ALF18 Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Looking very impressive Alf. This will be one great looking T-Bird!! Thanks Tilt! I can see the potential in it - just wish the kit were of better fit and finish. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Gee what a, a, a.... :( of a model ! When you started I'll bet you didn't think you would have to do this much reconstructing of the kit just to build the model. Good work; ;) You have more patience than me- mine would be in the dumpster and just a bad memory by now Kind of ironic, somebody telling me I'm patient - maybe I'm just too stubborn to figure out when it's time to quit?! The only thing that's keeping me going is that this aircraft is very special to me. Believe me, if it had been an aircraft type that meant little to me (say a Brewster Buffalo, or other more obscure type), I would have tried out its aerodynamic qualities from the top of a tall building... ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 28, 2010 Author Share Posted December 28, 2010 Well, i pulled my kit out of the stash to see just how bad it was. After 30 minutes of fitting and a little bit of scraping and fitting, i can see that this puppy is gonna be a LOT of work. I'm reminded of the worst ESCHI/Testors/Aurora/FisherPrice type kit. Too bad, i really like the Tbird. Gonna watch your build for pitfalls and workarounds, though i think Squadron Green might be the best workaround for the build. Good luck!!!Don Don It is a shame, isn't it? I find myself struggling with poor kits when I build some of my favourite aircraft. The Hobbycraft Tutor in 1/48 is a good example. Luckily, the (expensive) resin cockpit set fixed most of the biggest problems with it, but still didn't make up for the poor airframe details. The CF-5 in 1/32? I have the Belcher Bits conversion set for the F-5E Hasegawa kit. That may be my next contribution to this GB, but I may take a break and build a CF-100 or something simple in between. And the CF-5 in 1/48 Classic Airframes is as bad as this T-bird kit! Luckily, two of my other favourite subjects (Hornet and CF-104) are very well done by Hasegawa and Academy in 1/48 and 1/32 scales... What do you mean by "Squadron Green?" Is that a kind of putty? The colour of the waste basket? ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ken Middleton Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 wow, that is a challenging kit. And being that large, the issues are just magnified. But ALF, you are taming it so far looking forward to seeing more Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 DonIt is a shame, isn't it? I find myself struggling with poor kits when I build some of my favourite aircraft. The Hobbycraft Tutor in 1/48 is a good example. Luckily, the (expensive) resin cockpit set fixed most of the biggest problems with it, but still didn't make up for the poor airframe details. The CF-5 in 1/32? I have the Belcher Bits conversion set for the F-5E Hasegawa kit. That may be my next contribution to this GB, but I may take a break and build a CF-100 or something simple in between. And the CF-5 in 1/48 Classic Airframes is as bad as this T-bird kit! Luckily, two of my other favourite subjects (Hornet and CF-104) are very well done by Hasegawa and Academy in 1/48 and 1/32 scales... What do you mean by "Squadron Green?" Is that a kind of putty? The colour of the waste basket? ALF Yeah, i run into that problem too, sometimes. I'm also cursed by not being able to finish a Canadian build. I have 5 Canadian builds that were trashed, just can't seem to complete them. Real tempted by the Belcher Bits CF-5, would like to do in 433 Squadron. Would be great to see the BB conversion done. Squadron Green is a brand name and color of a putty/filler, works like the 3M Acryl blue auto body fill. I do have a green trash can in the house, but the one that is the hangar for the builds gone bad is white :lol: Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted December 28, 2010 Share Posted December 28, 2010 ALF, will the texture of the large puttied areas impact the look of the bmf you put over them? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 ALF, will the texture of the large puttied areas impact the look of the bmf you put over them? That's what I'm afraid of... I am presently scraping as much putty as possible off the plastic, and leaving the minimum of putty where it needs to be. I'll probably scribe some lines into the puttied areas. Luckily, the major parts where the putty goes are on the bottom, and only the intake outlines will really show. In retrospect, I probably should have used the nail polish remover technique with the putty, rather than letting it dry crusty all over the plastic. Lots of work happening now on the puttied seams - not much fun! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 That's what I'm afraid of... I am presently scraping as much putty as possible off the plastic, and leaving the minimum of putty where it needs to be. I'll probably scribe some lines into the puttied areas. Luckily, the major parts where the putty goes are on the bottom, and only the intake outlines will really show.In retrospect, I probably should have used the nail polish remover technique with the putty, rather than letting it dry crusty all over the plastic. Lots of work happening now on the puttied seams - not much fun! ALF Dont worry dan im sure its going to turn out great Cheers Neo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 ALF, its looking just like mine did. You seem to be having the exact same issues I did. I'm happy with the way mine turned out and I am positive yours is going to come out good too. Here is a reminder.At the end of the day, (with a LOT of work) it DOES look like a CT-133. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 ALF, its looking just like mine did. You seem to be having the exact same issues I did. I'm happy with the way mine turned out and I am positive yours is going to come out good too.Here is a reminder.At the end of the day, (with a LOT of work) it DOES look like a CT-133. Thanks for the motivation - I needed that! A question for you - how did you represent the vents on the nose? This kit doesn't seem to have those parts. Did you scratch-build them? If so, and hints how? ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litvyak Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 This kit looks brutal! I empathise on the puttywork, I think about 90% of the time I`ve spent so far on the Argus build has been puttying and sanding... I expect the finished product will look great, though, can`t wait to see more. It`s inspirational! