Lets be honest here, who didn't fit the fuel tank that sits forward of the instrument panel ? I think I may have forgot to fit this part............................\ said:
Regards
Colin M.........
Regards
Colin M.........
F
Fenlander
Guest
I now know what madness is. I have spent he whole afternoon and evening putting the fuselage onto the wings. I was determined not to use that much filler so I decided to use clamps to line bits up, glue a few cm and then wait until it held, move the clamps and repeat. So in total, I have spent 7 hours getting the wings on and the joint isn't too bad.
I am now doing the same to fit the engine covers and upper engine cowling. I have given up on the idea of fitting the engine as, on mine, with the engine between the supports, the side panels would never go on. Not a problem if leaving them off totally for display but I had had enough lol.
On the side panels, the curve cutout that fits to the wing root was leaving a gap n matter what I did so I have shimmed these with plastic card and sanded to fit. I have then glued the side panels to the firewall and the wing root but not to the twisted 'chin'. I have then glued the upper cowling to the firewall only and it is now left to set. Next I will glue the side panels to the upper cowling so that when set, it will form a strong box shape to take the twisted 'chin' held with clamps until it sets. The front of the engine compartment looks a bit like looking into a wind damaged tulip at the moment but I am happy it will be persuaded into shape.
Port wing root
Starboard, still under a bit of 'corrective tension'
The belly joints, big gap at the rear but not a problem
And the nose still needing a bit of work
Still a lot of work with the sanding sticks but I believe the hours coaxing it into position was worth the effort.
I am now off to soak my head in iced water, it will be less painful.................
I am now doing the same to fit the engine covers and upper engine cowling. I have given up on the idea of fitting the engine as, on mine, with the engine between the supports, the side panels would never go on. Not a problem if leaving them off totally for display but I had had enough lol.
On the side panels, the curve cutout that fits to the wing root was leaving a gap n matter what I did so I have shimmed these with plastic card and sanded to fit. I have then glued the side panels to the firewall and the wing root but not to the twisted 'chin'. I have then glued the upper cowling to the firewall only and it is now left to set. Next I will glue the side panels to the upper cowling so that when set, it will form a strong box shape to take the twisted 'chin' held with clamps until it sets. The front of the engine compartment looks a bit like looking into a wind damaged tulip at the moment but I am happy it will be persuaded into shape.
Port wing root
Starboard, still under a bit of 'corrective tension'
The belly joints, big gap at the rear but not a problem
And the nose still needing a bit of work
Still a lot of work with the sanding sticks but I believe the hours coaxing it into position was worth the effort.
I am now off to soak my head in iced water, it will be less painful.................
Well now, it was always my intention to build mine with the engine on display, so it wasn't really a 'cop out' for me not having these panels in place. But looking at the above 'nose on' picture....................Good Lord !! Graham, do you want my unused panels, maybe they will fit better.
Regards
Colin M........
Regards
Colin M........
F
Fenlander
Guest
Lol naaaa they will fit ok, I will make sure of it :laughing:
B
Bunkerbarge
Guest
That's a lot of effort Graham to get this together and the nose shot shows just how much of a struggle you have had. All I can say is that you've got a lot more patience than me, mine would have had a test flight out of an upstairs window long before this stage.
stona
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- Steve
Well done Graham. The nose issue was by far the biggest problem I had on mine as well. It really is a hopeless bit of moulding. It looks like you will beat it into shape,you've used a different method to me but it looks good. I honestly never did get mine to be perfect.
Cheers
Steve
Cheers
Steve
F
Fenlander
Guest
OK, a bit more done. including lots of sanding, messing up the pilots face and a tiny bit of filler.
A bit of Green Stuff to fill this gap at the back of the wing root. I inserted some plastic card then cut and sanded to fill most of it and to strengthen the joint.
The starboard and port wing roots. A bit of Mr Surfacer 500 in one of the joint lines on both sides
And the nose has been coaxed into place but I had to cut the end piece to nearly fit and fill with super glue, still a bit of sanding but it does not show or cause a problem as it is.
Next will be a good coat of primer to finally judge if more sanding and or filling required, I am sure there will be but it does look worse than it feels at the moment.
A bit of Green Stuff to fill this gap at the back of the wing root. I inserted some plastic card then cut and sanded to fill most of it and to strengthen the joint.
The starboard and port wing roots. A bit of Mr Surfacer 500 in one of the joint lines on both sides
And the nose has been coaxed into place but I had to cut the end piece to nearly fit and fill with super glue, still a bit of sanding but it does not show or cause a problem as it is.
Next will be a good coat of primer to finally judge if more sanding and or filling required, I am sure there will be but it does look worse than it feels at the moment.
stona
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Top job so far Graham,the wings look to have gone on very well in the end. You know that I know exactly how much fun you've had!
There is a little bit that fits infront of the windsceen which you might want to fit soon as ,guess what,it'll need a bit of filler and it's a bugger if you leave it 'til the end. Dry fit it with the windscreen as I had to "adjust" mine a bit to line everything up.
Cheers
Steve
There is a little bit that fits infront of the windsceen which you might want to fit soon as ,guess what,it'll need a bit of filler and it's a bugger if you leave it 'til the end. Dry fit it with the windscreen as I had to "adjust" mine a bit to line everything up.
Cheers
Steve
F
Fenlander
Guest
Thanks for the heads up on that Steve. I have a few bits to finish off before the primer but I had forgotten that bit.
Looking good Graham, nearly there. That piece Steve mentions, I stuck it to the canopy first and then trial fitted the whole assembley (two parts !) to the fuselage. I found the location on the fueslage a bit iffy, but good on the canopy.
Regards
Colin M......
Regards
Colin M......
stona
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You were lucky Colin. Mine fitted so badly to the fuselage I had to trim it to fit and then fair it in to the fuselage with putty! The screen butted up quite nicely to it,I used white glue to glue that which fills the little gaps anyway.\ said:
Cheers
Steve
Again, a strange part that could have easily been moulded into either the fueslage or canopy ! Matchbox liked to make things tricky. White glue, is that wood glue, PVA ?
Regards
Colin M......
Regards
Colin M......