Jump to content

1/32 Trumpeter P-38L Lightning- "Kicked Up A Notch"


Recommended Posts

Chuck,

I'm a huge fan of TLCP and It's my go-to choice for filling areas too large to consider using cyanoacrylate. I also use it extensively for material build-up in areas where I want to re-do a surface or change the shape of something. There are however a couple of pointers if you're going to use the stuff:

1) Strong sunlight is by far the best curing source for TLCP......I've had some success with light bulbs but sunlight works best. Once dry you can do almost anything with it.

2) When used as a filler or shape changer on contoured surfaces, It's really hard to not have undulations due to the nature of hand sanding. Flat surfaces are easy cause you can use a flat sanding stick but my experience with this stuff, as well as any other medium used as a filler over contoured surfaces is that undulations can be a problem. I used TLCP extensively on the coaming of my A-6 and I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend a tremendous amount of time sanding, re-applying the stuff and sanding again, and again, and again.

Once again.....Good Luck!

Elmo

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

I'm a huge fan of TLCP and It's my go-to choice for filling areas too large to consider using cyanoacrylate. I also use it extensively for material build-up in areas where I want to re-do a surface or change the shape of something. There are however a couple of pointers if you're going to use the stuff:

1) Strong sunlight is by far the best curing source for TLCP......I've had some success with light bulbs but sunlight works best. Once dry you can do almost anything with it.

2) When used as a filler or shape changer on contoured surfaces, It's really hard to not have undulations due to the nature of hand sanding. Flat surfaces are easy cause you can use a flat sanding stick but my experience with this stuff, as well as any other medium used as a filler over contoured surfaces is that undulations can be a problem. I used TLCP extensively on the coaming of my A-6 and I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend a tremendous amount of time sanding, re-applying the stuff and sanding again, and again, and again.

Once again.....Good Luck!

Elmo

Thanks for those tips Elmo! It's kind of what I thought.

Link to post
Share on other sites

HI Chuck!

FIrst,I'm always amazed by your skills and this project is not exception!

I'm very sorry for your GOOP' problem;I became a huge fan of LS and I use it almost exclusively when I need to recribe panel and rivet,I'm using it even in my current A-4 GB project.But in your case you need a huge quantity that,curing time apart,can add other plastic melting issue.

So,why not add some plasticard as primary filling material? Using the CA as glue, you can able to start the sending very fast as you know,and with some Tamiya extra thin glue you can blend the peripherical edge of the plasticard quiet smooth.The normal sanding process will assure you a very clean job and the rescribing at this point don't show any problem. I was forced to use this process a couple of time and you can't notice nothing on the finished build.

Just a suggestion...

Gianni

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

Looking forward to the results of your experiment.

to bond lead weights into a confined area I use Thick Gel CCA, but just enough to hold them in place. Once dry, I fill the area with used Blu-Tac. Never had any issues with weights moving, nor issues with the surrounding plastic.

Joel

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the tips guys. A very minor update.

EDIT: It has come to my attention that the drilled hole idea came from Joel first, so I apologize to Joel for not giving him credit for doing so.

I drilled holes in all the depressions last night (11 in all) to let the GOOP degas, if that is indeed what has caused this problem. When drilling the holes I was shocked at how soft the plastic was. It was sort of like drilling through hard cheese, it was that soft. Left overnight, the plastic is already getting quite hard, so I am now certain the solvents in the GOOP were trapped in the gun cavity, causing the melting of the plastic. Further, that piece of plastic above covered in GOOP is still rock hard and nothing is melting. It has only been overnight, but I'm now leaning towards thinking it will never deform as long as the GOOP is exposed to air circulation. This is why it worked on the wings with no problem, I think, but we'll see in a few days if this theory is correct.

I know, I know, there's a bunch of you out there thinking, "why in hell did he use GOOP in the first place"?, because I would think the same thing. Well, I tested in on plastic before I used it on the wings and I had no problem with it whatsoever, which I suspect will happen again to the test piece. I think this experience is similar to spraying lacquer paint on a model. Left to air dry, it works great and the little bit of bite it creates in the plastic is a positive thing. If you stuck the model in a plastic bag right after painting, I think you'd have a melted mess in an hour.

