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"Rat 55" NT-43A Build


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Next up was to thicken the wing root to match the fuselage. For this I used some scrap Evergreen plastic tubing and lots of test fitting.

rsz_1rsz_20200626_222759.jpg

Edited by f5guy
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The last thing that I did was to add a couple of what I believe to be reinforcing straps to the rear of the fuselage where the empennage connects. Once again, Evergreen strip was used. All for now. Fred 

rsz_20200626_230606.jpg

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Hi guys,

     I had some free time the other day and got the engines glued to the wings. Like everything with this kit thus far, the fit wasn't perfect, but not really too bad. I no doubt could have made it better by taking a little more time test fitting! There is a gap between the engines and the wings. Depending on whether you slide the engine forward or to the rear determines where the gap will be. I decided that it would be easier to fix the gap if it were at the rear......

rsz_20200702_140231.jpg

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Pieces of plastic scrap were glued into the gaps, and once dry, gap filling super glue was put on. They will be sanded tonight.

rsz_20200702_140347.jpg

Edited by f5guy
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Next up was finishing off the tail. The kit provides horizontal blade antenna's (?) for the top of the tail. I decided to make my own with thinner plastic. An hour, and 10+ failed attempts later to get two that look the same, I decided that the kit parts would work just fine 😅 The small intakes near the base of the tail are engine vents from a Fujimi 72nd MiG-21 that were reshaped a bit.  Fred.

rsz_11rsz_20200702_140324.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys,

     Over the last week I was able to get a few things done despite a busy work schedule. Next up I fixed the nose gear leg which had been broken off during sanding of the fuselage. I drilled out both ends of the legs and glued in part of a cut scribing/sewing needle. However, when inserting the lower portion of the leg onto the needle, the side of the leg blew out.... DOH!!

rsz_20200713_220237.jpg

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So I ended up removing the entire lower portion of the leg and rebuilding it with some plastic tubing with a small hole in the middle. It is pinned inside, so it should be plenty strong enough to support the kit.

rsz_1rsz_20200718_094706.jpg

Edited by f5guy
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Now it was time to put the main gear legs on. Normally I would wait to put any gear legs on a kit until after it has been painted, decaled, gloss coated, flat coated, and weathered. However, with this kit, I wanted to make sure I got the vertical tail straight and figured that it would be easier to do if the model was on its legs. The kits gear legs will take some trimming to get them to fit into the wells. However, for a short run kit, they are nicely detailed, and sufficiently strong enough to support the kit. Unfortunately, once on its legs, I discovered that the wings are not level with each other. I thought that I had them lined up good, but not so 🤬 So this kit won't be getting entered into any contests, but it will still look good in my display case.

rsz_11rsz_20200718_094640.jpg

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Next I glued on the vertical tail. With some test fitting and filing, the fit was good, only requiring a bead of Microscale's Micro Krystal Clear thick glue along the seam at the bottom to fair it in. I put the stabs on just to see what it looks like. I like it! Next up is to start adding the various fuselage photo etch detail parts. I won't be using the kit provided p/e for the vortex generators. I will cut some plastic strip and use that instead. I find it so much simpler, and cleaner,  to glue on plastic parts with plastic glue as opposed to metal parts with super glue! I also got the wheels done up, which can be seen in the upper right side of the pic in a plastic cup. They went together quite nicely. Some folks don't like rubber wheels, but I personally do. Hopefully there won't be any problems with them melting the hub plastic though. All for now. 😁 Fred K.

rsz_1rsz_11rsz_20200718_094618.jpg

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1 hour ago, jenshb said:

Are the wingroots at the same height on the fuselage, or could it be that one gear leg is slightly longer than the other?

 

Nope..... it was all me not getting the wings lined up correctly. I thought that I had, but I was wrong! Fred.

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  • 1 month later...

Fred,  All I can say is Wow!  Your resourcefulness at fixing the porblems as they arise, your deisre to get it right, and yoru perseverance are incredible!  Thanks for sharing your progress.  The only critique I have is that the vertical tail seems to be too far forward.  But, now that I look at the T-43 side on photo from the Wiki page, it appears that you do have it right!  I am not familiar with the 737-200 / T-43, so my fault.  My eyes are just getting too old.  Must get new glasses.  K/r, Dutch

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