woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi guys, I'm planning a Stirling build. I've built one in the past, although recent builds have lead me to realise how much I usually learn about the kit and the real thing, sometimes when it's too late !! An obvious area I want to tackle is the clear bits. I've got the vac canopy and turrets, but never really tackled side windows that are far from flat other than sanding them, however doing this means they end up more deeply recessed. I've contemplated clear resin, but just wondering how others may of tackled the kit ??? Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Oh, that's what's next! How about chopping a small square out of the fuselage where the windows will be, and replacing that area with clear sheet, filling & sanding it smooth, then polishing it back to clear. Then you can just mask the windows in, because you'll have taken a note of where they were when you started... wont you? Oh, and if you need any spares, I have an unbuilt kit that will probably stay that way. It was bought to use as reference on my aborted 1:48 Stirling build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyG Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I did it the hard way - cut out clear pieces of plastic and sand to fit in the holes in the fuselage... takes ages, swear words and sore fingers to complete though. Did manage to salvage a couple of the ones from the kit too (most had sinkholes), but even they needed the retaining edges sanding down to get them to fit flush with the fuselage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks guys, After a further search, I came across this. Although not in English, it seems to be the way he's done it too... http://www.drivefly.it./schede_soci/Vignoc...ng%20Mk%20I.php Can you believe that's 1/72 ???? I really need to get some of that micro mesh stuff that everyone talks about as polishing glass is a bit if a hit and miss affair so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks guys,After a further search, I came across this. Although not in English, it seems to be the way he's done it too... http://www.drivefly.it./schede_soci/Vignoc...ng%20Mk%20I.php Can you believe that's 1/72 ???? I really need to get some of that micro mesh stuff that everyone talks about as polishing glass is a bit if a hit and miss affair so far That modeller is well know here, deservedly ! I have seen that model in a magazine and could not believe the level of detail! A bit of translation: for the fuselage windows, he opened up the recesses in the fuselage as he was not happy with the shape of some of them. Once the recesses were made rectangular, he made a frame inside the fuselage to carry the clear part, inserted rectangular bits of clear plastic (easier to cut to the right shape and size) and then sanded them to fit (using some filler where needed). Finally, he made masking templates of the right size and shape of the windows and then applied these to the rectangular bits. In this way at the end he got the windows of the right size and shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 That's a stunning build, isn't it? I was using it for reference for mine, but hadn't got very far with it when I realised that I was building it based upon a crappy assymetrical fuselage that was too narrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Hemsley Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I really need to get some of that micro mesh stuff that everyone talks about as polishing glass is a bit if a hit and miss affair so far As an alternative, try using deniem (as in blue jean's) to polish those transparencies. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Giorgio, Thanks for that translation, that is what I will attempt....gulp !!!! Hmm, I will have a dabble with some denim to experiment in advance. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 The more I look at it, the more I'm considering trying resin windows, although I need to look at what materials to use. I have come accross this stuff on't internet, has anybody had any experience of it ? http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/p-15...c-catalyst.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Using resin is not too hard actually, but you must make sure that the resin you use will not damage the plastic, be it because of the components or the heat generated during the curing process. The best way to do it is: 1) lay some material that will not to stick to resin from the outside. Teflon tape is ideal (and can be bought for cheap) 2) keep the teflon or whatever in place over the openings using sticky tape. The idea is that the teflon tape must follow the fuselage curvature in the window area 3) lay resin in the window aperture from the inside of the fuselage. In this way the resin will fill the hole but stop at the teflon. As it does not stick to the teflon, the outer surface will stay smooth. There are of course drawbacks with this method, mainly that the windows will require masking during the assembly and painting phases. Edited February 13, 2012 by Giorgio N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks Giorgio. If I make windows before hand, these will need masking too. Also, I was planning to build the outside up using masking tape to create a step that I could sand down. On the stirling, most of the windows are on a slab side so this should make it a good model to do it on.....I think, although I do realise that I'm talking from ignorance, not experience I've put a topic in the Casting section asking for advice on suitable materials to use. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miduppergunner Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I think you may find the outline of the flaps in the top wing surface is incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 I think you may find the outline of the flaps in the top wing surface is incorrect. Thanks David. Thank god that isn't too dofficult to do. Famous last words !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datguy Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I have tried the resin and epoxy approaches to filling fuselage windows and could not get them to work because of major differences in hardness between the windows and the surrounding plastic. I had much better success with a clear plastic plug followed by polishing. I used Micromesh and Novus plastic polish. The automodellers are a good resource for techniques on getting an absolutely smooth polished finish. (another) David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Whiteley-Bolton Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Giorgio,Thanks for that translation, that is what I will attempt....gulp !!!! Hmm, I will have a dabble with some denim to experiment in advance. Cheers I have translated the entire article if you are interested although, I would have to admit, not very well. Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 You can polish clear plastics with Brasso and a soft cloth. I frequenty scratch my watch glass and use it to restore the finish. I have also used it for polishing filler before using an aerosol spray on car repairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks guys, I've never tried Brasso, will give that a go as an experiment. Neil, I've pm'd you, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Graham Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Many years ago I was sanding down the rear of an Airfix Fiat G.91 canopy to fit on a modified Hawk Swift, and turned to Brasso to get it smooth. Pow! All the stress cracks leapt into prominence. That conversion attempt is still in the scrap box. I suspect that working on more solid parts, with less flex, you won't get the same problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 The more I look at it, the more I'm considering trying resin windows, although I need to look at what materials to use. I have come across this stuff on the internet, has anybody had any experience of it ? There's a bit of a tutorial on resin windows here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...26&hl=resin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Hi guys,I'm planning a Stirling build. I've built one in the past, although recent builds have lead me to realise how much I usually learn about the kit and the real thing, sometimes when it's too late !! An obvious area I want to tackle is the clear bits. I've got the vac canopy and turrets, but never really tackled side windows that are far from flat other than sanding them, however doing this means they end up more deeply recessed. I've contemplated clear resin, but just wondering how others may of tackled the kit ??? Cheers Neil As a slight aside, if you thin down the leading edge from the outer nacelles towards the wing tips to create more of a taper, you will vastly improve the head-on look Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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