BTW, if my theory is correct, I will still use GOOP again. It is super strong, sticks to the plastic like crazy and is flexible. I don't know of anything else that would be better for adhering the chopsticks to the wings, although a flexible epoxy might be just as good.

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Z12O6zfo5oy.JPG

This stuff has become my go-to CA. It's got a bit of flex, is thick but not too thick, and dries fairly quickly. I've never gobbed on huge amounts to anything, and the heat of curing may cause problems. Best of luck!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Chuck,

That's sucks ball mate. Not able to tell you how to fix it as my solution would be to bin it. My patience levels are pretty short.

However, for future weights, may I suggest making a slurry out of white wood glue and lead shot. Not sure if it would be appropriate on your build. I sometimes use blue tac with lead shot as well if the slurry method isn't appropriate.

As always...great job. Ataboy ;)

Link to post
Share on other sites

As always...great job. Ataboy ;)

LOL, thanks.

A minor update. I have now drilled many, many holes in the depressions for a couple of reasons. Besides venting the cavity, I am also removing damaged plastic at the same time. I could have cut all the plastic out, but right now the "Swiss Cheese" is providing a nice matrix for me to work with when I fill the cavities. With all the new holes, the surface area of the damaged plastic to air has increased dramatically and it is now getting nice and hard.

I have also decided to fill the cavities with Tamiya Light Curing Putty, as experimented with above. After drying for a week, this stuff still scribes easily and I can poke holes in it without chipping, so it appears to have all the properties I need for this tricky repair. Thanks for all the tips so far, but I think this putty could be my magic bullet. I think I'll wait another week for it to dry before doing this though, because I don't want any more bad surprises!

Link to post
Share on other sites

What a disaster, and what a come back.. nice to see it is all sorted out now.

I own a tube of Tamiya Light Curing Putty that I forgot that I have, will have to try it out next time I need something puttied. But the "strong sunlight" thingy is a bit tricky to come by during model building season here in Sweden.. I hope LED light will work too.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This has turned into an epic struggle between man and miniature! No doubt that with your patients, you will prevail.

Cheers,

Duane

Hi Duane! Yes, this has been a struggle and to tell you the truth, the front gun area actually looks MUCH worse than before. LOL, I'm such a dummy for placing GOOP inside a model and thinking it wouldn't do something bad. Oh well, I have another BIG SAVE coming soon- or at least that's the plan.

While I'm waiting for the plastic to dry just a bit more, my wife and I headed out to the country to enjoy the fall colors. As I often do in my WIP threads, here's a non-modeling pic to take my mind off modeling for a few days.

Fall1.jpg

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks guys. I'll take the pics down when I have some real modeling to post, but sometimes I need a break from modeling, especially when I'm having problems with the build.

I worked on the P-38 last night and I think I have almost everything fixed. I'll try to post something fairly soon.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Very beautiful country Chuck. It reminds me of when I went to Montana in 2012. My trip also included a "Jaunt" into Canada north of Whitefish, Montana. Miles and miles of rolling hills and greenery. Let me also congratulate you on your feature article about your A-10C in FSM and hope the Lightning's "nose job" repair comes through for you!

-Mark

Link to post
Share on other sites

After sanding, it filled the depressions fairly well and took the scriber and rivet tool without chipping. Here it is with a dark wash to reveal any flaws. There is some leakage at the top where the needle hole made the putty pop away from the plastic, probably because it was so thin, while the bottom looks pretty good.

LightPutty4.jpg

Excellent tutorial! Some queries ( since I have a tube of Tamiya Light Curing Putty but have yet to use it ) :

1)After applying the TLCP, how long did you have to wait before sanding?

2) How long before you can start scribing and rivetting on the TLCP?

Thanks in advance :thumbsup:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Guys!

Very beautiful country Chuck. It reminds me of when I went to Montana in 2012. My trip also included a "Jaunt" into Canada north of Whitefish, Montana. Miles and miles of rolling hills and greenery. Let me also congratulate you on your feature article about your A-10C in FSM and hope the Lightning's "nose job" repair comes through for you!

-Mark

Thanks Mark. It's nice to see another one of my models in print again.

