order for the tail wheel to clear this housing I added a pin to the top of the axle. This worked out really well and the fit is snug enough that I don’t need glue to attach it later. Back to the bottom. I ended up sanding everything off, then replacing what I removed with brass. I’m glad I did, because those little circles are recce or recognition lights that should be red, yellow and blue from back to front, according to the decal instructions, so I drilled holes for them. Here I have dry fit clear plastic lenses from my stash that will be painted later. Before: After: Looking at my close-up pics above I still have some clean-up to do, but I’m now really feeling some traction with this build. Next up will be control surfaces and all sorts of new detail. Thanks for checking in Cheers, Chuck