georgeusa Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Since Zeros aren’t supposed to lean down on their undercarriage to allow pilots ease of access to the cockpit, something had to be done to get the main struts in the right position and keep them there. I removed them, drilled holes in each strut, put a piece of styrene rod in the strut, drilled a corresponding hole in the wheel well to insert the strut, inserted the strut, let it dry for 4 hours, set it on its gear, and came back to find the undercarriage in pretty much the same position they were the last time when I rested the weight of the model on them. All I could figure out is the age of the plastic in the kit in this particular section when it reacts with model cement melts rather than bonds. The cement did not dry in this area. Rather, it was a gooey mess even 5 hours later. I then left it to dry for about 4 days. Then, I reformed the end of the strut with some new plastic stock, filled the holes in the wheel wells with some rather new sprue and let everything dry for another 2 days. Holes were then drilled in the wheel well to accept the rebuilt struts. After that, copious amounts of Loctite Ultra Gel Control super glue was put down, the struts positioned and left to dry overnight. I was afraid to use any accelerator as I wanted the least amount of chemical reaction in this area as possible given the past results. The moment of truth arrived; I placed the model on its legs and so far, no problems. That means I get to complete the kit!! Yeaa!! I then drilled out the wing cannon and put them in place, attached all the landing gear doors, attached any other little pieces that were left and set about to touch up the paint where needed and add the landing lights. I also drilled out some holes in the wing and inserted red painted wire for the landing gear indicators. A coat of Testor’s Dullcoate to seal everything in. The canopy masking was then removed and here it is in all of its dirty glory. A more complete RFI photo selection will be made when the sun comes up tomorrow and there is better light. Comments welcome and thanks for watching. I really enjoyed this kit and the level of detail in it for its age is amazing. Fit was also exceptional. Other than the landing gear incident, it was a great little kit. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 George, It looks great from where I'm sitting. Probably more fun than bending tiny bits of brass and filing down resin too. I had a Nichimo? Hawker Hunter do the soggy gear trick on me about 20 years ago. It was relatively new then, and I'd used the same glue throughout. Go figure. (See, an Americanism!) Keep them coming. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Tha's looking godo mate, much, much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacker Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 It is not a bad kit, a bit basic but from what l understand it pretty accurate. You done a nice job there well done! You know for a kit that is plentiful they are hard to find and any l have seen on Evil bay are a bit expensive. I been looking for a cheap one for hacking up but no luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billydick Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I admire your tenacity with this one George. Looks good for an old'un. BillyD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 I thank everyone for the kind comments and appreciate them. I really liked this kit and it is the first time I have ever seen it. I remember the Corsair, but not this one. Great job. Snapper, I must congratulate you for the time you take to make comments on a regular basis on all of the builds in this group build. it is encouraging and I know it must take a bit of your time to do so. Thank you for supporting me and the others here. Your efforts to make this group build successful have not gone unnoticed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hgbn Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Looking great.. I like the dirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 great job - it's nice to see you overcome adversity and beat the little b*gger into submission and I have learned a bit about weathering along the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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