Thinning out the tail and trailing edges on the Eduard Tempest?

[Spitfires Forever]

Hello fellow modelers,

i am finally building the Eduard 1/48 Tempest and was wondering about any tips on thinning out the overly thick tail and trailing edges of the wings and tail planes/elevators. From the various threads I have read it is clear that this has been done, I just need some tips on the techniques used, how far to sand along the fuselage just above the tail, and any other tips from those who have done this. Any other tips about the build would be great.

Cheers

SA

[Troy Smith]

Hi Randy

I posted all this info up about 5 years ago , in response to a questions of yours then, but the relevant thread has been 'photobucketed'

 

 

weirdly the pics show up in a google image search ....

 

I got an email from another member so I'll find a new image host for these.

 

for thinning the edges, I recommend one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Proops-Wood-Cabinet-Carbon-Steel-Goose-Neck-Scraper-180mm-4-5-034-UK-Made-W3340-/291897259156?

 

I presume they are available in the US,  really handy tool.

 

cheers

T

 

 

 

[Guest]

Thanks Tony, that will help. What I am worried about is what grit of sandpaper to use, and whether I should use a sanding block for a more uniform surface. I know the plastic is pretty soft so I want to be careful as to type of sand paper to use so I don't erode too much plastic too quickly. If you think that tool you recommend will do the job better then I will give it a go. Now just to find one at a reasonable price. Rumor is that Eduard is retooling the kit in order to address the thickness and fuselage length problems. I have mixed feelings about that since I have two kits that I paid a premium price for. I do have the Jaguar fix kit for the Tempest but there is a lot of extra work involved. I guess I can't have everything, besides where would I put it all?

Cheers

[Troy Smith]

HI Randy

 

amazing how often I get called Tony on here....

 

A quick check on ebay.com reveals the same item will cost you a whopping $3.90 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Proops-Wood-Cabinet-Carbon-Steel-Goose-Neck-Scraper-180mm-4-5-UK-Made-W3340-/291897259156

The scraper works well for trailing edges, it's like using a curved craft knife, but as it's a chunk of about 1/16th inch steel it's easier to handle. It's meant for wood working.

see also

test on scrap, but it's really makes fast work, yes you can sand, but it's chore (or use a sander)  

in particular it's good for fast removal of the thicker plastic behind the trailing edge,  if you just scrape the trailing edge you get a thin edge but a gap, as you need to remove more material inside the wing, being curved it does this well.

this is hard to explain, but should be obvious when you examine the parts.

 

On another build here by @Caerbannog  he ran into problems with the resin cockpit then interfering with the wheel wells, another thread trashed by PB...

 

You shouldn't need much sandpaper, I use scraping more, and fine grades to finish up.

 

Wait for the pics to be reupped, as they were done to explain this.     

 

cheers

T

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

So sorry about that Troy, had a momentary bout of brain flatulence, so please forgive me. Must be getting old because I can't keep track of all my postings over the years, so your patience is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for the information (which I have now archived to avoid a repeat) very much appreciated.

as an aside, my son Rusty just got back from Duxford and Bovington, and he bought me a nice 19 squadron polo shirt, I wear it proudly.

Thanks again Troy

[Basilisk]

I use scrapers a lot and specially for thinning wing trailing edges.

There is no sawdust and progress is fast.

 

But to make them work well, you have to burnish the edge of the scraper with a burnisher to create a burr which does the actual cutting.

 

Of course sandpaper works as well, but is not as fast and creates lots of dust. Best to glue a quarter sheet to a flat surface (I used a piece of plexiglas and glued three different grids onto it. Then fasten the plexiglas to a table and move the wing over it. but make sure you only sand along the trailing edge and not the whole wing!

 

Cheers, Peter

[Caerbannog]

7 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

HI Randy

(...)

this is hard to explain, but should be obvious when you examine the parts.

 

On another build here by @Caerbannog  he ran into problems with the resin cockpit then interfering with the wheel wells, another thread trashed by PB...

 

(...)

T

Luckily I have all pics well organized on my HD but it will take some time to relink all of my builds here. Hope to get this sorted within the next month.

On my build I used sandpaper glued to a flat pice of wood and just sanded and checked and sanded and checked until I though the wing is thin enough. With the thinner wing the landing gear had to be thinned down as well or it would not fit between the wing parts. The upper wing parts had to be thinned on the inside where the landing bay goes too. As Troy says the cockpit interferred with the wheel wells then and there was no other solution but to cut away the very lower sides from the resin cockpit. Sound bad but in fact you just cannot see it in the end unless you use a flashlight and you know what you are looking for.

 

René

[Tbolt]

That looks like a handy little tool for trailing edges. When I build my Eduard P-39 I used s similar tool - just the edge of a steel rule run almost flat along the surface which took it off fairly quickly.

Edited July 25, 2017 by Tbolt