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Aussie FAC in Vietnam. Cessna Bird Dog FINISHED!


ericg

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Nicely done!  Love those results.  Do you have a vendor for the sponge sander?

 

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark

Mark-

 

If I recall, Mastercasters used to carry a full line of them. I bought a four grit set a long time ago, and they have held up well.

 

Flory Models seem to sell a range of them now.........

 

THOR    :ninja:

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So for every model that I build I lose a couple of parts. Upon searching for the landing light cover I quickly realized that it was gone. I could either get the Mrs to spend a few hours looking for it or I could spend 30 minutes making a new one. I opted for the latter solution. Of course, making a new cover was going to present a few problems, given that the part would have to fit precisely because it is in a very visible position and the type of part that it was.

 

I heated up a section of clear styrene and plunge moulded it over a thinner part of the wing than where the part originally sat. This was to account for the thickness of the plastic. Visible here is also the landing lights themselves. I feel that Roden should have included these in the kit as the area is pretty bare without them. I fabricated 2 new parts from small disks of polished aluminium sheet and then simulated the lenses with a drop of PVA glue.  

 

81502EA2-776E-43D6-9D77-3C8C5AF13BFA_zps

 

Once the new part was sized correctly, I super glued it into place before sanding it to further refine its shape. I have used some more superglue on the join to fill the gaps.

 

98A42866-4D7B-4F44-9C10-5EA140DB0C17_zps

 

Some further sanding with finer grade sanding sticks  before a buff with a Flory buffing stick. As good as new.

 

908F11E4-6AA8-4BBD-A596-C4084E058A33_zps

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Gee Eric this is one really quick build and such nice work as usual looking forward to the end model.

I hope that cabinet door is secure mate looks like a Million Man hours behind that glass.

 

Guy.

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Eric,

   Just a great build to follow. Nothing with wrong an OOB build especially with the attention to the details in the kit, and improving the prop shaft and landing gear. Drilling those long holes in a straight line is no easy task, believe I know that all to well. Excellent job on polishing out all that glass.

 

Joel

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Thanks guys, yes, the models are under lock and key!

 

In preparation for painting I needed to mask up the extensive glazing that features on this model. I wanted to automate the task a little and set about creating some home made masks with my Sillhouette Portrait Mask cutter. I am aware that there have been some masks released for this kit recently but buying them is not as much fun in making some for yourself. 

 

Task one was to take the measurements of the four identical windows in the roof above the pilot. I used some vernier calipers to take the measurements and then transferred them to the Sillhouette Studio program, selecting a rounded rectangle as the base shape. Using the two small red buttons to `drag' the end curves into the shape, I was easily able to specify the required radius of the ends. I then copied and pasted the shape until I had four of them on the screen. It is quite pleasing as to how accurately this machine cuts masks based upon the data entered into it.

 

On the left is the stock `rounded rectangle' sized according to my measurements, notice the two small red dots as mentioned earlier. On the right is the finished pattern that I want.

 

IMG_5233_zpskcfg36lo.jpg

 

Copy/paste x 3

 

IMG_5234_zpsndrfctsg.jpg

 

Machine at work

 

IMG_5235_zps9toqi7f5.jpg

 

The cut masks on Oramask 810.

 

IMG_5237_zpsyefboqkj.jpg

 

The masks fit nicely.

 

IMG_5238_zpszsibg9z5.jpg

 

I then made up the larger masks for the other windows in the roof, not quite as easy but not that hard either. I used the same rounded rectangle pattern, then used the `convert to path' feature followed by the `edit points' feature to manipulate it to the odd shape that it is. I found that each window is slightly assymetric, so once I was happy with the shape of one, I copied and pasted it, followed by the `Flip horizontally' feature to give me the two masks.

 

Notice all of the small black dots along the shape. these are points which can be dragged around, deleted, curved or added to to enable practically any shape. Very useful for scanning in decal sheets and modifying numbers and letters.

 

IMG_5242_zpsg1xwfq1x.jpg

 

the masks fit like a glove. It was at this point that the fun stopped and a more traditional method of masking was used to cover the windscreens and landing light cover.

 

IMG_5241_zpsz0v7uuwd.jpg

 

The model was then primed with Tamiya fine surface primer. After the primer had dried, I held the model up under a strong light and went over it with a fine tooth comb. I identify any flaws and mark them with a lead pencil for fixing later. I then fix these flaws using the pencil marks as a check list of sorts, figuring that at the end if there is no pencil marks left on the model then there shouldn't be any flaws right?

 

IMG_5243_zpsexvj54bt.jpg

 

IMG_5244_zpsp262uiai.jpg

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