Guest Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Now I KNOW I will NOT be building another one of these. Jeeze Louise!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaced Marine Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 That nose is a bear! I think my second P-39 will go in the donation box for my IPMS chapters contest raffle next year! If I ever build another 1/32 P-39, it will be the Special Hobby kit. It will be no less work. CANicoll, mpk and D Bellis 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 John, Will - I COMPLETELY agree!! IF I build another one it will have to be the Special Hobby kit. D Bellis and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 OK, Sorry about this rant but the 'fun' just never ends with this kit. Got the nose closed up - lots of tape and a bit of pushing but it is reasonably well closed I think. Not great by any means, but hopefully got the gaps closed. Went to close up the back and the side fuselage panels fit great - that's a first - but the spine hatch is 1. Too long and 2. the internal supports of the hatch interfere with the lip inside the fuselage so that has to be cut away. Even with that, it is an ill fitting piece that I'm not sure I have locked down. UGH. Glue is drying now - will see what it all looks like in a few hours. Really don't want to give up on this build, but on the other hand, this is already one I'm not terribly proud of. I just don't have the time to constantly work nearly every single element to get it to fit in a reasonable fashion. Rant over. REALLY unhappy with Kitty Hawk and cannot imagine buying another one. I know their 'later' kits are supposed to be amazing, but that they allow this kit to still be sold as a pretty expensive kit is beyond the pale to me. D Bellis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaced Marine Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Keep the faith brother! I can vouch that the T-28 & Kingfisher are way nicer kits than this one, at least in the sprues that is! This kit is a prime example of why I don't like kits with so many open panels. They want the model to be built opened up to show that stuff off. When we want a buttoned up model, that's when we run into trouble. CANicoll and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Went to close up the back and the side fuselage panels fit great - that's a first - but the spine hatch is 1. Too long and 2. the internal supports of the hatch interfere with the lip inside the fuselage so that has to be cut away. Even with that, it is an ill fitting piece that I'm not sure I have locked down. That's really interesting, Chris. On my kit, the spine panel was one of the best-fitting ones (before I cut it up), though the two engine panels are pretty good, too. Only the nose has given me any real issues so far. I'm expecting a bit of a gap in the upper wing roots, though. Kev CANicoll and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amurray Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I have to smile and be grateful at the same time of the comments about this kit. I was thinking: "Special Hobby or Kitty Hawk? Special Hobby or Kitty Hawk?" Due to your sacrifice I guess I now know, huh? Some kits and their builders always bring to mind the line from Spartacus, "We who are about to die, salute you!" CANicoll and KiwiZac 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 Well, got the nose together and put the wings and the tail together annndddd.... it actually went together pretty well. I have just a bit of a gap on the left wing root but nothing to really complain about - I'll work on that maybe tomorrow, or when I get back from my trip next week. Pretty happy with the tail as well - the seams are not bad but I did a lot of test fitting a bit of sanding. The rudder looks like it has big gaps, but they don't look that big to my eye. Here goes: The nose is a little helter skelter, but workable esp with an OD paint job. The gaps did close up pretty decently. Top view of the joins. Had to do a bit more sanding to get the wing root gaps inline but all in all, this is pretty good. Oh yeah, I dropped the elevators. I set up a rig so that they both were dropped the same amount I swear the gap to the rudder does not look THAT big. Will have to really look at that. I have not tried to fit the canopy yet, as there is a BIG gap in the small fuselage join right in front of the canopy (as you see in the picture above) so quitting tonight while I am ahead. Ok have a great weekend all. Chris TorbenD, ShotMagnet, mpk and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Excellent work, Chris! It looks like you've licked this one pretty nicely in the end. Impressive! Kev mpk and CANicoll 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 17, 2016 Author Share Posted July 17, 2016 Thanks Kev! You guys keep me going, that is for sure. The seams underneath, now that I have the wing root scoops in place, are kind of horrid, but I'm not turning her over for anyone! From the front and top, the scoops fit very nicely. Underneath, big seam at the fuselage join. But I'm pleased the seam from the front is closed. Win win! mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Looking great, Chris. It's good to see one of these getting smacked into shape. Mine is stalled for now. I cut the fuselage and that's all done, now I'm noticing the wrong rudder shape, the underbelly issue, the scoop shape, and on and on. I've built several Kitty Gawk kits, and have never had any issues at all other than moving out the gear a bit on the T-6, but the P-39 is gonna drive me to drink.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) Ok, finally get a bit of an update to you. The wings are on and we are not going to talk about the seams at the bottom - just not going there. Finally got her on all three legs, and in my haste to close up the nose, yes, I didn't put enough weight up front to keep her from sitting on her tail. Oh well. I've masked the canopy and the doors using the HGH masks and they are really terrific. The fit perfectly, go on and adjust pretty well too. I took Kev's advice and decided to NOT roll down one of the windows. I'm going to close everything up, engine covers too. :-( I'm not going to think about all the hours (days, weeks?) spent on what is now completely hidden. A few notes - did anyone have near this level of flash on the rollover cage? WOW. My nose cone seems to fit pretty well actually. Better than the picture shows. BUT I may have to glue it in place. And here are the doors with the glass masked. I used several layers of Mr. Surfacer on the internal door rivets but may have to do another layer or two before paint. I don't have the pictures in front of me now, but I SWEAR that there are rivets on the perimeter of the door. And the canopy masked. These masks were the easiest to put on of any I've ever used. Test fitting the canopy to the fuselage I noticed that the IP is sitting too high and the bar across the top gets pushed down and broken if the canopy is set down to the fuselage. Sigh. At least I don't think major surgery is needed on the IP, just a really secure adhesive between the fuselage and the canopy. Somehow, my entire nose structure is sitting way to high and for the life of me I have NO idea how that happened. Oh well, certainly not going to worry about it at this point. Hoping to get to paint maybe tomorrow afternoon. At least a base coat. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Chris Edited July 31, 2016 by CANicoll ShotMagnet and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Good to see an update, Chris! This kit certainly demands a lot from you. A few notes - did anyone have near this level of flash on the rollover cage? WOW. Yep, I had those too. They're actually ejector pin marks, and I call them ejectites. A real PITA to remove, too. Kev CANicoll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaced Marine Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 I need to get back to mine. What madk set did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 I need to get back to mine. What madk set did you use? I used the HGH set 132817. It has two full sets of masks - and I usually screw something up when I apply, but all of the canopy masks fit perfectly. Also has the wheel masks which I'll use as well. Good luck! mpk and Spaced Marine 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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