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Radial engine cylinder seams


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This is always something that’s bothered me, and I was wondering how you deal with the seams when radial engine halves are cemented together. Do you take the time to clean up the joint and all the fins, or is it just not worth the effort considering the engine, in most cases, is behind a cowl?

For those of you that do clean them up, how do you do it, and what tools do you use?

 

Thanks, Kurt

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That's one im wondering myself.

 

I tent to glue then lightly scape across for any glue residue, then run the blade in each of the line to clean up. 

I cannot say ive had satisfactory result compared to other LSP members

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For me, the decision on whether or not to clean up the seams is related to how much of the engine is visible plus if my weathering will highlight them or not. Once I've completed the basic engine, I'll place it in the cowl and look at it from all angles. Once I've done that, I'll snap a pic with my phone to scrutinize and refer to as I continue to build the engine. I have various tools that I use ranging from back-dragging my knife blade through the cylinder fins, to using a dental pick, to a self made scraper I created by snipping off the head of a model railroad track nail and clamping it into a pin vise. I use very little cement to glue the halves together, but generally it's the thin Tamiya liquid as it "welds" the seams that might be seen. The bigger issue I've noticed, isn't the cement that's seeped through the seam as much as flash from the molding process. Trust me, once given a dark wash, you will definitely see the imperfections!

 

If there's too big a seam, chip or missing material, I'll use as little putty as possible to fix it. I also tend to add plug wires and/or fuel lines depending on engine quality and visibility as factors. Especially the Wright Cyclone radials, as they tend to be the primary radial of the US during WWII. 

 

This is what works for me, and it's quite common for me to paint and weather an engine, find an imperfection, fix it, and touch it up. Obviously, any sort of cowling off display, will require more attention to engine detail. 

 

The two take-aways from my previous babbling is this; try various methods until you find what works best for you and do what you need to until you're satisfied.

 

Hope this helps some! :piliot:

Edited by lawman56
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