1/144 C-5B by Anigrand

[Fellow Hobbyist]

This GB has given me the reason to complete this project. My build was started last summer. The fuselage and wing sub-assemblies are assembled but extensive work remains. The fuselage remains to be filled and sanded. The wings, vertical tail, and engine pods are not even attached. Thus 70 to 80 percent of the build remains to be accomplished. This C-5 will be depicting a C-5B detached to the 439th Airlift Wing out of Westover ARB.

So without further adieu work has recommenced. I have started by rescribing the panel lines on the bottom wing.Some of the lines were easily scribed with the reverse side of a used hobby knife and a steel ruler. Other; as demonstrated in photo 1, require Dymo tape to act as a guide.

Photo 2 shows the opposite wing where the scribing is nearly done. The white spots are to correct marks made when the blade slipped, where some of the filler was pulled away by the Dymo tape, where the line was not smooth.

[bdt13]

Glad to see such an interesting subject. Welcome to the GB!

[Spectre711]

Get'er done! ;)/>

[Lancer512]

Okay... Here come the heavies!

I still have my old Otaki C-5A here waiting to be refurbished. I'm gonna watch your WIP thread closeley.

[Spectre711]

Any updates for us?

[Fellow Hobbyist]

While I don't have pictures I have made some modest progress. All the wing panels lines are etched. Note the very first photo in this thread the panels lines concentrated between the second and third fairing (moving towards the wingtip). That proved easier to etch than I thought. One of the problems I have had is the Dymo tape used to guide the etcher is ripping away the underlying primer and filler. I have to go back and refill the pitting that results from that, delaying getting the wings ready. Also the white filler fluid is far too soft for scribing. So in the future I will not use that for filling panel lines.

Setting that aside for now I have begun filling the seams of the fuselage. Given the size of the model I started from the top and will work down to the bottom of the model. I applied the initial coating of Bondo yesterday and let that dry overnight. I did two sanding session today and applied more Bondo afterward. There were plenty of places where the first application sank in and left a seam. I hope to tackle that tomorrow morning before work and if time start filling the seams on the sides of the plane.

One item that I need advice is the cockpit piece. Anigrand provides a single clear resin piece for the cockpit enclosure. Previous test fitting revealed it is not a great fit. The bottom edges stick out and the part seems flat. There is a step where the top of the piece meets the upper fuselage. I've heard warped parts can be heated to make them pliable and gentle pressure used to bend the part into shape. Would this technique work for a part that is effectively semi-parabolic in shape? Secondly would the heating process turn the clear resin opaque?

Edited March 26, 2013 by Fellow Hobbyist

[Spectre711]

Heat will allow you to bend the resin parts but I don't know if it will fogg the clear resin parts.

[Fellow Hobbyist]

Alternatively I have considered gluing a support structure inside the opening of the cockpit and fill that in with epoxy putty to sculpt to proper shape later. The Draw decal set I have already comes with a decal for the cockpit windows.

[Fellow Hobbyist]

The wing panels are finally all etched! I'm pleased with the results so I set aside the wings and attacked the fuselage.

So far two applications of filler has been applied to the upper fuselage and two sanding session. Another round will follow soon as there remains a visible gap along the seams. In this photo I laid down the filler heavily where all the fuselage pieces meet up and some spots on the empennage where steps and a errant pin hole remain. I hope to have the body work done by the end of the week and start mating wings to fuselage.

Dropping the cockpit enclosure in hot water did the trick. It took a couple of tries but the sides of the piece were bent inwards just enough to eliminate the step in the join between the enclosure and the fuselage. There is minute step where the sides of the enclosure meets the fuselage but it is small enough to fill and sculpt away.

Edited April 29, 2013 by Fellow Hobbyist

[Spectre711]

I was wondering how you were doing with a month to go in this GB. I would really like to her finished.

[Fellow Hobbyist]

I'm afraid I won't be ready by the July 1st deadline....but I will finish her. Most of the build time I have had has gone to my B-52H build so I must admit I neglected this model for quite awhile now.

I have actually managed to restore the ruined engine pod. It's funny. Had that sub-assembly never broke in half I would have never attempted to affect that repair. But with the two halves separated I now had the means to make the adjustments the inner diameter of the inlet as well as slather on CA/Talc to reshape the outer shroud. The oblong opening is now more or less round again.

Also I have been filling in seams on the ventral side of the plane and making the area around the main landing gear door panels flush. These door panels were warped to varying degrees resulting in giants steps protruding outward from the fuselage and huge depressions going into the gear wells.. To correct this I once again employed the CA/Talc mix; prepared to the consistency of cookie dough, and applied that to the voids. I allow this to set for several hours. Once cured I filed it smooths finishing with 320 and 400 grit sandpaper. I have already done one layer and applied a second layer to finish the job. Any more depressions will be shallow enough to use Bondo putty. As for the steps in the door panels several filings, sanding with 220, 320, and 400 grit paper, and scraping with a knife was required to bring them flush with the fuselage.

I added that same mix to the sides of the nose gear door panel. It was too small to completely cover the opening of the nose gear well; producing a large step. This will be blended to shape.

Edited June 27, 2013 by Fellow Hobbyist

[Spectre711]

Hey, S happens but I really would like to see this one as a finished project. Just try to post you progress here even though the build has ended. Whether it takes a month or a few years I would like to follow the build.;)/>

Ed

[Fellow Hobbyist]

Etching new panel lines on the fuselage has commenced. Photos to be posted soon.

[Fellow Hobbyist]

Most of the simple panel lines are etched. Today marks the start of etching the lines for all the gear doors. This will prove to be very challenging; the nose gear door panel lines particularly. The compound curvature on those are more drastic than what is encountered around the mains.

The tools of the trade.

[Spectre711]

Glad to see your still moving along with the kit on here. Things still look like there going good and the end product will should be rewarding. I can't wait to see more progress.

This reminds me that I need to get back the phantom I started here.

[Fellow Hobbyist]

One of the challenges of this project is scribing the panel lines for the nose gear doors. The curvature is more than Dymo Tape can contort to and the lines themselves are not all straight; they are compound curves themselves.

I recall something; be it a thread here on ARC or elsewhere, about layering aluminum backed duct tape and cutting templates out of the material. So here is what I did.

Firstly I traced the pattern onto a piece of masking tape. Ideally one should highlight the lines with marker on the model to aid seeing the line through the tape.

Next I laid the tape onto a piece of doubled aluminum tape. The pattern is then cut along the line to form the required template. On the right and above is a previously made template for the outer door panel on the portside.

Finally I laid the cut template onto the desired line as true to the original line as possible and burnished the template onto the model to make sure it does not move as I make passes with the scribing tools. If there happens to be filler below the template be careful not to rip it away along with the tape!

Finally I have this pair of custom hardware for the project. These are to be the bases for the wing dihedral jig. (anhedral in the the case of the C-5!)

Edited July 30, 2013 by Fellow Hobbyist