CANicoll

FINALLY getting back to it!  Working on closing up the fuselage and yes, having trouble just in front of the windscreen getting it to connect.  Ran into some fit problems on the wings to fuselage join, but think I may have a fix for it (and pictures to boot!).  It seems like the wheel wells stick out too far from the wing root so a bit of work with a coarse sanding stick really closed up the gap on the top of the wing.
 
Here is a 'before' picture showing the wheel well side.  The red is the area I'm sanding off.
 

 
Here is the 'after' picture:
 

 
And showing the before and after on both wings for comparison:
 

 
Looking from the bottom, you see how thin the side of the wall has gotten.  But it fits so much better to the fuselage.  I'd show the wings attached, but am letting it dry from joining the fuselage together and hopefully have the part in front of the windscreen finally joined. (Fingers crossed   )
 

 
So that is part of the surgery going on, but what is happening under the nose is just heartbreaking.  After cutting down the supports for the cannon magazine, it was still too high so had to take the sander to the top of everything.  Ugh.  But am really trying to keep the right side open (am closing up the left side) to show SOME of the terrific detail of this unique plane.
 

 
Hopefully more tomorrow!
Chris

Just a bit of a catch-up.  Got the wings closed and the wheel wells seem to fit pretty well.  Dry fitting the wings to the fuselage, however, reveals a 1mm gap at the top if the bottom is aligned properly - on both left and right sides.  The wheel well extends out into an indent in the fuselage so this may be the issue - I'll chase later.
 
Here is the engine and wiring on the side that will be open.
 

 
The wiring harness is not as nice as Kev's but I'm going OOB so it will have to do (that is my excuse anyway!).  Will likely dabble some gray powder on some of the exhausts later.
 
A bigger problem is up front.  A picture for Kev to show how the shells look with the top piece 'on', but obviously, my cartridge rack is sitting way too high.  I think I just need to cut the supports a bit and reglue, but again, will take a look at that later.  The purple you see is actually on the glue bottle I used to angle the fuselage for the picture.  No purple in the nose!  
 

 
That's it for now!
Chris

So, I managed to get the gun sight finished and installed. I just couldn't get the base of the kit's clear part to slide into the slot provided for it atop the main gun sight piece, even after trimming, filing, and generally getting all up in its face. So, I tossed it out and cut some acetate sheet to suit (3 times, mind you). This left me with a quandry regarding what to do about that large slot atop the gun sight. It was way too large for the wafer-thin acetate sheet to slide in to. And also, how best to attach it? Then I realised I could kill both problems at once by using my new favourite modelling product: the Gaianotes UV gel. I figured it was thick enough to fill that nasty slot, and hold the acetate piece in place and at the right angle, long enough for me to zap it with the light pen and have it all set in place. And it nearly worked! Here's the finished gun sight in position:
 

 
In fact, I'm pretty happy with it, except for the small blob of gel that landed on the acetate, that I didn't notice until after waving the light pen at it. It looks OK to the naked eye at normal viewing distances, and I think I'll get away with it once the canopy is in place.
 
Here's a couple more shots where I try to capture what it looks like:
 

 

 
It's really hard to see, but I applied a random airscale placard to the base of the gun sight, just tart it up a bit, and distract from how blobby it looks. I also think it might be sitting a bit high, and is probably supposed to be angled downward a bit, but I'll take whatever works at this stage.
 
Once I've fitted the cockpit trim wheel back in place (again), I can get the front canopy piece on. But that'll have to wait until tomorrow.
 
The moral of this post is, go out and buy yourself some UV gel!
 
Kev

Well, I got the front canopy on, and had it sitting flush everywhere it should have been. While examing one of the close-ups in Photoshop, I noticed this:
 

 
Not flush at all! Now, I know my eyesight is deteriorating, but this is definitely not what it looked like immediately after attaching it. I returned to the model to see what was going on, and realised that the gel bond had already given way under tension, and I was able to pop the part off with no trouble at all.
 
So, the UV gel is basically useless under anything other than mild tension. I was also able to scrape off what had already been applied with my thumbnail, and it was actually kind of rubbery - not the hard resin I was expecting. Perhaps the UV light pen wasn't able to penetrate the join properly, or perhaps I was simply asking too much of the product. Not sure, but forewarned is forearmed. At least I now know the product's limitations.
 
And knowing what I know now, my next attempt is going to feature good old Tamiya Extra Thin. In fact, I've recently acquired a bottle of Mr. Cement S, which is allegedly hotter and even faster acting, so maybe I'll debut that. What this situation needs, though, is something that will weld the parts together, so as long as I can keep it only where it's needed, I reckon that will work.
 
We'll know soon enough!
 
Kev

Not quite the comprehensive update I was hoping for, but at least I can post some photos. I was going to do a test fit of the canopy parts that included the cockpit doors, but decided I'd better add the clear parts to them first. Unfortunately, that didn't go that well, leaving them covered in glue marks and fingerprints. I've pulled them off and they're now soaking in Windex. I'll try again later, but this time try some Future to glue them into place.
 
