BiggTim Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 I did n reinforce mine, and have had no issues at all, and it's been sitting on my bench for a long time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 NIce job (as usual ) ! IIRC, Russ - btw, we still miss you, buddy - used bamboo sticks to reinforce the wings. It also helped avoid the nasty seams at the root to boom (fuselage-side) joint. Hubert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 looks spectacular chuck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Chuck, as always mate, very inspiring! Thanks for showing us your craftsmanship! I thoroughly enjoy each update Cheers Anthony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alberto49 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thanks Vitali. Question: For those of you who have made this kit, is it necessary to reinforce the wings before assembly? I have seen several builds that do so, but I think the wings will be strong enough without any modification. What am I missing here? Hi, my opinion was and still is that's a good idea to reinforce wings in some ways, here is how I did it The round pieces are in steel while the other one is an aluminium strip bended in order to keep the correct dihedral. Besides the above, if I hold my model by the tip of one wing, still tend to flex down a bit. Cheers Alberto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hi, my opinion was and still is that's a good idea to reinforce wings in some ways, here is how I did it The round pieces are in steel while the other one is an aluminium strip bended in order to keep the correct dihedral. Besides the above, if I hold my model by the tip of one wing, still tend to flex down a bit. Cheers Alberto Thanks guys for the kind comments- and you too Alberto. Again, I don't see why this wing reinforcement is necessary. When the wing haves are placed together they seem very strong and with the majority of the weight in the fuselage booms which are held up by the landing gear, I think everything should be strong enough without any wing modifications. I am very happy to make these changes if someone can provide personal experience, etc. as to why I should, but so far all I can find is that modelers do it just because others have deemed it necessary for some reason. What is that reason? Thanks Guys for any specific input you can provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totalize Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Wow. You started this in November of Last year and still working on the rivets. Man this is going to be a really good primer for those wanting to build a P-38 in any scale. Looking forward to seeing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hi, my opinion was and still is that's a good idea to reinforce wings in some ways, here is how I did it The round pieces are in steel while the other one is an aluminium strip bended in order to keep the correct dihedral. Besides the above, if I hold my model by the tip of one wing, still tend to flex down a bit. Cheers Alberto Same way I did it.....Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Same way I did it.....Harv But why? Im not at all trying to be confrontational, but like Chuck am curious................I too have the kit, and have taped things together, and also like Chuck, was wondering where the weak point is in the wing, and why people feel the need to re-enforce it? Does it sag over time? Are the joints from wing to center fuse section not strong enough? Ive seen a few builds where this was not done, and they dont look any different, and from reading up on some builds I have seen, I have not heard about any specific wing issues with the Trumpy P-38. It just seems like its a one piece wing, and feels like it would be plenty strong without any internal re-enforcing, as the bond between the upper and lower wings would seem to make it very strong. The only weak point might seem to be the nacelles, but as was pointed out the model is supported by the gear right underneath these points, so they wouldn't seem to need it either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alberto49 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Let me say that I put the reinforcement because I saw some other people doing that. May be it was not necessary but it wasn't too difficult and didn't costed much, neither in money nor in time and I felt safer after that. Not the answer you were expecting, may be, Alberto Out2gtcha and alain11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 This is the exact reason I ask the question. Sometimes we modelers do what somebody else does, but we really don't know why. Like I said, I can easily add a bit of reinforcement, but that can cause other problems, like the dihedral of the wings could change (including side to side), the fit to the lower fuselage could be altered forcing the boom alignment (and resultant wheel alignment) to be wrong and other things that might make me regret my decision. Now if there was/is a real reason to do this, I'd like to hear why so that I can make modifications accordingly, which might mean another approach to the problem. I've heard that the wing to boom fit is poor and there is stress at the join that sometimes cracks. If so, reinforcement of the entire wing is unnecessary. If you know anything about this problem, I'd sure like to hear about it! Thanks Guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang JBB Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Chuck, I have been following your build with much interest as I have one on the shelf of doom awaiting a restart. I am at about the same point in construction as you. I have had two concerns. First would be alignment of the booms and horizontal tail, caused by my second concern which would be distortion from twisting stress. My gut tells me that once properly aligned with jigs etc, and glued with liquid cement or epoxy(not CA), the whole assembly will be rigid. Especially if not handled roughly during final assembly and painting. But I might err on the side of caution. After assembly, I am more concerned with busting joints than alignment. Not having interlocked spars and frame like the real plane, might cause the model to be a little flexible. I have taped mine together several times, an no matter how rigidly I tape it together, it still seems to have a little too much flex for my taste. I have considered stiffening the wing simply to prevent twisting, as that seems to be where the twisting originates. The booms don't really flex. The wings, being broad and flat, make for easy twist. However, wing tip to wingtip (spar)strength, should not be an issue. Hope that helps James B Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thank you very much James for this input! What you have told me has convinced me that I should do the same- ie: tape the whole thing together before I commit. This will not only help me, but I will document what the issues really are and, hopefully, what an easy solution will be. Cheers, Chuck Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p38johnny Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Hi Chuck! I feel that the plastic is fairly soft in this kit and could lead to problems a few years down the road. Couldn't hurt to give yourself a bit more rigidity. John Clements Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang JBB Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Chuck, I like alberto49's idea of the flat spar behind the cockpit as well as adding plates in the wing between the cockpit and booms. Shape some plywood to fit snuggly on all four sides, into the lower half of the inner wings. Attach with epoxy or epoxy putty all around. Combining these two should do the trick. Solid glue joints when assembling the major components is a must also. No CA! Paul Budzik has an article on his website about making a p-38 jig. http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/P-38%20Alignment/academy_p-38_alignment.html Happy modeling buddy! James B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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