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Thanks for the motivation - I needed that!A question for you - how did you represent the vents on the nose? This kit doesn't seem to have those parts. Did you scratch-build them? If so, and hints how? ALF Scratch built. two pieces of plastic card on each side measured to my best guesstamit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Prop Duster Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 That's what I'm afraid of... I am presently scraping as much putty as possible off the plastic, and leaving the minimum of putty where it needs to be. I'll probably scribe some lines into the puttied areas. Luckily, the major parts where the putty goes are on the bottom, and only the intake outlines will really show.In retrospect, I probably should have used the nail polish remover technique with the putty, rather than letting it dry crusty all over the plastic. Lots of work happening now on the puttied seams - not much fun! ALF & .... Squadron Green is a brand name and color of a putty/filler, works like the 3M Acryl blue auto body fill..Don Just a small side step and NOT a deviation or a challenge to others to start espousing their favorites, Please. There is product called Milliput which is a two part epoxy type, but has the ability, before setting, to be smoothed by a water dampened tool (ie Q tip, sculpting tool, wood stick, finger etc.) This can be done as soon a the product is placed and not as smelly as acetone. Water will even thin the mixture if a light surface coat is needed, then after it drys it is very hard (sand, scribe and buff before full set takes place) We now return you to the thread in progress without further commercial interruptions sidesteps Thank you By the way Alf, Phantom really nice work :wub: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 Concerning the Czech 1/32 T-33 ,these resin vents on the upper and lower parts of the intake----Are they molded properley, facing rearward as the real ones do. I can't tell by the pics posted, but they do look like they are facing forward, or is the lighting playing tricks on me. Please tell me it's the lighting. Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 Concerning the Czech 1/32 T-33 ,these resin vents on the upper and lower parts of the intake----Are they molded properley, facing rearward as the real ones do.I can't tell by the pics posted, but they do look like they are facing forward, or is the lighting playing tricks on me. Please tell me it's the lighting. Tony Or, Tony, I might have installed them backwards... They could have been installed either way. I had a 50% chance of getting them right - I promised to do better on my second attempt at this model! Thanks for clueing me in. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 & Just a small side step and NOT a deviation or a challenge to others to start espousing their favorites, Please. There is product called Milliput which is a two part epoxy type, but has the ability, before setting, to be smoothed by a water dampened tool (ie Q tip, sculpting tool, wood stick, finger etc.) This can be done as soon a the product is placed and not as smelly as acetone. Water will even thin the mixture if a light surface coat is needed, then after it drys it is very hard (sand, scribe and buff before full set takes place) We now return you to the thread in progress without further commercial interruptions sidesteps Thank you :blink: By the way Alf, Phantom really nice work :wub: Thanks for the hint, and the comments. If I see some of this stuff, I might pick some up. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 I got a lot done in the last couple days. Sanding was long and painful. I finally decided to go back to the nail polish remover method. Before (tailplane gaps). And after, showing how with no sanding or scraping, it does a pretty decent job. Kind of similar to that product that Prop Duster mentioned. One nice thing about kitchen foil is that masking can be non-existent. I sprayed the red and black very approximately... Then I started to foil. I decided to start with the difficult compound curves. I quickly found that the foil lifted off the black; I will touch it up with a brush later. One of the secrets is to do very small segments at a time. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 The nose is probably the most complex curves. The 'radome' (strange, no radar here...) painted area lifted off too easily. I will retouch, as mentioned earlier. Now for those pesky vents. Kind of a poor scratch-building job; I will sand this smooth after it dries in place. For the curves here, I folded the foil over the top and wrapped around to the bottom a bit. Then I did the bottom part. It looks a bit wrinkly underneath, but smooth on top. My models will never be contest winners; they are designed to look good on a shelf with minimal scrutiny. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Or, Tony, I might have installed them backwards... They could have been installed either way. I had a 50% chance of getting them right - I promised to do better on my second attempt at this model! Thanks for clueing me in. ALF The reason I asked is that it looks like Shawn installed his backwards as well. Maybe the instructions are vague in that area, perhaps ??? Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 30, 2010 Author Share Posted December 30, 2010 The reason I asked is that it looks like Shawn installed his backwards as well. Maybe the instructions are vague in that area, perhaps ???Tony Tony I wouldn't say so much vague as difficult to see. Armed with the knowledge you gave me, and when I zoom the photo, I can see how they face backward in the instructions. When I tried to make sense of them the first time, it was hard to clearly figure out which way they went. Maybe somebody with better eyesight can see it immediately... ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Here's a tip for everyone when needing plenty of filler...go to an art supply store and buy a small palette knife. They have a small rounded tip, made of thin flexible steel and really make the application of filler quite easy. You don't end up having the seam problem that ALF has on this project and you use a lot less putty. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GEH737 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 Here's some pictures I took at Tyndall AFB a long time ago - they should help with the vents. Regards, Hitch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 ALF, Looks like there are a few trials and tribulations but I have no doubt that you'll pull this one off quite well and she'll look fine. Patience buddy. Keep it up! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted December 31, 2010 Author Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) Foiling is a long and complex process. I reminded myself that any irregularities in the glue show up clearly when in place on the model. The first couple bits I applied glue to, I used an older brush that had been poorly cleaned, and it left some minor ridge lines in the glue. They are visible now on those panels. So I bit the bullet and used a new brush - the glue is now smooth on subsequent panels. Here is a non-shiny side panel, with some minor glue ridges present. Long and slow process around the nose! Here's a close-up of one wing, pretty much finished. I look at my models from much further back - it looks better at this distance! ALF Edited December 31, 2010 by ALF18 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted December 31, 2010 Share Posted December 31, 2010 It will be worth the effort. Looking great so far Dan. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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