In the meantime, here are the two main canopy parts popped into place:
 

 
The rear section fits pretty well, and just needs a bit of pushing down at the front. It'll be OK, I think.
 
The front part, though, is a different story:
 

 
After giving it a go, I think I can coax it into place properly with a bit of downward pressure. I'm going to see if I can use the clear UV gel I bought as a quick-setting adhesive on this part, which I'm hoping will offer the strength and fast curing of CA, without the risk of fogging. I'll have to mask up the parts first, before attempting to fix them into place.
 
I'm off to fish those door windows out of the Windex.
 
Kev

Thanks, Chris. I've cleaned up the canopy parts and given them a test fit. So far, there are no major problems, other than where the windscreen meets the fuselage, which shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. I haven't tested the fit of the door parts in this arrangement, however, and still have some concerns about that. At the moment, the clear parts have been dipped in Future, and are hardening off. After that, I'll see if I can do a full test fit with all parts, including the doors (well, the starboard one at least, as the port one will be open).
 
Kev

As bad as it is - it still fits together like a Tamiya kit when compared to the Special Hobby kits. I'm just thankful for another option.

Hang in there. You are doing a good job on what looks like a mediocre kit. I would love to build a P-39 in 1/32, but I have seen so many problems with this kit (thanks to the terrific builders on this site), that I think I will steer clear.
 
Tom

Will - PM me  your address and I will post the other set of Masks to you.  Still have a complete set left.

You know it would have made a lot more sense to have the wing join the fuselage at the top of that curved 'join'.  No seams to worry about and that really nice curve from fuselage to wing would have been easily preserved.
 
Oh well - just another woulda, coulda, shoulda....

OK, folks, time for another (minor) update. I've got the horizontal tailplanes on now, so I think that calls for a rare overall shot:
 

 
The airframe is basically complete, but there's still a lot of work to do before I can move to the painting stage. The wing root gaps have been filled with styrene strip, but I still need to finish the blending-in job before I can say the job's done:
 

 
I'm not sure if there's meant to be a panel line there or not, so I'm not sure whether to hide the join completely, or scribe it back in when I'm done. I'm thinking not, because the rear section already shows a panel line that curves away to represent the wing root fairing, but I can't work out why the parts don't join along that line.
 
Anyway, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it - unlike the canopy!
 
Kev

Been distracted quite a bit this past week, but wanted to provide an update so far.  Have the center section mostly completed but finally got the HGW seatbelts on and shockingly, they went together really well.   I need to work on the drape of the belts, and had to glue them to the seat to get them to set as they are now, but do like the look of them
 

 
Here is a better look at the left side of the engine.  No wiring harness as this side will be closed up - but it also shows that NONE of the top of the engine detail is visible under the radio tray - UGH.  The exhausts were painted flat black inside and out, then liberally covered in Flory Rust wash.  I need to check the references as this kind of looks a bit overdone to me, but I hate to say it but I like how it looks.   Opinions are welcomed!
 

 
Here is a look at the right side which I will have the nose and engine panels open.  You can't see it in this picture, but the wiring harness is in place (but not highly visible I think).
 

 
As usual, I've dry-fitted the left side of the fuselage and its a LITTLE tight where the two sides join in front of the windscreen.  So have been working with a coarse sanding stick to try and narrow the fit a bit.  It will close up, but its tight so want to work on that.  Don't have to do the major surgery that JohnB did, but still have to do some work.  Adding the top panels also show things are riding a bit high 'under the hood'.  Will work on that too.
 
Hope everyone (in the US anyway!) is having a safe Memorial Day.

Finally got back home and a bit of time to do some real work  .  Put the nose gear box together and that went amazingly well.  Again, almost snap-tite fit but got it to go ok.  Before I left I also got the front Geometry mostly fixed....
 

 
Also got all of the exhaust stubs on the engine.  OH, and they are definitely 'Handed' despite no indication of this in the instructions.  There are longer mounting tabs are one side of each exhaust stub and these go in the top.  There are six that go on each side if you look closely.
 
I plan to keep the left side closed but open the right.  Taking a cue from JohnB I'm doing a lot of dry fitting as I go, and I had a feeling that using the body panels over the exhaust to help line them up would prevent future fit issues.  I was right, I had the exhausts angled up too high on both sides.
 

 

 
I decided a while ago to build this out of the box but I have always seen P-39s with armored glass behind the pilot so I added two .015 plastic panels for the glass (LHS didn't have anything thicker).
 

 
I also installed the wing panels for the ammo tray and gun openings.  The topside panels, trimmed to fit closed, fit pretty well.  The under wing panels, under the ammo tray, were easily 1-2 mm too short length wise.  Oh well, at least they are underneath.  
 
The 50 Cal gun pods have five mounting holes, to correspond to four drill-to-open holes in each bottom wing.  I shaved off all of the mounting pins except one on each end figuring that would prevent possible problems with fit.  This actually worked very well.  Pictures to come.

