LSP_Kevin Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Righto fellas, some photos at last. Here's the cockpit assembly locked away in the now-joined fuselage: I took the liberty of fitting the panel that goes on the spine: The fit isn't great, but should be manageable. Here's the engine assembly, sans mounting gear, push-fitted into the front of the fuselage: Should be fine. I plan now to leave it off until after all the painting is done, which should simplify the process enormously - especially around the exhaust pipe. One thing the instructions tell you is that, if you're planning build the SNJ, you need to replace a panel on the forward fuselage deck piece: Since I'm planning to build such a beast (option #1 in the painting guide), I pulled out all my cutting implements and got started. Here's the end result: The instructions don't really show it, but there are deep score lines moulded into the part to aid in cutting out the original panel. The evidence of sanding you can see is because the forward lip of the replacement part sits right on top of the firewall, and is a tad too thick to let it sit properly. I've got some more work to do in that area before it's quite ready yet though: As you can see, the bottom of the new panel will need some shimming. I'm starting to have some concerns about doing a natural metal fuselage now! Kev Whitey, jgrease and sandokan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmh53wrench Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Such a great subject, and your work is paying off nicely. Shame for all the problems along the way, maybe the manufacturer or the resin folks will fix some of this stuff in the future. Still, it is a great plane and will look well on the shelf, I am sure of it. Keep on truckin' Kev! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Kev Excellent progress for sure on the Texan. Seeing the photos of how the engine sits in place, the engine mounting bracket seems to be a none issue as long as the panels back there are closed. Overall fit up to this point, does leave a bit to be desired for sure. I have no doubts you'll pull it off the NMF fuselage perfectly. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamme Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Great progress, Kevin. Congrats, Jamme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Good progress there, Kev, although she seems to be fighting you all the way. If you're going for a Navy version, then, with a T-6G standard, this should be a SNJ-7. The part you have just replaced on the right side of the looks like the fairing of the machine gun which was sported by the earlier marks of the SNJ (the 3 and 4 for instance) but had disappeared on the T-6G and, AFAIK, the SNJ-7 ... Whilst a very good base, and essentially very accurate in overall shape, the kit is a strange mixture of different versions. Now there were so many of them that a degree of confusion is understandable. For instance, as I have stated earlier, the instrument panels were identical for the front and rear cockpit of the T-6G, and the seats, whilst some T-6G started their career with them, had been replaced by the early 50's with the P-51 type light-weight seat ... So the kit's representation is not right for a T-6 G ... but OK for earlier marks (but not Harvard IIs which had a different IP). Sorry to seem a spoil, Kev, but you could have spared yourself the pain of cutting and replacing this part. Or, if you want to do an earlier mark of the SNJs (for which the cockpit is mostly OK), you need - that is, if you are seeking greater accuracy - to modify the rear seat to a swiveling version, and add a rear cockpit gun ring ... And then the frames on the canopy are not right anymore ... BTW, even if you are not going for my "rivet-counting" approach, a simple mod that will greatly enhance the finished kit's look is to restore the landing gear thread to its proper value. It was 8' 6 3/4 ", i.e. 2,61 meters in 1:1 scale, or 8,42 cms in 1/32 scale. Do not use the existing lugs in the wheel bays and create new ones spaced further apart. Hubert Edited February 18, 2014 by MostlyRacers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks for chiming in Hubert! And you're doubly right about the panel mod, as I clearly didn't even read the painting guide properly! This is the aircraft I intend to do: As you can see, it's clearly not labelled an SNJ! Well, too late now I guess. At least you guys will get a look at how these mods play out and what the fit is like. And that's really the purpose of this build, so for the most part I won't be deviating from OOB unless I have to (like with the engine mounts). I'm really hoping someone will have canopy masks available in the next few weeks though! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Kevin great work so far and continue to follow your build and take notes. Thinking of starting my soon. I went with one of these for mine. Not sure if this is the type of seat belt it used since I haven't found any pictures of it but it has to be better than the photo etch ones. I also ordered a engine for mine. http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/rbpp320082.htm http://store.spruebrothers.com/product_p/vec32013.htm Dan sandokan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 The kit has a lot of promise, however it seems to be an amalgamation fo "restored" warbirds, racers, and researched features. Im still trying to fill in some research gaps but anticipate starting mine this year. Keep at it Kev, Im sure it will be wonderful when you're done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks once again for the feedback fellas, and for following along. I hope one day Kevin you will be blessed with a build that goes smoothly and without hiccups. In this case at least they're mostly of my own doing. At the moment it's a combination of having very little build time, being distracted by a million other things that need to be done, and still trying to push through with this one. My attention is obviously not always fully devoted to the task. That's my excuse, anyway! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fair call Kev ! I indeed think you are not mistaken with the engine and if P&W were to re-engineer this powerplant, they would find out that it is much better to put it at an angle just like you did Don't worry dude, we all appreciate your efforts so we can all benefit from this build. Keep it up ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bern Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Thanks fellas. I'm just plodding along with this one, and I've spent my time preparing and assembling all the myriad cockpit parts, trying to get them into as few sub-assemblies as possible before painting. Something was odd though when I went to install the two small lever housings on the port framework piece: I could only find one, the other being missing off the sprue. I looked everywhere for it, and feared that it might have been in the plastic bag for this sprue when I threw it away. But then I noticed that the attachment points didn't even appear to have been cut - and there's no way the part could simply have fallen off. So, I went back to my original hi-res sprue shots from the review, and realised that it was actually never there: It seems it was never moulded in the first place! Ah well, no one's really going to notice, but you'll need to check Sprue F for part 40 on your own kits. I should be able to start painting in the next session. Kev My kit arrived in the mail today and I have part 40 and 41 present, although one of the tiny levers on part 40 looks slightly undersized compared to part 41. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I still need to look and see if my copy has them on the sprues or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Kev, To me this is the best kind of review - a build that shows modelers where there may be potential for issues. If I am going to buy/build a kit, having some pretty photos of a finished model doesn't tell me that Doug Iain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Kev, To me this is the best kind of review - a build that shows modelers where there may be potential for issues. If I am going to buy/build a kit, having some pretty photos of a finished model doesn't tell me that Doug Thanks Doug. That is indeed the point of this build, which is why I'm trying to stick as close to OOB as possible. Unless they fail me completely I'll be using the kit decals throughout. I might have to limit working on it to only those occasions when I'm not brain dead though! Kev Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cees Broere Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Kev. Dutch Decal has issued a new sheet of Dutch Texans. Although I don't know if they are correct for this version.Cees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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