LSP_Kevin Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 Those Corsair gear legs were the first set I mastered for G-Factor. There was definitely no wheels supplied with the set Matt Thanks for the confirmation, Matt. Good job on the gear legs, too! I just have to hope that I can get them to fit happily in to the Aires wheel bays (which I'm currently working on getting to fit). Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 So, time for another quick update. I've been bouncing around different parts of the airframe over the last couple of days, but the main aim has been to get everything ready for joining the fuselage halves together. This mainly meant dealing with the tail section, including the tail wheel assembly and the bay itself. I discovered that the ends of locating tabs for the horizontal stabiliser assemblies would be visible inside the aft fuselage after assembly, so I decided to make them up and attach them at this stage. That way, I could paint them in the infamous salmon pink along with the rest of this section of the airframe. I didn't like the representation of the ribs on the elevators, however, so I set about removing them (stock part on the left, modified part on the right): I did the same to the rudder, too, as it has to be added as part of the process of joining the fuselage. I'm sure someone will now tell me that Trumpeter's rendition was spot on, and that I've now ruined it! But I couldn't see evidence of it in any period photos I could find. Here's the reason I added the horizontal stabilisers at this stage: And here's the back end of both fuselage halves, more or less ready to go: I painted the tail wheel assembly in Gunze Off White, followed by a wash with Paynes Grey oil paint. I'll probably dirty it up more during the final weathering phase of the build. For the salmon pink, I used Tamiya's mix of 5 parts pink to 1 part Hull Red, followed by a dirty black/brown sludge wash of oils. It's pretty grungy, but that's what I was going for. I don't think it warrants any more work than that. While I wait for all that to cure and dry (along with the putty required on the bottom of the rudder), I set about taking a look at the Aires wheel bays, which represent my next major challenge with this build: This particular set is notorious for its poor fit, as both resin bays are way too tall for the internal space available to them in the wings. I've already removed all the raised detail on the kit parts, and have started reducing the thickness of the plastic where I can. It's a slow and messy job! My original plan for how to deal with this problem turned out to be a non-starter once I'd examined the resin bays more carefully. So, I only hope I can thin everything enough to get them in! Stay tuned and we'll find out. Kev sandokan, Sparzanza and Joel_W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Glad to see you back on this one, Kev! Those Moskit exhausts are the bomb; I hope that new firm (can't remember the name offhand) comes up with a new set. Your knocking down the ribs on the flying surfaces is right on. I took a close look at the F4u at the CAF museum in Mesa, AZ and its flying surfaces - ailerons, rudder, elevators - are nearly dead flat and smooth. At most the ribs could be represented by decal strips. Any more is overkill. Good luck with the wheelwells; I have heard the horror stories, too! LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 Thanks, Ray. I've detoured back to the fuselage for the moment, and like all my builds, this one has just had a major milestone accompanied by a minor set back. Firstly, I've now got the fuselage halves joined: I had to fix the rear cockpit bulkhead into position and hope I got the alignment correct, as there are no attachment points other than the original styrene guides I fixed in place about 100 years ago. The proof would be in how well the resin birdcage turtle deck fitted over it. All good on the port side: But starboard reckons we have a problem, Houston: It turns out that, while I got the fore/aft position pretty close, I also installed it a bit high on this side, and there's nothing I can do to correct that now: What I'm going to have to do is file down the top of the bulkhead above the headrest, until I can get the turtle deck seated as close to correctly as possible. Not a difficult job, as long as I don't ruin the shape of the bulkhead completely! I think I might go back to the wheel wells now... Kev Sparzanza and sandokan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Ouch! At least it looks like when you round the corners of the bulkhead headrest area it will match the profile better and help bring the turtle deck down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 Ouch! At least it looks like when you round the corners of the bulkhead headrest area it will match the profile better and help bring the turtle deck down a bit. Yep, all sorted! Didn't take long at all. Super glue is now curing, and once it has, I can blend the bulkhead into the turtle deck to eliminate the gaps, and then set to work on replicating the faired-over side windows. But first, those pesky wheel bays await... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Well, I got one Aires wheel bay installed, but I've come as close to giving up on this as I ever have with a model build. Here's what it looks like installed: You can't really see it in the photo, but I thinned the resin so much that I broke through in two places on the rear left corner of the part. I've filled them with super glue, and just hope they won't be noticeable on the finished model. This is worse, however: I thinned the plastic so much that it became quite weak, and cracked while I was fist-clamping the bay into place. It's repairable, but highly frustating And then there's this: Again, damage from having to thin the plastic. I'd been alternating between using the Dremel, and manual scraping with a curved blade in a hobby knife. Too much heat generated by the Dremel, so I'll avoid it on the second one. That just means hours (literally!) of doing it manually. And the worst part it, the rear section of the wing still won't close around it! I'll be reinforcing the join between the resin and plastic with a bead of JB Weld around the outside, as I just don't trust it at the moment. Unless you're on a dare or challenge like me, I strongly recommend you don't use these Aires wheel bays. Sure, they have much better detail, but overcoming the problems with getting them to fit is definitely not worth it. I think I'll go back to the fuselage now... Kev Joel_W, sandokan, Sparzanza and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparzanza Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Definitely better to keep it simple sometimes. Sorry to read about your mishaps, though I am confident you will sort them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Definitely better to keep it simple sometimes. Sorry to read about your mishaps, though I am confident you will sort them out. I'm glad you are, Sparz, because I definitely am not! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Those Aires wheel bays were a complete nightmare when I tried to use them years ago. I ended up grinding through the upper wing in so many different places that it was easier to square up the hole and just glue a thin sheet of styrene over top. So I completely feel and understand your frustrations Kev. Carl Edited March 4, 2017 by BloorwestSiR LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Those Aires wheel bays were a complete nightmare when I tried to use them years ago. I ended up grinding through the upper wing in so many different places that it was easier to square up the hole and just glue a thin sheet of styrene over top. Thanks, Carl. I reckon I might even try that on the second one. I'm still going to have to thin the plastic in the lower wing, however, but I'll be hoping not to crack it this time! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparzanza Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) The topic title is not misleading in any way at all... I just realised this. Edited March 5, 2017 by Sparzanza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 The topic title is not misleading in any way at all... I just realised this. It actually now seems like something of an understatement! Kev mark31 and Sparzanza 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Really nice nice progress Kev, been a while since I checked in and looking really good.........but man those wheel bays look and sound a little bit of a challenge!! Your salmon primer looks really good as well by the way. Regards. Andy LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thanks, Andy. These Aires wheel bays are definitely the most difficult element of the build so far. And the least enjoyable! And to be honest, I'm not even sure they're worth it. But, that's the challenge laid before me, so overcome it I must! Kev mpk and monthebiff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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