scvrobeson Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Slow and steady wins the race. Good to see you plugging away at the gaps. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 I was told to be wary of the windshield/fuselage connection so I went ahead and checked the fit of the clear parts. Fit looks ok but there is a sizeable gap between the rear edge of the engine cowling and fuselage on the starboard side. Dpgsbody55, Martinnfb, Kagemusha and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 Although I'm not posting regularly, regular work is being performed on the Tank fighter. But it is of the repetitive apply-dry-adjust-apply-dry-adjust cycle that I'm plodding through and not taking a great joy in documenting. But the work continues. And the work is starting to finally get somewhere. Here is the work so far on the top side wing roots. Slowly and surely we are addressing seams, finding new ones, addressing those until the ever-growing list eventually starts to get whittled down. The giant seams were filled with stretched sprue and those a magnitude smaller were addressed with White Milliput. Mr Surfacer 1000 was used for the fine fill work and many cycles were repeated as I'm striving to get some consistency on the panel lines. I can't achieve perfection so my goal is for the panel lines not to call attention to themselves. The photos are a bit deceiving since re-scribing often digs into the Milliput, which gives an opposite impression when the scriber hits the black plastic. Here is the view of the bottom. This is a significantly more involved piece of work since the severity of the fit issues forced me to do a much more extensive fill operation to get everything on the same level. The base putty work is just about complete. A coat of Mr Surfacer 1200 over the repair area shows how much of the detail has been eradicated. I'll now start the slow, repetitive process of re-scribing, re-riveting and surface touch-ups that will be required since I'll be re-scribing through a minefield of different materials. Martinnfb, Lothar, levier and 16 others 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wouter Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Ugh, I hate this stage. Especially rescribing through different materials. But getting it right here is essential for your paint finish... nmayhew, Martinnfb, Thunnus and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 Lather, rinse, and repeat! But when the build’s done you and the rest of us will know that your work sets you apart from most builders. Great work! Cheers, Tom Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StefanGebhardt Posted April 27, 2020 Share Posted April 27, 2020 (edited) The need for such extensive cleanup really raises the question what was ZM thinking when they creating the kit. I understand that adding internals make things more complicated but you wouldn’t expect that a the model is so hard to but together... in addition I can’t recall many reviews pointing out these issues or is my memory playing me tricks? Edited April 27, 2020 by StefanGebhardt Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 Again, I don't blame Z-M for all of this mess. I think, with much more precision than I was able to muster, and a little luck, these fit problems could be avoided. I personally am not a builder that incorporates too much internal detail in my builds and I think Z-M is gearing their kits toward those inclined. It's all good... better to have choices and I applaud Z-M for bringing these subjects to the large scale format. Thanks for all of the supportive comments! I've needed the encouragement on this build with all of the corrective work that I've had to do. But I think I've reached a turning point on this build. After a few iterations of leveling out the bottom as much as I could, I've added the detail back onto the surface. And it wasn't as difficult as I had feared. The mix of different putties and plastic behaved fairly well under my rescribing tools and rivet wheel. It may not look like much but that little area of real estate has set me back about a month or so. I feel pretty good about where the Tank fighter stands right now and can finally start moving on. LSP_Kevin, scvrobeson, Michael931080 and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dpgsbody55 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Looks like you've had a battle with this one, but very glad to see you've persevered. I'm looking forward to see how this progresses. Cheers, Michael Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Getting there all right! Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterOlsen Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 " that little area of real estate has set me back about a month or so". ........I can believe it ! I've been there many times, I think we all have. it's funny how the smallest things on a build can sometimes just send you through the wringer. I'm glad you made it past your hurdle, looks like the light of " the painting stage " is on the horizon. All the best, Cheers, Pete Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 Thanks guys! Moving forward just a little bit, I've glued the mount to the annular radiator to the front of the fuselage. It took quite a bit of sustained force to get it into place. View from the rear shows a significant step that will need to be corrected before I mount the radiator and flaps and front nose ring. Does the fun never stop on this one??? The actual radiator has been painted. Only the inside even though the outside of the ring is fully detailed as well. You'll only see a portion of the inside. LSP_Kevin, scvrobeson, Rocat and 15 others 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaconroot Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Another wonderful explanation on how to overcome issues. Love your work. Keep the updates coming. Jim Root Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alain Gadbois Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Great job on the kit! Good to see you keep up on it, with all the fit problems. Actual planes of the time also had some poorly aligned panels so don't worry about perfection! Alain Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 No matter what the challenge, you're going to beat them. This kit will be finished to an incredible standard by you. Matt Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 Thanks guys! As if fighting with the kit wasn't enough, my clumsiness almost produced a catastrophic accident and I was very, very lucky to come out of it unscathed. I spilled a bottle of Tamiya Extra Thin on my work table. Luckily, neither the Ta152H or G-14 models were within reach of the acid pool. Two parts were and I quickly plucked them out and set them aside without touching them. I was hoping that the glue would simply evaporate without too much damage. And luckily, I was right. Only some subtle tide marks left by the glue but, for the most part, we escaped without serious injury. WHEW!!! The joint between the radiator mount and fuselage has been straightened out. Scraped the step away with a curved x-acto blade and finished it off with some Mr Surfacer. Let's see what the radiator cowling pieces look like with some tape to hold things in place. At this point, the Henri Daehne prop assembly has been trimmed and ready for assembly so I wanted to dry fit it all on to see if the nose looks proper. The hub has a lot of detail that will be hidden by the spinner. The spinner cone sits pretty nicely on the hub without glue so there may be an option to have it detachable. Due to the presence of the cannon barrel, I won't be able to employ a micro magnet like I've done previously with a D-9 prop. I'm satisfied with the fit of the nose cowling pieces and the HD prop too so no issues foreseen here. Don't let that top vent piece bother you... it'll sit down nice once the cowl flaps are glued on proper... they are pinching the opening too small for the piece to sit nicely. For painting, I was planning on utilizing the black plastic for some black basing but I've done so much corrective work and sanding that I need to double check that work. I'm also afraid that alot of the rivet holes have been plugged with plastic and putty dust. So I think I'm going to give the model a coat of grey primer, attend to all of the surface details and then do my customary dark-on-light preshade mottle. Martinnfb, TAG, Hartmann52 and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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