Kinetic Hornet nose job

[seawinder]

A number of build reviews of Kinetic's 1/48 Hornet kits suggest the possibility of cutting off the dorsal nose extension of the top fuselage piece and installing it separately. I'm going to be starting one of the kits in the near future and would appreciate hearing from anyone who actually did that procedure: How did it work, and what was the resulting modification needed at the cockpit end, if any?

Thanks! Pip

[Thadeus]

I did that, but inadvertly. I was dryfitting the nose to the upper fuselage and kind of broke the one attachment point. It was a while ago, but I remember there were some issues with the refueling door fit. It gets foggy in memory, especially since I actually broke the nose off after attaching it. The result was a total mess at the joint. But I kind of managed to sort it out. 

Mind You, I built the first Kinetic boxing, and indeed there was trouble fixing the windscreen to the nose and I just used some putty to blend it in. In the end, the result is OK-ish. The Starboard side gave me more trouble and I'm not 100% happy with it.  I ended up obliterating all the detail on the front lower lip of the windscreen. I also remember doing some sanding on the instrument panel coaming or it's front attachment lip. I hear it's all better in recent boxings.

 

My advide, whichever road You take, do a lot of dryfit.

 

Here are close ups of the area.

 

 

[seawinder]

Thanks! That certainly doesn't look like a disaster.

[tomthegrom]

The refuelling door isnt the best fit and I needed to carefully thin the bottom edge of the windscreen. The nose joint actually turned out to be not bad at all on mine. Go slowly and it will be sweet. 

[seawinder]

Thanks tomthegrom. I'll keep your tip about thinning the windscreen in mind. I guess I'll dryfit the top fuselage assembly when I get to that point and decide then whether or not to make the cut.

[Scooby]

I saw a build in the last week where the builder solved this issue, I think it was at Brexit modeler. The issue is actually at the back of the fuselage. He offset that join by shaving it down. He glued the fuselage top and bottom starting at the front and worked his way back. I’ll see if I can find the build, the visuals will explain it better.

[HOLMES]

Hello Pip,

look forward to your build.

[seawinder]

7 hours ago, HOLMES said:

Hello Pip,

look forward to your build.

Thanks! I'm planning to use the TwoBobs sheet for the 60 Years of NORAD scheme. It's a real eye-catcher in blue and white.