bfwaechter

I jumped ahead in the instructions and put the turret's rotating base plate in place, taped the fuselage halves together, then tried to fit the clear turret into place. It went down and onto the base plate fine. I am going to proceed ahead and not install it per Step 25 before assembling the fuselage. I may not apply glue to about 1/4" of the fuselage spine behind the turret so I can spread it apart if necessary so I will have a bit of wiggle room. Once the turret is installed at the finish of the build, I'll apply a tiny bit of liquid glue to seal the fuselage halves and touch up the paint as necessary. Thanks for everyone's comments thus far. Boyd Waechter

I began building Trumpeter's 1/32nd TBF-1C Avenger kit about 3 weeks ago and thus far the build is moving a long without any major problems. BUT, in looking ahead, can those of you who have built this kit tell me if the turret can be slipped in place AFTER the model is finished, or does it have to installed in Step 31 (fuselage assembly) as you glue the two fuselage halves together? It would make life a lot easier if it can be put into opening and mounted on the rotating plate at the end of the build. Thanks for any help you can give me. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX.

Does anyone have an FS number for what has been referred to as "coral" color which some P-40N's were painted by the 45th FS of the 15th FG? I will assume that this is highly subjective, but I'm hoping someone out there has tackled this problem in the past and could give me some guidance. Thanks. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX. IPMS #1282

I got an e-mail back from Mike West along with a photo of the malcolm hood he produces. The answer was pretty vague and with no price, but the photos shows he includes a resin plug that you can cut against when removing the excess clear plastic, along with a set of resin canopy rails to mount on the cockpit sill. I ask about ordering one in my original e-mail, but got no answer on that. I will assume it is still in his catalog and available, but cannot be ordered until he decides to reopen his web site in the future. Sorry, but that's all I know. He also sent me some info and drawings of his new 1/32nd OH-6 and AH-1G Cobra decal sheets. These are really nice and you get 6 to 8 choices of aircraft on each sheet. Appears to be really well done. He is also working on a new interior set for the OH-6. He already has an AH-1G cockpit set available, but again, you can't order it until he decides to reopen his web site. Boyd

Lone Star Models web site is still closed, so unable to see if Mike still sells this particular item. I have written him direct and am awaiting a reply. His stuff is first rate, so I am sure it would be something I would want to get a couple of if still available. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX.

Does anyone know of a company or individual that produces a 1/32nd P-51 malcolm hood? The one in the Trumpeter 1/32nd P-51B kit is slab sided and not close to it's true shape. Thanks very much. Boyd Waechter bfwaechter@aol.com IPMS #1282

The white metal nose gear in the HobbyBoss 1/32nd F-84G Thunderjet looks pretty weak to me. Does anyone know if there has been a brass nose gear ever sold for this kit? Thanks. Boyd Waechter bfwaechter@aol.com

Kevin, Yeah, sorry, the gear box sticks out 4 mm ahead of the cowling. With the spacer between the rows of cylinders (why is it there?), you can easily remove this amount thus moving back the end of the gear box to the edge of the cowling. I tried to post the photo directly into this forum, but no luck. All I got was the link. I hope you guys have been able to open it to see what I mean. Thanks for pointing out my typo Kevin. Should have stuck with inches! Boyd

After dry fitting the main components of the Trumpeter 1/32nd scale engine together and setting it into place per the instructions, the gear box sticks out about 4 cms whereas it should be even with the front of the cowling. For some reason, Trumpeter put a large spacer between the two rows of cylinders that can be easily cut down 3 to 4 cms, thus moving the end of the gear box back to where it should be. I plan to cut this spacer down 3 cm and then sand back until I get the engine positioned where I want it. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX. http://imgur.com/a/sqfoY

I spoke to the Tamiya representative at the NATS in Columbus, OH. (2015) and asked him if they were going to eventually release a F4U-1D variant and he said no, no plans to do so in the near future. That is why I decided to bite the bullet and try building the Trumpeter kit, which I picked up at the Capital Classic model show in Austin, TX. for only $30. But, I've probably spent $100+ on aftermarket stuff made to improve it! Just part of the hobby I guess. I've also been surprised that they never released a P-51B Mustang, especially considering how bad the he Trumpeter kit is. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX.

Kevin, I am going to do a straight F4U-1D but with some upgrades. I was going to try and use the Verlinden F4U-1 cockpit, but it's expense and from what I have read it's a bear to use. I got a True Details cockpit for only $11 USD, so went that direction. It provides armor plate bulkheads for both the Revell and Trumpeter kits, but I believe the rest of this set is really meant for the old Revell kit. I had to really struggle to make the sidewalls, instrument panel and coaming fit properly. Today I decided to try and make the Modelcasters cowl flaps fit the rear of the Vector replacement cowling. This replacement piece is just beautifully detailed, but it broke into several pieces while I was trying to remove the excess resin. I have managed to get it all back together and installed. No real happy with it's surface finish, so I'll sand it down and prime it in a couple of days. I was also going to use Aires wheel wells, but every review I have read talks about how difficult they are to install, so I'll just use the kit wheel wells and add some details of my own. It looks like this is going to be a more difficult project than I was really wanting.

I have been working on the Trumpeter 1/32nd F4U-1D Corsair, finally getting the True Details cockpit set (I believe meant for the Revell kit) painted and the sidewalls, instrument panel, and coaming into place. I am now working on the kits very detailed engine, but I have been told that the engine sits too far forward with the gear box sticking well beyond the lip of the cowling. Can someone who has built this kit confirm this observation? In studying how the engine fits to the forward fuselage, I think I have found a way to adjust this problem and move it backward a bit. I plan to dry fit and white glue together as much as possible to check it before I get heavily involved in the engine's painting and final assembly. I am using Vector's cowling and cowl ring, but Modelmaster's flap ring (rough, but usable after some clean-up). If you have any comments, I can be contacted either here or directly to bfwaechter@aol.com. Thanks. Boyd Waechter Katy, TX.

I picked up a Revell Germany rerelease of the old Revell 32nd DeHavilland Mosquito today at a local shop for only $22. Upon opening the kit, I was impressed with the parts considering the age of the kit. My question is, does anyone make any cockpit sets for this kit, or are they all out of business? I seem to remember that Paragon Design made some wing tanks and a cockpit set, but finding these in this scale is probably next to impossible. Since he does a lot of 1/32nd scale cockpits and kits, maybe I can talk Mike West of Lone Star Models into producing a new cockpit set for this rerelease. Thanks, Boyd Waechter Katy, Texas