The HobbyBoss 1/32 B24D Liberator.

[BarryW]

Another quick update.

I am using a mix of superglue and cement to bring the fuselage sides together.

I am working in sections using rubber bands as clamps don’t hold given the shape.

The two sides are under tension given the amount that’s being closed off inside it.

I will want to strengthen the bond when I come to treat the seams the question is how? My two options will be black filler c.a. or sprue goo. Does anyone here have a suggestion of which would be best or another way?

I still have to work the top backwards from behind the cockpit. I am doing a section and then leaving it to harden overnight before doing the next part.

 

[Jim R]

Sorry Barry, I can't offer any advice on strengthening the seam. It will be interesting to see what suggestions are made.
It's looking good and as Andrea says

I'm pretty sure you'll end up with a fabulous result, as always,

 

[Ian M]

Proper glue, plenty of it and get a good ooze going. Welded. No longer two parts but one.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I agree with Ian. Personally I’d use Contacta layered up to fill the gaps unless they are really large. It’s solvent with filler so will bond nicely with the airframe, and when properly dry will sand at least as well as the original plastic. Sprue goo might work, but will be more filler than solvent and will be inconsistent across such a large seam. CA is inflexible so will probably crack under handling unless you use the flexible stuff. It will not bond so well either because it only relies on surface mechanical interaction rather than the solvent welding you will get with Contacta.

 

[BarryW]

Well I ended up using a mix of sprue goo and black ca wherever appropriate.

The sprue goo was used in a few places where there was a visible gap. By using a thick sprue goo I was able to pack it into the gap. It is not a tidy process, a bit messy if fact , but it results in effectively welding the two fuselage halves together with plastic, providing a very strong join, as strong as the plastic itself. For those who don’t know, sprue goo is where you cut up small pieces of sprue and drop it into a bottle of cement, I use Mr S Cement, an extra thin type. The cement melts the plastic into a goo. It is very messy indeed to use which is why I don’t use it often.

I forgot to get a picture after applying the sprue goo and c.a., sorry.

After drying overnight I have done the ‘rough sanding’ to get most of the surplus sprue goo off for which my David Sander was very helpful.

Next I need to start smoothing it, using my sanding sponges, working down through the grits.

I expect that I will need to treat the joins further with my more usual materials, Mr Surfacer 500 and mostly Mr Dissolved Putty to totally eliminate any sign of the joins. A lot of rescribing will then be needed and some riveting too.

Here is how she looks now.


I will be doing this over several days, a little bit each day. Sanding and filling are my least favourite parts of modelling so I will be glad when it’s done.

 

[Jim R]

A long slow process but one where the end result will be perfect. Re- scribing will need another round of care and patience.

 

[BarryW]

This morning I went over her with a 400 grit sanding sponge. I was carefully checking for any ‘protuberances’ and eliminating them. Each time I now go over this the amount of material removed will be less, it will be 600 grade next.

I then went over the seams looking for ‘dents’ or impressions in the seams by holding them up to the light. I then dropped some Mr Dissolved Putty onto them with a disposable brush. This will take several hours to fully cure off and being very self-levelling it will sink into those ‘dents’ leaving little on the surface around the dent. MDP is the perfect ‘surface leveller’ and absolutely ideal for this. It is too thin to be a true putty that fills gaps and if you tried you would be disappointed.

One great use for this would be where you have a finger print on the plastic caused by thin cement running between finger and plastic. (Yes, we all do it!) In these cases there are valleys sunk into the plastic and ridges. Just sanding will take off the ridges but will still leave you with the depressions in the surface, OK you can keep sanding, but better still, before sanding off the ridges (perhaps a light initial sanding) apply Mr Dissolved Putty to the surface. Then leave it, perhaps overnight. You will find that the ‘filler material’ will sink into the valley and will be mostly evaporated from the surface. Then you sand off the ridges leaving a perfect surface. Sometimes you might need two treatments. One tip, when it thickens, thin it with a few drops of Me Levelling Thinner. A bottle of this should be in everyone’s armoury.

Here she is having applied the MDP in spots and some seam areas.

