AflamingEye Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Great, I spent countless hours tinkering the main gear bays to get the intakes to fit, and thought i had it. But when it comes time to glue them in they just do not line up, I forced them down, but when i tried to glue the top airframe piece to the lower one everything went to hell. I spent so long getting the bays to fit and filling gaps then painted and washed. Now i have to go in and perform surgery on half of the pieces just to get the intakes to fit reasonably. Bad pick for my first model in 5 years I guess, but man I thought I had these issues worked out on countless dry fit tests. AHHHHHhh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spaced Marine Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I found that the following article over on Hyperscale is very helpful when building Tomcats:F-14 Construction Article I hope it can help shed some light on you woes. I wish I could be of more help... William Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AflamingEye Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Thank you for the link. I have used it as a reference, I just thought I had the fit issues worked out. Ive been working on it though for a while now and only backing piece C16 for the main gear bay stand between me and some piece of mind. Of course then I'll have to turn my attention to the other intake.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
metroman Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 You know you may not want to, but an option is to buy the Steel Beach FOD covers, and not worry at all about the intakes. They're cheap and easy to use, and saved my sanity on that kit. Just an idea, Brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AflamingEye Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hi Brian, in hindsight, the intake covers sound like an amazing gift from God. At this point though, after getting all the intake ramps in and painted and all the hours spent on it I'd rather see it through. The gear bay pieces have already been butchered anyway to get the intakes in. My method for getting the intakes in on this model is so far off the beaten path, there's no method to the madness at this point. I'm just doing whatever I can to get the things in...pics coming to in progress once I accomplish this feat, im just worried all the grinding to get them in is going to tarnish the overall finish. This is the third major overhual on this build in regards to the intake. Definitely a coulda, woulda, shoulda kit on the first go, almost every step revealing a better way to go the next time around. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tomcatter727 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hey, I'm working on a hasegawa cat too (although I'm taking a break from it.) I found as long as you get the gear bays together, they should be alright. Or at least they were for me. If you cut a small part out of the top of the two smaller pieces that you glue into the main intake, you can slide it right in and it wont interfear. The intake ramp even in the shut position will block the area you cut out from view. Just cut a small amout, just enough for it to fit in. This is just a quick MS paint drawing but maybe you get the idea. I dont know if this is what your already doing but it did work for me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tomcatter727 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 (edited) Ohh yeah, forgot to say, the first one is a top view and the 2nd one is a side view. you remove the area in red. If you do it right you will not be able to see that there is any removed material once they are glued in. Good luck! Edited July 26, 2006 by tomcatter727 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spaced Marine Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 That's a neat tip. I'll remember it when I build my next Hasegawa Cat. And yes, the fod covers are a Godsend, even on the Monogram kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Not an easy one after a 5 year break. Took me a couple of these VERY expensive models before I was happy with them. But when they turn out, they can be a beauty. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AflamingEye Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 (edited) I disconnected the top main airframe piece from the lower...checked the intake fit on the lower piece and they fit fine...when the top airframe piece is attached to the lower, they dont line up at all for some reason. TIme to get back to work on fixing the gear bay pieces now, looks like ill have to rob some pieces from other Has cat to replace the ones I butchered in a frantic attempt to get everything to fit, its taking 2 kits just to get to one completed model looks liks Tomcatter..Thats a great tip, thanks! Edited July 26, 2006 by AflamingEye Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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