October 2, 2015

The most important thing I’ve learned as a modeler over the last 8 years is that almost any problem or mistake can be fixed. Some problems are not so bad, while others, like the mistake I made above using GOOP as an adhesive for the lead weights in an enclosed space, are potentially tragic. How the heck do you fix a sink hole that goes across a curve with a panel line and rivets? To make matters worse, it’s at the very front of the model, where any flaw, especially in a NMF, will stick out like a sore thumb.

Sit down, before you look at these pics. They look quite horrible, especially after almost 11 months of work. The sink holes actually got worse, as whatever was trying to evaporate from the GOOP attacked the plastic. After some suggestions here and at LSP, I decided to drill holes in the depressions for the following reasons:

1) The holes provide some venting to the gun cavity where the GOOP is trying to dry.

2) More holes = less damaged plastic to deal with later

3) The remaining plastic has a lot more surface area for the plastic to dry out

4) The holes provide a matrix for a filler to adhere to

Again, cover your eyes!

3NoseFix.jpg

5NoseFix.jpg

8NoseFix.jpg

Even the left side got it. While I waited 2 weeks for the plastic to dry, I sanded down the sides of the nose to make all panels flush, including the wind screen dry fitted with tape.

6NoseFix.jpg

To fill the craters I was going to use Tamiya Light Curing Putty, but I decided against that because when the putty is thin, it doesn’t take a needle to create a rivet hole without lifting the putty. Ordinary CA glue, which I am very familiar with, seemed like the best solution. To use CA glue as a filler, especially in deep holes, you must put it down in thin layers so that it will dry. If you place too much CA glue on a given spot, it will eventually wrinkle and twist as the deeper portion of the glue struggles to dry. It must also lie flat, so for the side depression, I flipped the model onto its side on my chair in order to dry horizontally.

9NoseFix.jpg

I did the same to the nose area, applying a thin layer of CA glue, letting it dry a bit before applying accelerator, then applying another coat until the glue was built up above the plastic. After sanding the glue down while fresh and easy to sand, I re-scribed the panels lines and re-punched the rivets using a needle in a pin vice while the CA glue was still soft. Since the glue dries almost clear, it’s very hard to tell where you might have flaws.

10NoseFix.jpg

11NoseFix.jpg

When everything was sanded down to my satisfaction using my eyes and hands to look for and feel depressions, I gave the nose area a quick coat of Alclad Aluminum to check for flaws. Alclad is shiny, so any flaws will stick out and it’s very thin, so I won’t get any paint build-up in the panel lines or rivets. Sure enough, there were a few very small depressions along the edges of the CA glue, so I applied some thinned Tamiya putty to these areas and let it dry for a day.

12NoseFix.jpg

After the putty was sanded down one more time, I sprayed some more Alclad Aluminum to check for remaining flaws. So far, so good!

13NoseFix.jpg

14NoseFix.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

No Photoshop, I promise!

15NoseFix.jpg

Now that I like what I see, I removed all of the Alclad with paint thinner, because I want a uniform surface of gloss black lacquer under all of the paint.

Now a small tip. As mentioned earlier, the wing tips have a very thin tab that is easily broken. I was using some cardboard folded over the wings to prevent breakage earlier, but when I’m sanding down the sides of the fuselage, some more foam pipe wrapped around both wing tips allowed me to rest the model on the wings without fear of damage as I sanded and added rivet detail.

7NoseFix.jpg

And one last closing comment on the GOOP I used to reinforce the wings and secure the weights in the nose. Left to dry with good air circulation, it does not attack the plastic as I had tested earlier when I attached the chop sticks to the wings. This piece of test plastic had a thick layer of GOOP applied 2 weeks ago. The glue is fairly hard now and you can drill a hole through it easily.

2NoseFix.jpg

More importantly, on the other side, the plastic has not been compromised in any way. It is still hard and solid, with no depressions.

1NoseFix.jpg

Lesson learned. If I ever feel the need to use GOOP again ( I will REALLY need to use it if I do), don’t enclose the glue before it has a chance to dry.

I’m calling this big step, SAVE # 7, 8 & 9! Thanks for checking in.

Cheers,

Chuck

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...