It's a shame to have to give up on any model, but I've done it more than once.

Sorry to hear that, Canicoli. I can see how you would be frustrated. I have one of these kits, too, and you guys are making me nervous!

Yes, I do!
 
Kev

I used the HGH set 132817.  It has two full sets of masks - and I usually screw something up when I apply, but all of the canopy masks fit perfectly.  Also has the wheel masks which I'll use as well.
 
Good luck!

Nice update, Chris! I've just put the wings on my own build, and due to the way I went about it, had the opposite problem to you - i.e., decent fit on the bottom, big gap along the roots at the top. In my fumbling around, I came to realise that the wing root intake inserts are slightly too long, and need to be shorted by about half a mm at the outboard end. The clue for me was that I couldn't get the locating tab on the wing to line up with the slot on the insert. I removed some material from the end, but not enough, and ended up removing one of the locating tabs. I still had to shave a decent amount off the other end of each insert, and then some more off the end plates of the wheel bays where it inserts into the fuselage. I'll post photos in my own build thread when I get a chance.
 
Anyway, those intake inserts are a real pain, and if I were to do this again, I'd probably leave them out until after the wings were joined to the fuselage, and then shape them to fit properly at each end before adding them.
 
Soldier on!
 
Kev

Got a bit more done today, but now have to let it dry.  I put the flaps and alerons on - closed up just to avoid any issues. Had to sand down the top of the seat frame (whatever you call it!) and the inside of the rollbar to get it to sit down right.  Got the rear canopy down just fine with no issues (did I REALLY just say that??) and thought I had the front canopy set, but you'll see the gap in the picture.  Once it all sets up I'll close it up tomorrow (I will try anyway).
 
The wings closed up pretty nicely to the fuselage, just a small gap on the left side I filled in.
 

 
Not quite the same story underneath.
 

 
And closer up:
 

 
I'm probably not going to do much with this as I've kind of just had it.  You can see the twist in the nose pieces too. Sigh.
 
Left side of the canopy's look good.  Took some firm holding.
 

 
But the right side not so great.
 

 
Oh well.  Once the rest of the adhesive dries I'll close this up.  Interestingly enough, despite the gap in fuselage right behind the IP, the right side of the front canopy is still over the fuselage, not inside it.  The fit of this kit is just amazing to me.  

Good to see an update, Chris! This kit certainly demands a lot from you.
 
 
Yep, I had those too. They're actually ejector pin marks, and I call them ejectites. A real PITA to remove, too.
 
Kev

I know from experience that life-like postures are not easy to achieve. You've done it remarkably. Bravo!
 
Quang

Here's a bit of an advance.
 
I managed to get the fuselage halves together. I sort of “convinced†it together a little at a time, the most difficult being the front, engine area. The motor is in there but the top won't be coming off to show the engine.
 
As Out2gtcha suggested, I tried my hand at re scribing. Not by choice but by necessity. Straight lines weren't that difficult but curves were a nightmare!  Some of the lines turned out very sharp, others not so much but I think I'll get better with practice and it's a technique I'll keep working at it.
 
I ran into a problem with the underside air scoop. I had a huuuge dip or valley on the bottom and as you'll see in the photos, it took a big dab of Tamiyas' Light Curing Putty. Nasty stuff but it dries hard as nails, really fast and will fill ANY thing.  You can see the results in the before and after photos.
It took me a while but I'm happy with the results so far and now ready to continue with the kit.
 
Dan
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'll start by saying that I don't know how to do reviews; I'm not a very good modeler and have never had much luck with a WIP post, so please take all that into account as you read on.
 
Whew! That said…I bought this kit online. Since it's a Hasegawa, a Mustang with a naked girl on the fuselage and 1/32, I thought it would probably be a great kit. It's not. I think it'll look like a Mustang when done but it's not an easy build.
 

 
The plastic is brittle, there's a lot of flash and parts location is very vague. The pilot figure comes in two parts that don't fit together well. There isn't even a step in the instructions to locate the engine.
I've finished the cockpit and pilot and have glued them into position. I've finished the engine as well but am still fiddling with the correct placement. I added wiring to the radio but I think it's out of scale so I'll be removing it.
 

 

 
The gentleman in the pilot's seat is Lt. Charles White, one of the Tuskegee airmen.
 

 
I'll post more as I progress.
 
 
 

I talked to the KH folks at our Model Classic event this year, and they didn't even bring the P-39 for their display.  When I asked why he (might have been Glen) said it was an old kit.  Sigh.  If I had only known...

I think it looks pretty good Kev. I see no issues with that fix at all, and as you said, with a completely different color on the spinner/fuse it should help disguise things. 
 
Its odd the P-39 from Kitty Hawk.........................it was released quite late in their line-up, yet according to Glen, the P-39 was actually one of their first LSP kits, but was for whatever reason, released much later in their schedule than when it was actually designed. 
I think that could possibly account for at least some of the issues seen with the fit of the kit VS kits the KHM more recently designed and released.