 

[BarryW]

I have finished the seams, at least for now. I will have to return to them when I have done the primer as there are bound to be flaws to treat.

On to scribing. This is a skill that I do not claim to have mastered but it must be done.

Below are the tools I utilise

The main scribers are MRP, they are very sharp and are the best I have found. The two ‘toothed’ ones are also useful and I find I have better control with them. Essential, for someone like me who cannot scribe a straight line even using the guide tape, is Mr Dissolved Putty which is the perfect filler for errors!!! Also pictured are my Rosie the riveters. I use a fine 1000 grade sanding sponge to clean up edges, along with extra thin cement (Mr Cement S in my case) to clean up sanding dust from panel lines and rivet holes.

Now during the process of filling and sanding, the ball turret broke away from its mount. Inevitable really with all the shaking. It was a clean break but there is simply no hope at all of being able to cement it back into position, it’s just impossible to see to position it. Fortunately nothing of the mount can be seen so I cut away the top hamper from the turret and the long pins from from the hatch insert.

The good news is that the insert is a perfect fit.

My only option will be to use c.a. to glue the actual guns to the bottom of the depressions for them and, hopefully, the turret will be held in place.


A pic of the fuselage, as it looks now.


The Turret and insert will need to be part of ‘final fittings’.

 

[scottie3158]

Barry,
All the time and attention are paying dividends.

 

[Jim R]

Looking good. Hopefully very little further work will be needed on the seams. Scribing is indeed a skill especially on a curved surface.

 

[BarryW]

I have put together the tail. Fit was good though with tight tolerances. It fits perfectly to the tail with a click. I cemented it into place but leaving the end unglued to provide a bit of spring when fitting the rear turret into place.


I have started work on the wings, more on that later.

For now though, I clumsily over-tightened the airbrush nozzle and it sheered off. I decided to get a new airbrush which, hopefully, will be delivered tomorrow and, for this, I have really lashed out on the most expensive airbrush bought yet….. I will do a thread and review when I get it!…..

 

[Jim R]

I have really lashed out on the most expensive airbrush bought yet…..

Intrigued

 

[Steve Brodie]

wow

 

[BarryW]

I have made a start on the wings, constructing the wheel wells. Before gluing them into the lower wings I sprayed them with the new airbrush, plus the wheel well edges on the wing itself.

The wheel wells are nicely detailed but I will have more work to do on them.


Other wing parts waiting to be brought together.


Below is a page from the instructions. As you can see they call for the top and bottom wings to be clamped around the spars rather than be slid into them.

Instead, for obvious reasons,
I want to complete the wings, including camo, decals and weathering, before sliding them onto the spars. Looking at the parts I see no reason to think that would be a problem and a test ‘play’ a while back confirmed this. Before I come to that I want to do a test fit again, with the wing top and bottoms firmly clamped together. I may need to do a little sanding due to tight tolerances and I won’t want the wing seams sprung by forcing the wings into place.

I will play around with that as soon as I get a chance.

 

[BarryW]

Just a quick update. After a fair bit of fiddling around and testing it is clear that sliding the wings on will need a lot of modification. As the wings fit beautifully into place and the spars give a lot of strength and rigidity that is needed, I don’t want to risk that. Consequently I will be fitting the wings around the spars and getting them firmly glued in place.

It will make handling the model somewhat harder but it fits on the bench, just about and I should manage it OK. Spraying it will be a lot of fun!!!

I will fit the wings tomorrow and will show photos.

 

[BarryW]

Only now, having fitted the lower wing section, can the sheer size of this model be appreciated with its 42 inch wingspan.


It will look bigger still once the elevators, ailerons and top wing are fitted.

I will let the cement fully cure before fitting the rest of the wings sections. I have to say that the fit is perfect with no filler at all needed around the lower wing roots. It is a first class piece of engineering.

 

[adt70hk]

That is huge..... Well look most impressive once done Barry.

 

[Andy T]

Wow!

Now I see why you've had to put so much thought into displaying it.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Now that’s a lot of wing……looking good though.

 

[Steven000]

Huge indeed! Will look super nice when finished
Have fun!