taneal1 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 (edited) Upon receipt of the "Open Box" Testor's Kit No. 588 - Lockheed YF-12A Interceptor - 1/48th scale that I purchased online, I discovered that the three Tailcone pieces (21, 22, & 23) are missing. The Testor's web site has no email address. I would prefer using email rather than their Facebook page to attempt to order replacement parts - presuming of course they have them for this old kit! Can anyone who has recently acquired replacement parts from Testor's supply Contact info? Thanks in advance for any ideas... Now for the Hail Mary pass... 🙃 Does anyone have any of these parts that they would be willing to sell? Edited January 19 by taneal1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Williams Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 I believe Testors is long gone, except for maybe making paints, and that might be gone too. The chances for getting parts for old kits from them would be zero, even if you could contact them. That kit is a rebox of an Italeri kit, which is long OOP. Good luck in your search. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 Kinda what I expected to hear. 🤣 Thanks, Dave. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 I already have 2 tailcone halves from a different YF-12A kit that are available to use as Masters to make copies. These YF-12A plastic tailcone parts are 4 1/2" long, 2 1/2" wide, 3/4" high and fairly thin, soft plastic. My only thoughts at the moment are to use the kit parts to either Vacu-Form copies, or make Molds of them and produce resin parts. But... I don't like the thought of hanging a heavy piece of resin that far aft of the main landing gear due to balance issues. And... I've never been a big fan of the thin plastic parts produced by Vacu-Forming. All things considered, Vac-ing does seem the better choice. Any suggestions for alternatives are highly welcome. Also, could I "paint" the interior of the vac'd parts with epoxy to stiffen them? Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sigtau Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Why not track down the seller, get a refund? Those parts are most likely missing from the kit because someone stole them to build an M-21 drone carrier using an SR-71 kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 (edited) Hello Sigtau, Thanks for the advice, but I purchased the kit "as is" with the knowledge that it was likely missing parts. There were no instructions with the kit, so the Seller couldn't be sure that all parts were present. Given the open bag he suspected missing parts. These kits are expensive, and this was cheap enough to take a chance. I don't think it would be too difficult to build an acceptable tail, so I'm happy with the purchase. Edited January 20 by taneal1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Go to the "Spares Box" here on ARC and list what you are looking for. Sometimes you get lucky. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 On 1/19/2024 at 4:51 PM, taneal1 said: I already have 2 tailcone halves from a different YF-12A kit that are available to use as Masters to make copies. These YF-12A plastic tailcone parts are 4 1/2" long, 2 1/2" wide, 3/4" high and fairly thin, soft plastic. My only thoughts at the moment are to use the kit parts to either Vacu-Form copies, or make Molds of them and produce resin parts. But... I don't like the thought of hanging a heavy piece of resin that far aft of the main landing gear due to balance issues. And... I've never been a big fan of the thin plastic parts produced by Vacu-Forming. All things considered, Vac-ing does seem the better choice. Any suggestions for alternatives are highly welcome. Also, could I "paint" the interior of the vac'd parts with epoxy to stiffen them? Tom Tom, Having built the Testors SR-71 kit, I don't think you have to risk this being a tail sitter. If I recall, the CG was pretty forward of the main gear and ballast was not needed. I just checked on Scalemates and they provide links to the instructions for both the SR-71 and YF-12 and neither tells you to add weight to the nose. If you do make a resin copy (recommended) you could always add some weight to the nose just to be safe. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 On 1/21/2024 at 6:45 AM, airmechaja said: Go to the "Spares Box" here on ARC and list what you are looking for. Sometimes you get lucky. Done. You're right... Sometimes you get lucky. BTW, I'm wayyyyyyyyyyy overdue for some good luck! 😠 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 18 hours ago, Drifterdon said: Tom, Having built the Testors SR-71 kit, I don't think you have to risk this being a tail sitter. If you do make a resin copy (recommended)... Don Good point Don. I forgot that although the part is fairly long and wide, it's thin enough that not much resin would be necessary, anyway. I have no experience casting in resin, so it's probably a good time for me to learn. Any thoughts regarding outgassing issues, or is that less of an issue than I recall? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) 5 hours ago, taneal1 said: Good point Don. I forgot that although the part is fairly long and wide, it's thin enough that not much resin would be necessary, anyway. I have no experience casting in resin, so it's probably a good time for me to learn. Any thoughts regarding outgassing issues, or is that less of an issue than I recall? Tom, I don't have a vaccum chanber or a pressure pot so all my castings usually have some level of bubbles. I usually try to be careful when mixing my latex for the mold as well as mixing my resin for the final part. If I did more casting on a regular basis, I'd probably invest in a post/chamber. I think though for what you are going to cast up, it would be fairly easy to fix any bubbles that crop up. Not sure if this is what you were looking for. don Edited January 22 by Drifterdon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taneal1 Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 Thanks Don, "Bubbles" are one of my concerns. Also, I recall numerous complaints over the years of out-gassing bubbles on painted resin objects. Has new paint and/or primer technology improved enough to eliminate outgassing? Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drifterdon Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 15 hours ago, taneal1 said: Thanks Don, "Bubbles" are one of my concerns. Also, I recall numerous complaints over the years of out-gassing bubbles on painted resin objects. Has new paint and/or primer technology improved enough to eliminate outgassing? Tom Tom, It's been my experience that once the resin part sets up and "dries" there is no more risk of bubbles. With my parts, I usually end up with some pin-holes on the surface of the part that is easily filled with putty or in my case, CA glue, and sanded down. I then prime and when all is good, can paint. You should be fine with this just being a tail part. Most of the attention will probably be on the forward part of the kit. don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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