Kurt H. Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) I made the time tonight (this morning) to continue this build. These assemblies go inside the engine nacelles, they are the ducting for the engines I will use a bit of jet exhaust metalizer on the exhaust end to make this look somewhat authentic Next up, a very liberal application of mr surfacer 500 on the flap actuator fairings, I will go over this with a q tip dipped in thinner. This would be hard to sand and a mess to apply putty in these areas And my rather high-tech brush-holder-in-the-thinner-bottler Till next time, remember ..... "No kit too large" Edited August 10, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 The Mr. Surface did not work as I hoped, I managed to pretty much get all the Mr Surfacer out instad of just the Excess, so I decided on plan B ... Putty and sanding Here we are after sanding two of the fairings And more sanding It is a lot of effort for an area I probably will not see, but leaving a step in a exterior part just bothers me. I decided to put the wing aside and airbrush the exhaust end of the trunking I showed you last time This is testors jet exhaust metalizer. The effect is a bit darker than I thought it would be but should suffice, since it is not exposed much. Now there are no more hold ups for assembling the engine nacelles. Till next time, remember to measure once, and cut twice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Don't you hate when a plan does not come together Kurt? Looks like you have recovered nicely there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 On my day off I had some time to spend on the A400M I assembled the 4 engine nacelles I will let them set for a day or so to ensure the cement is fully set before Putty / Sand/ repeat Next, I found windows need to be install in the landing gear pod halves. I guess these are landing lights, once again using epoxy And finally, another round of putty/sand/repeat on the fuselage. Hopefully the fuselage will be done with this round, once the seam is done, I can install the undercarriage pods. And I have also reached that point where the sprues are mostly empty, always encouraging. Till next time... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Saw MI 5 last night and the A400 featured in the opening scenes. Are we going to see a 1/72 Tom Cruise hanging off the para door? :D Your progress is making me very tempted to start mine, looks like it is going together fairly easily Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Saw MI 5 last night and the A400 featured in the opening scenes. Are we going to see a 1/72 Tom Cruise hanging off the para door? :D/> Your progress is making me very tempted to start mine, looks like it is going together fairly easily :thumbsup:/> That would make a cool diorama. The kit has been pretty fun to build so far. The only things to watch out for are the sprue attachment points, and the lugs molded into many of the parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Finally had the time to get back to the bench. First order of business was the engines. I puttyed one up last week, and sanded away. The others also needed putty after a round of sanding, so these will need to set for a bit for all that putty to dry I had another round of sanding to do on the fuselage, which completed the seam. I went through 220-320-400-600 sandpaper grades and now the seam is done. I will need to restore some panel lines I also knocked the putty back on the trailing edge of the wing, this was sink marks and fairing in the flap actuator housings Next milestone will be mating the wing to the fuselage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I didn't expect this kit to require so much filling. Oh well I am used to it :D When you come to fit the wing to the fuselage expect some more. I have seen other builds where there is a gap along the rear seam though the other builders did not mention filling in other areas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 I have cemented the engines to the wing then the next day ... putty sand repeat And the tail is on as well I found one spot on the wing which needed more putty, so wing to fuselage mating will have to wait. I reckon it might be best to mount the side pods before the wing, which also means installing the landing gear struts, which I do not want to break. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Fill, sand, repeat :D nice to see this one still progressing Kurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) Thanks Trojan Thunder. I am using up a lot of sandpaper on this one. I just hate seams and gaps. Edited September 8, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Thanks Trojan Thunder. I am using up a lot of sandpaper on this one. I just hate seams and gaps. Me too! It is very annoying when you think you have them beat and they appear out of no where ( just as you are placing the last decal!) :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Fill. Sand. Curse, as required. Repeat. All are necessary evils but well worth it in the end. Nice work Kurt. