Thunnus Posted May 27, 2023 Author Share Posted May 27, 2023 Here's an example of some residual salt that has shown up as frost. This is removed with damp cloth. A small modification made to the tail plane thanks to the info posted by Thomaz. The small plastic knob was cut off and replaced with a tab made of brass sheet. The louver doors for the intercooler have been glued into place. The painted drop tank. The drop tank was mounted into place and the fuel lines were added. Not completely happy with the alignment of the aft line so I may re-do it. Bomb racks have been painted. The tail wheel assembly minus the wheel is glued into place. The rear landing gear doors are also attached. Getting ready to put Eileen on her own legs so I've glued the landing gear covers unto the landing gear struts. coogrfan, Gazzas, mc65 and 17 others 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 Lovely work, John! Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted May 27, 2023 Share Posted May 27, 2023 (edited) Yahoo! You are well into the back stretch. Careful with that LG rake (12 deg from vertical (vertical being a fuselage station). A good check is to see if the bottom edge of the lower gear door is parallel to the ground (it is supposed to be). Also the "bow-legged stance" (upper strut is 3 deg bowed outboard). Gotta be just right! Back on page 12 of this thread I provided alot of info on main LG orientation. Along with this picture: Cannot wait to see her on her legs with her shoes on. Edited May 27, 2023 by JayW Thunnus and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 Thank you Gaz and Jay! Nervous now, as I'm going to remove the masks from the windscreen. I CAREFULLY pick a corner up with the tip of an x-acto blade and remove each mask slowly. Whew... windscreen looks ok! Let's take a look at the cockpit from the outside. There is a lot of light residue in the panel lines and rivets from the Micromeshing of the salt fading. I'll carefully scrub these areas with a damp brush and, if necessary, re-darken the recessed details with a wash. Troy Molitor, Dennis7423, TAG and 16 others 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 You have to be very pleased John. And relieved. I know what it feels like peeling that tape off the transparency. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggTim Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 All I can think of to say contains cuss words preceded by "Holy". Thunnus, TAG and mc65 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 Wonderful progress John! A build to be proud of. What did you use to represent the rubber tubing on the fuel line? It looks really realistic Matt. Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaxos345 Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 Awesome!!!!!! John Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 Thanks guys! Last update for today... getting ready to glue the landing gear legs into place. Based on the tight fit of the pegs into the mounting holes and end of the landing gear cover shimming tightly into a slot at the skinny end of the wheel well, there is hardly any wriggle room. So I get what I get and hopefully it'll be symmetric and close to acceptable. I made up a new aft fuel line... I think it looks better. If you recall, I fabricated the fuel lines using a curved piece of stretched clear sprue for the glass elbows, short sections of brass tubing and copper wiring. The silver bands are thin strips of aluminum tape. Masks for the lights have been removed. The light on top of the fuselage spine was formed with clear UV-activated epoxy. Surface tension creates a natural spherical shape. While the epoxy was still in its liquid state, I tilted the fuselage forward to create the tear-drop effect and locked it into place by shining a UV light on it. Dennis7423, MikeMaben, Isar 30/07 and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 Excellent work as always, John. Your builds are really reaching stratospheric levels these days! Kev Thunnus, levier and JayW 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 (edited) Beautiful. A couple of comments from your PITA follower: 1. That little slot behind the canopy is for the VHF spike antenna. Have we seen that detail yet? The slot looks awfully small. 2. LG - I do not trust that Trumpeter oriented the gear slot to give a perfect gear orientation. Neither the 12 deg rake angle nor the 3 deg splay angle. They just aren't that good. Even Tamiya got the 1/32 P-51 rake angle wrong by a few deg, one of the reasons I didn't keep mine when I made it. If those angles are right, then I would be pleasantly surprised. Is there a way to eyeball that orientation in its current state and see if it's close? If you can and it is wrong, there has to be a way to fix it especially with your demonstrated talents for correcting disasters. Maybe it's just me, but LG orientation is one of the more important aspects of a model WRT convincing realism IMO. If it's off, immediately the model doesn't look real anymore to my eye. FW190 and P-38 are good examples - it's gotta be right. 3. Are you going to dirty up the interior trailing edge cove in front of the flaps? Get it about as weathered as the gear bay and I'd be happy with it. It's going to show with flaps deployed. Edited May 28, 2023 by JayW Thunnus, Woody V and Antonio Argudo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted May 28, 2023 Share Posted May 28, 2023 It's so close to the finish line now John! Thanks for the explanation the fuel line, they look great. Matt Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 28, 2023 Author Share Posted May 28, 2023 Thanks for the comments guys! Checking the landing gear alignment. Like I said, it's plug and chug sort of deal and it looks ok to me but if you measure things in angles, it may not be 100% accurate. Although I've not yet glued the landing gear legs into place, the inner landing gear doors are fitted at this time. The small slot on the fuselage spine accommodates the antenna mast, which will be one of the last things I glue into place. I've also fabricated a bead sight from brass tubing and will be glued later on as well. The interior of the flap openings will be weathered a bit, starting with some chipping using a sponge. The brass gun blast tubes are pushed into place. They are a tight friction fit and don't need any glue to keep them in place. The masks from the sliding canopy are removed. I have the option of placing the canopy in the open or closed position. Ok... after a deep breath, I went ahead and glued the landing gear legs into place. Once the glue is dry, I'll mount the wheels and she'll be on her feet. Finish line is definitely in sight. patricksparks, D.B. Andrus, easixpedro and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scale32 Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 Looking the goods. Cheers Bevan Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted May 29, 2023 Share Posted May 29, 2023 So close to done! Go John! Can't wait to see it down on its wheels. Must be rare to see a Thunderbolt with Olive Drab gear legs How'd you make the little bead for the top of the sight? Thunnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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