Filling windows

[lefodead]

This is probably a dumb question but what is your favorite way to fill in windows on Revell airliners? I've been doing the obvious, using Squadron putty then sanding, but my results are less than optimal. Puttying is my modeling weakness. I stink at it. I was wondering if there is some secret technique that I seem to be missing? Or, is there a better putty that can make up for my inabilities

Thanks

[boeing767mech]

I use five minute epoxy from Home Depot. I tape the outside of the fuselage and then epoxy inside. The stuff I use comes with a nozzle that mixes while you apply the epoxy. Be sure you get the nozzle into the windows so you don't get air bubbles, let it set a couple of hours. remove the tape, And just like magic you have filled in windows. You may have minor air bubbles, I have done this and just used correction fluid to fill the pin holes. After a coat of paint and some decals you will never know you have windows molded in.

David

[GCA333]

What I did just this weekend is you get the left over sprues (must be wider than the windows) cut the into strips and put glue along them (regular modelling glue works fine). Put the side with the glue againt the windows. If any goes over then windows, sand it off later with fine grit sandpaper. Then what I did I use spackel that you use to fill cracks on drywall, across the windows. Once dry (I wait 20 minutes, because its dry, but not incredebly hard) and sand it off. You might still have dimples at your windows. I did about 4-5 thin coats for each side. You sand it off so its smooth. If there are small dimples, thats ok, you can use it as a guide for decal windows.

Hope this helps!

[Jennings]

While the method I'm about to describe may sound hard, it really isn't, and it's FAR superior to any other method I've ever tried (which is all the ones listed, and then some).

Carve out the posts between the cabin windows, leaving an open strip down the side of the fuselage. If it's a really long airplane like a 747, do the individual 'cabins' as separate operations. True up the opening with emery boards so that it's more or less square along the edges.

Get yourself some sheet or square section styrene rod that's about as thick as the windows are tall (pretty thick stuff, but it's available), Cut it to the length of the opening you've just made, making sure you have plenty on the inside and *plenty* on the outside of the fuselage. Use liquid cement to secure it, then on the inside and the outside flood around the edges with super glue, then set that with accelerator. If you're really anal, slop epoxy all over the inside to make sure it stays put.

Then with either a motor tool or your roughest grit sanding sticks, start hacking away the part sticking out the outside. You may need to add more superglue if you've missed spots and left dimples, but overall, you should end up with a perfect plastic-plastic joint. This completely erases the windows.

EVERY other method I've ever used has resulted in windows that are still faintly visible, even under paint, putty, and decal, and usually they're not correct for the airplane I'm trying to do. The reason is, nothing you put into the window openings is the same density as the styrene (except more styrene), so you're either getting something too soft (putty), or too hard (epoxy putty), and regardless of how careful you are, you'll end up with visible windows.

My method completely eliminates them, and I've used it successfully for years with great results.

J

[jenshb]

I rough up the inside of the fuselage with coarse sandpaper, then wipe the dust off with isopropanol to clean the surface. Then mix a fair chunk of Milliput that I then roll into a sausage and lay over the windows on the inside. Then I press the Milliput into the windows making sure that it squeezes out the outside and leave it to cure. Sand when dry.

As Jennings mentions, even with this method I get some shallow dimples, so a few rounds of M.Surfacer, primer and micromesh will take care of that. The strip styrene method may be better for shrinkage, but this method avoids cutting the fuselage and risking misalignment of the upper and lower parts if bent. Swings and roundabouts I guess...

Jens

[vc-10]

I don't

But on my Revell 767 I kind of had to, as I am doing BA, and they have an extra door aft of the wing. Milliput worked fine, 2 'layers'. One from the inside, then a small amount from the outside to fill the dimples, but only a smear.

[Jennings]

The strip styrene method may be better for shrinkage, but this method avoids cutting the fuselage and risking misalignment of the upper and lower parts if bent. Swings and roundabouts I guess...

You can always do my method in shorter strips simply by leaving the odd post between windows and cutting shorter strips of filler plastic. That prevents unwanted flexing. I've never had an alignment problem using that method. It's also just as fast, if not faster than other methods, since you don't have to wait for any putty to cure. Hit the superglue with accelerator and start sanding.

J

[oldHooker]

Hi lefodead,

Like VC-10, I don't either, , but when window sections need to be filled for accuracy, I (1) glue a small square of sheet styrene over the interior opening, then (2) either laminate sections of sheet styrene or use a scrap piece that is the thickness of the fuselage, and cut pieces out that will fit inside the exterior window frame openings. Then I (3) put a smear of superglue over the window (which fills the seam lines) and sand smooth. (no dimples)

If you want the non-sealed windows to resemble that of a real airliner however, go to Staples or CompUSA and get a pack of "Clear Waterslide Decal Paper" for inkjet printers, then to your LHS and get a raddle can of "Testors Gloss Coat". Overspray a sheet, let it dry, and use the technique illustrated below.

It's much less intrusive on the model, can be finished in 3/4ths the time, and the 3D appearance looks a thousand times better than any decalled window.

Take care,

Frank