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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

IMGP7718-vi.jpg

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

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And my rather high-tech brush-holder-in-the-thinner-bottler

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Till next time, remember ..... "No kit too large"

Edited by Kurt H.
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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

IMGP7727-vi.jpg

And more sanding

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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

IMGP7732-vi.jpg

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.

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On my day off I had some time to spend on the A400M

I assembled the 4 engine nacelles

IMGP7734-vi.jpg

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

IMGP7736-vi.jpg

And finally, another round of putty/sand/repeat on the fuselage.

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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...

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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.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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

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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

IMGP7760-vi.jpg

I also knocked the putty back on the trailing edge of the wing, this was sink marks and fairing in the flap actuator housings

IMGP7763-vi.jpg

Next milestone will be mating the wing to the fuselage.

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I didn't expect this kit to require so much filling. Oh well I am used to it :D

:popcorn:

:thumbsup:

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.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have cemented the engines to the wing

IMGP7766-vi.jpg

then the next day ... putty sand repeat

IMGP7771-vi.jpg

IMGP7772-vi.jpg

And the tail is on as well

IMGP7770-vi.jpg

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.

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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.

IMGP7782-vi.jpg

Maybe not a great idea? I attached it very carefully with weldon and a touch n' flow

IMGP7783-vi.jpg

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...

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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

IMGP7781-vi.jpg

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

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and the wing is on...

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In test fitting it looked ok, but as often happens to me, once the glue is on, it just does not fit as well

IMGP7787-vi.jpg

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 by Kurt H.
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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 :thumbsup:

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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

IMGP7788-vi.jpg

and underneath (both sides are similar)

IMGP7789-vi.jpg

I think I will take advantage of putty drying time and start assembling the wheels.... this might take a while

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This week I did 3 rounds of Putty Sand Repeat. The wing roots have been beat into submission on the bottom

IMGP7794-vi.jpg

On the top, I found one more spot which needed an additional spot of putty ... sanding will commence tomorrow

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The tail seam cooperated with one application of Mr. Surfacer, followed by a lacquer soaked Q tip

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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

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Next, I glued on the tops of the pods. Fit was very good.

IMGP7796-vi.jpg

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.

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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

IMGP7797-vi.jpg

While that was setting, I assembled the refueling probe

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Next up, these bulkheads were inserted. Both sides are similar

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next, they were glued in place

uh oh.. nasty seam! (maybe I messed up the bulkheads)

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but the other side was not so bad

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So here is the solution ... thick n' quick

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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

IMGP7804-vi.jpg

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I had to break up the post as it got too long....

So some careful thin putty work

IMGP7805-vi.jpg

While that set I finished sanding the cockpit glass

IMGP7806-vi.jpg

That should look good once the model is painted

I turned my attention to some heavy duty sanding and now It looks like this

IMGP7807-vi.jpg

and the bottom

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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!

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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

IMGP7811-vi.jpg

Next is the little "smoke stack" or what ever it is, maybe an APU exhaust

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and This booger on the tail, I am now just touching up little problem areas

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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..

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