MikeMaben Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Hey Matt, Victory Models in Florida carries HGW seatbelts which have numerous styles and types of belts and buckles that would work in your project, I like them because they're made of a material that bends and is flexible espesially when wet with water (small dab of dishsoap to eliminate surface tension). Buckle styles are the main difference between various countries. Check them out to see if there's something that might fit. Have fun. Paul in Napier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted July 29 Author Share Posted July 29 Yes, I've used the HGW sets before. Unfortunately, the Romanian early seatbelts are pretty unique, and would require a bit of work to make them match. I appreciate the help though Matt MikeMaben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 And just like that, the wings are together. The mating surfaces were sanded like the fuselage halves to true everything up before gluing them together. At this stage, only the leading edges are glued. The wing roots are left loose so that any small adjustments can be made when mating them to the fuselage to avoid steps and gaps. There's an imaginary access panel at the front of the port wing. It was filled and sanded with black CA, but right now, it just looks like the wash that was applied to the panel lines and rivets. Fuel drain pipe was drilled, and a piece of tube was glued in to represent it. Oil cooler intake went in fine and gives the right impression. Shell ejection chutes were deepened with a Micro-Chisel. And yes, the gear bays are that bare of the real plane. Another look at all of the rivet work applied. Those small scratches will need to be filled before paint. The rivets and panel lines on the leading edge haven't been repaired yet, I'll handle that after primer is on to not risk removing them during any fixes. Also, scribing the circles around the gun ports is going to be a pain in the butt to do. Any ideas would be appreciated. Test fitting is going on for the fuselage and wings to ensure a tight and smooth fit. Let me know what you all think. Matt Furie, mc65, LSP_Kevin and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furie Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 3 hours ago, scvrobeson said: Let me know what you all think. Matt I think you've got a lot of courage Matt, and you're doing a superb job. In the end, your IAR 80 is going to look like a Tamiya! scvrobeson and florin13 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 (edited) Thanks very much Denis. I'm glad that you like the work on this build. Matt Edited July 31 by scvrobeson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Interesting idea not to glue the wing trailing edges before fitting to the fuselage. Is this one of your normal practices or are you anticipating problems with this particular kit? John scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 7 hours ago, Biggles87 said: Interesting idea not to glue the wing trailing edges before fitting to the fuselage. Is this one of your normal practices or are you anticipating problems with this particular kit? John Thanks for checking in John. That's normal practice for me, it allows me to tweak the wing root as needed to hopefully eliminate steps and gaps where it meets the fuselage. Matt Biggles87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted August 2 Author Share Posted August 2 And now we have airframe. The wings and tail surfaces were mounted. Both needed a bit of sanding and trimming to make sure that they fit cleanly, but only needed a small skim of filler to get everything closed up and smooth. Keeping the wings mostly free meant that I was let with basically a gap and step free finish, just some a tiny gap that needed filling at the leading edge. Just need to do some cleanup of various spots and finish the rivets before I can start thinking about priming. The kit really is going together well, just small tweaks here and there to aid the fit. Please let me know what you think, Matt Fanes, Zola25, mc65 and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Looks like an excellent fit overall. John scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Looks quite nice from where I'm sittin' Matt scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alain11 Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 fitting looks quite good .......for an Azur kit . the riveting brings a really nice touch ... well done Alain looks nice from where i am sitting ...too scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted August 2 Author Share Posted August 2 11 hours ago, Biggles87 said: Looks like an excellent fit overall. John 7 hours ago, MikeMaben said: Looks quite nice from where I'm sittin' Matt 3 hours ago, alain11 said: fitting looks quite good .......for an Azur kit . the riveting brings a really nice touch ... well done Alain looks nice from where i am sitting ...too Thank you very much John, Mike, and Alain. The fit has been good to great, but has definitely needed additional cleanup and test fitting before committing to glue. Basically, every piece has some sort of mold seam or flash to clean up. Compared to some of the stories I've heard about other Azur kits though, this one is going together wonderfully. Thank you all for checking in and commenting on the build Matt Paul in Napier and MikeMaben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dpgsbody55 Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Looks great so far. Cheers, Michael scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted August 3 Author Share Posted August 3 10 hours ago, Dpgsbody55 said: Looks great so far. Cheers, Michael Thank you for checking in on it Michael. I'm glad that you like how it's coming together Matt Dpgsbody55 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted August 22 Author Share Posted August 22 Progress continues on the IAR-80. Been in the grind of fill/sand/prime/repeat error detections, so work has been a bit slow. But thankfully it looks like the rivet detail will show through the primer and eventual paint layers. The strengthening strap on the bottom is made from .25mm plastic strip so I didn't have to worry about sanding the seam on the kit. The control surfaces were drilled and pinned to aid in positioning and strength. More scribing and riveting done, still a few corrections to make. Also visible are the 5mm magnets installed in the front firewall and intake manifold to hold the engine in place Control surfaces required some shimming with plastic strip to close up the gaps Overall look at the underside. The fit has been good on this, it's really just been small stuff I've had to fill and sand so far. Hopefully I can get it in final primer by this weekend to start on the paint job and engine. Please let me know what you think Matt LSP_Kevin, Paul in Napier, TankBuster and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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