f5guy Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited June 27, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 The wings are on now after much test fitting and trimming of the wing spars. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 (edited) The fit wasn't too bad, but some filling will still be necessary. Edited June 27, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted June 27, 2020 Author Share Posted June 27, 2020 (edited) 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 Edited June 27, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 Fred, Beautiful work. I am enjoying watching your progress. It reminds me to do the same. K/r, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 27, 2020 Share Posted June 27, 2020 She's looking good and starting to take shape. Keep up the great work Fred. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted June 28, 2020 Share Posted June 28, 2020 Looking good Fed, I think I will borrow your wing root fix when I build my BPK kit Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) 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...... Edited July 4, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) Pieces of plastic scrap were glued into the gaps, and once dry, gap filling super glue was put on. They will be sanded tonight. Edited July 4, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited July 4, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 (edited) Now its starting to look like a T-43! Fred. Edited July 4, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Really love your work, for sure it will look great when finished 🙂 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Looks good Fred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 Wow! You are really making progress on this project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SteveV22FE Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 WOW!! This is a great build! Keep it up!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 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!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited July 18, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited July 18, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 (edited) 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. Edited July 18, 2020 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 On 7/17/2020 at 8:37 AM, SteveV22FE said: WOW!! This is a great build! Keep it up!! Thanks Steve! I'm glad that you're enjoying the build ;0) Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenshb Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Are the wingroots at the same height on the fuselage, or could it be that one gear leg is slightly longer than the other? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Looking good Fred. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 This is quite a build with its record of decisions and processes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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