Hi Chaps

Tomic has persuaded me to upload some photos of my build .

The instructions and parts have you jumping around the airplane which while keeping the build fresh I do actually hate, so I create a log of what parts come with what delivery and where they go on the aircraft and what stage/delivery the instructions are. When complete the log is updated as complete and that tells me exactly where I am and if I make a total pigs ear what I have to re-order I often make notes on that section that will help me with other parts of the build.

The first thing I am going to look at is the wing ribs and detailing. Like Morrigan (hi there) I decided to change the way the rib supports are fitted and go with how they were originally done. At this scale this mod is a nice one to do but does require accuracy and a steady hand. The U shaped Truss is easier to mod than the Tube and there is plenty of work to be done. Having said that, It does improve the look of the rib 100% and is worth considering.

For the method please see Morrigans build on that.

I started on this more than once due to a glue Issue. With this build being in Aluminium then soldering is out of the question. This leaves us with 2 part epoxy ( I hate this stuff. I always mix too much and/or in the wrong mixture ratio) or superglue.

Superglue is good stuff, but the hormal stuff seems to have strength problems with metal, so thanks to a momber on another board I sat down late at night and read everything on the Loctite site about their glue(s) and relative applications.

I finally settled on Loctite 496. It bonds metal well enough for our needs but doesn't have a very fast grab which could be useful. It's grab is slightly slower than normal superglue but not by much so dry fits and accurate work is the name of the game. Fit at least twice, glue once!



Above we have a rib (no 21) plus a section of Truss and Tube. Rather than cut to lengths in the instructions I measured and cut directly from the rib.



THe first section of bracing is fitted with notches in each end and then slid into place after a couple of dry fits and minor adjustments using my Proxxon with flexible attachment and a thin cutting disc. While I prepare the next one the glue is curing. By the time I am ready to fit the next brace then the glue has cured.



THis shows the three front braces in position and glued. Now it is time for the U-shaped Truss. THe method is the same and like the tube, the speed dial on my proxxon is at the lowest available.



The above picture shows the complete rib. My methos of working is with the tube at the front of the rib, start at the front and work back and with the Truss, start at the back and work to the front. In essence you work to the middle from the front and rear.

THese last two photos show completed and painted Ribs for the Port (left) wing. Before painting each rib is given a quick going over with a brass wired rotatry brush just to remove any smeared glue.






Comments and thoughts more than welcome

James

Metallic cylinders certainly seem to stand out better than black and don't hide as a much of the detail.

Cool build Snap

very nice work

Thanks Kev

I am currently working on the wheels. More pictures shortly


James

Lets take a look at the cockpit.

The more I delve into this section the more I realise that it would be much easier to place the sidewall parts while the cockpit frame is in two halves and then join it together. This will give you more room to move around.

I also realised that as more and more things get added then obviously you have less room to work in. This made me think very carefully on just how I was meant to fix this section to the wings with everything in place. I then had a test build of all the major components that I have put together to date, some complete, some not, but as always not totally fixed down as who knows what is going to turn up yet!

The 0.7mm holes the instructions tell you to drill into the tabs at the bottom of the cockpit side frames are for the micro screws that we have been getting for the wings. In my humble opinion when you start the cockpit and drill the holes is the right time to put these screws in place as it may prove to be a right fiddle otherwise when it is time to actually put the thing together and this WILL cause an endless amount of frustration and bad language. TO make sure that the screws stay in place a bit of the tamiya yellow masking tape around easch screw and tab will keep the screw in place and make sure it doesn't go AWOL.

The first thing I have done is to do lots of painting. Any paint that comes off during building can be re-touched up later with a brush.

I first assembled the fuel tank to the firewall. I would rather fo this when both parts are off the model than as per the instructions tru and slip it in when most of the parts are in place. WIth something this big, for me the rule of thumb is KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.







Once the glue has cured I can then put the firewall in place with some glue etc and clamp until cured.



I then moved to the rear of the cockpit and assembled all the frames and then fitted all the components. Any wiring and plumbing should be not to hard, but there again I don't know if we will get the parts or the diagrams to do this yet.











After I had done this I noticed that one of the components I had put in had an ampty space in the back of it and it was noticable. There are lots of these in the cockpit area and it is time to do a mod to make these things look better and rather than leave a hole in there, some sheet styrene cut to fit and then painted up makes these parts look much better.

I will cover this in my next post.

James