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F-100D Thunderbirds SIX Foiled Again - Finished!


themongoose

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Thanks guys. Love the encouragement as i get into the small details on the home stretch. Spent 8 hours yesterday on the main gear doors and I’m still not done with the Eduard assemblies! Lots of nice detail. I bought a new can of etching primer and soaked everything in vinegar for a day to try and prep the PE for paint. I’ve had bad luck in the past getting paint to stay on PE so I’m really trying to get it right on this model. Got some advice over in the technique forum to help - feel free to toss some of your best practices in here :hmmm:Could see the results of that as early as tonight but most likely tomorrow.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Gazzas! Can't wait to unveil the whole thing for sure. 

 

I've been working on all kinds of little stuff so not much to update lately. I finished all the painting today and can start assembling everything. Won't be till next weekend though as I'm off for a week of travel. 

It's looking like I'll be done for the IPMS show in Indianapolis. Maybe I'll see some of you guys there.

So here's the spread of parts after clear coat this afternoon...

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In between all the colors and waiting for paint to dry so I can paint the opposing side I started on the drop tanks. My theme for this one is "Heading Home". The drop tanks are the key of course. Turns out the MAPS museum in Canton OH has a set of 335gal drop tanks on their F-100. I took walk-around pics 2 weeks ago and now I can make these up right. I used the new Archer Access Panels sheet for these. This is the latest set that's much thinner than the original ones he offered. I used those on my T-38 and they looked good on the flat bottom of the T-38. These are even better.

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I trimmed it up and let everything dry...and then moved it to the right spot. Dang you'd think I was dyslexic putting it on the opposite side of the weld line.

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This shows how low the profile is now. Can't wait to put some paint on these. Maybe late tonight if the welds I added with Mr Surfacer 500 dry (thanks for a great idea from ericg!)

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  • themongoose changed the title to F-100D Thunderbirds SIX Foiled Again - Misc...

Thanks Eric, your work has been a great inspiration!

...and here’s a teaser for this weekend’s finish goal ...

for guys doing this build in the future this is one of the secrets to getting the PE slats to function. Learned this doing RC aircraft

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Every one of those arms has to be at the same angle. If not slats and flaps don’t work in real life or on a model B)

Here they Are side by side.

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waiting on epoxy to dry solid on the gear. Should be on her legs by dinner, not going to rush it. Lots of little stuff to do. Will post some pics again later.

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Up on her spindly legs!

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Lesson learned, check the ground clearance when doing separate steps between the kit instructions and PE instructions lol. I had to close up the extension on the MLG doors...between interpreting the angle from the instructions poorly, shortening the main gear legs and weighted tires that to me seem a little low on air pressure the MLG doors turned into the landing gear haha. A little Ca glue debonder and light pressure realigned them but I still needed more angle than designed. Some touch up paint with the airbrush and good to go now.

I got a ton of little touch ups done today. Made some stiffener plates from aluminum foil as well for the wing join and up along the fuselage. All the lights added but they need painted yet. I made a couple radio antennas and painted them. 

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Here’s tonight’s progress, drop tanks are looking pretty good. I managed to get some vertical shading on the tanks to match the welds that have been ground down on the tanks. Those thin Archer Surface details look the part.

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Got a few faces painted for my figures. Tomorrow I’ll mount the drop tanks and then take some pics!

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Gazzas and everyone who has cruised by and checked out my build, thanks for your encouragement and for hanging out with me! I’ve got the Hun all assembled! Still working on the pilot and parts for a display so I’ll save that for the RFI page :popcorn:

Lots of lessons learned again. That really makes these fun. It’s exciting to get advice from the forum and turn it into art. 
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I was surprised to find that these jets didn’t have a seamless intake. Good in some regard but took some experimenting to make up a piece that looked welded slip joint.

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Pilots in for placement at this point. With a theme of Heading Home he’s giving the thumbs up as he heads for the runway

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All the historical photos and the video I watched show very little heat affected zone on these jets. I thought it was just the museum piece but it seems they cleaned the hell out of the tail. This is my first time trying to do this. I used Tamiya clear blue and red, made some purple with these. Sprayed some pale burnt metal over the area where you can see the stiffeners to blend it in. 
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Here I made the smoke tube out of piano wire and 1mm electrical shrink tube. I read some wild stuff about how they had 2 colors of smoke and the maintenance guys hated it because the dyes were so dangerous they had to wear masks and suits when handling it. They went to white smoke after 1 season it said. This really completes the build!

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I even got the little lights inside the refueling probe base

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 here’s a few underneath 

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And we’ll finish with the Thunderbird even though it’s hard to see through everything ;-)

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Edited by themongoose
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  • themongoose changed the title to F-100D Thunderbirds SIX Foiled Again - Finished!

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