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 (edited) I took on very important part of any aircraft model, but especially so on a model like this. The glass .... a seam around the glass can really let a bomber / airlifter type model down. In fact, I never have done this properly, and as I though about it, I have not completed a model like this since I was in high school, though I almost finished a 1/72 b-52 15 years ago, but that is another boring story for another time. Sprue Brothers has the Eduard masks for this kit. But at the time I bought it, I had to search for A-400M (not A400M) I opted to apply the masks before glueing on the glass. Maybe not a great idea? I attached it very carefully with weldon and a touch n' flow Though it looks ok in this picture, it did not fit well. So I used putty to fill in the gaps. As you have probably surmised by reading this thread, I do tend to use too much putty. I forgot to take a picture ... but here we are after quite a bit of sanding and quite a bit to go... Still needs finer grades of sandpaper, and re-scribing, butThat will look great once painted. I was a bit worried about hitting the mask with sandpaper and sanding through. While polishing it out is pretty easy, it would have been a waste of the mask. Any way, I also finished up the wing, I had to fix several self inflicted issues .. gluey finger prints, glue spots, etc I test fit the side pods and saw the top part fit well, and the wing did not , so I opted to glue on the wing, since with the pod not in place, I will have better access to the wing root seam. My test fitting, and the FSM review of this kit indicated a large gap, so to avoid using tons of putty I glued on a shim of .030 styrene on each side and the wing is on... In test fitting it looked ok, but as often happens to me, once the glue is on, it just does not fit as well Oh well, that is why they make putty and sand paper! till next time, do not go 10-100 with super glue on your fingers. Edited September 15, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I tend to mask windscreens before fitting theses days to protect them from sanding. The wing join seem was expected, I have seen a couple of in progress threads on this kit and both had to fix up the seams at the top of the fuselage. This is looking damn good Kurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mario krijan Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Nice work so far!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 You're doing a really good job Kurt. A little flub here and there is to be expected. That's part of modelling. Keep at it and before you know it, you'll be finished. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Putty Party! After sanding the seams, it was clear some putty was in order, so out came the 3M Acryl Blue on the top, a good amount was used, but it is not too thick and underneath (both sides are similar) I think I will take advantage of putty drying time and start assembling the wheels.... this might take a while Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 This week I did 3 rounds of Putty Sand Repeat. The wing roots have been beat into submission on the bottom On the top, I found one more spot which needed an additional spot of putty ... sanding will commence tomorrow The tail seam cooperated with one application of Mr. Surfacer, followed by a lacquer soaked Q tip I did manage to pop the seam arounf the bottom from the nose, past the nose gear bay an inch or so. It would not come together with plastic cement, so I had to use thin CA, then sand, and putty/sand/repeat, but now it looks good Next, I glued on the tops of the pods. Fit was very good. I also assembled the wheels, but forgot to take a picture. Next up is mounting the under carriage brackets, then the bottom half of the pods. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Almost ready for paint Kurt Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 It is time for another update The airframe is almost done. I struggled and finally beat down the side pods with some heavy duty PSR (putty sand repeat) So, let us go back to shortly after our last update, when I left you last time, I glued the tops on the pods to the fuselage. The next step was to install these undercarriage brackets. I used thin CA, also evident is some putty on low spots, and where the seam split last time While that was setting, I assembled the refueling probe Next up, these bulkheads were inserted. Both sides are similar next, they were glued in place uh oh.. nasty seam! (maybe I messed up the bulkheads) but the other side was not so bad So here is the solution ... thick n' quick This took a while to set due to the humidity, (a week straight of rain) and thick application. Tonight I found parts of the seam on the bottom needed a little help Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 I had to break up the post as it got too long.... So some careful thin putty work While that set I finished sanding the cockpit glass That should look good once the model is painted I turned my attention to some heavy duty sanding and now It looks like this and the bottom Next order of business is restoring panel lines, installing the elevators, and refueling probe. Not pictured are the wheels, which have been assembled and sanded. Getting close! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Well, I am glad you tackled this one first Kurt. I have a notebook full of this to loo out for. Glad to see you are getting through this one. I think there will be a race to the finish with how our builds are going. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Quick update The Refueling probe is on, and I was able to avoid PSR by using Mr Surfacer, followed by Mr. Thinner and a Q tip Next is the little "smoke stack" or what ever it is, maybe an APU exhaust and This booger on the tail, I am now just touching up little problem areas There are about 20 little antennas to install, some one the bottom, so I might have to mount the landing gear before painting, which is something I have actually never done. Any way, till next time.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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