Another Aleutian Defender

[Cookenbacher]

Got the cowlings together, sort of.

As you can see, the intake portion does not look like it is from the same kit as the rest. I shoved some plasticard in the gap.

Then I got the booms together. The cowlings are just a butt joint to the rest of the boom, so I glued in some plasticard reinforcements on the inside. They still kept falling off. The seams were filled with CA glue and PPP and then sanded.

All built up now. Nothing is square. There are gaps everywhere. I haven't thrown it in the bin...

...yet.

[Davek72]

Don't throw in the towel Cooken remember I am relying on you to avoid me making any more mistakes...

[Procopius]

Now the real work (endless filling and sanding) begins. It actually looks pretty good to my eyes so far.

[giemme]

As Procopius says; looks like a lot of filling and sanding needed , but don't throw it in the bin. The overall looks good to me too.

Time to resort to an electrical toothbrush sander ?

Ciao

[Procopius]

Time to resort to an electrical toothbrush sander ?

Those look so cool, and having inadvertently worn away the enamel on three teeth using one, I can vouch for their effectiveness.

[giemme]

Those look so cool, and having inadvertently worn away the enamel on three teeth using one, I can vouch for their effectiveness.

PC, next time for your teeth you should remember using the head with the regular brush on it, not the one with sandpaper ... sorry, couldn't resist. I'll get my coat ...

Ciao

[trickyrich]

Wow those gaps were huge!!! My FJ-4 Fury was like that, huge gaps everywhere, nothing fitted, motivation to throw in bin.....many times with cement added so it wouldn't escape!!!

But you still have plenty of time to beat the beast into submission! I know you turn out something amazing as usual!

[Hardtarget]

You've done a great job so far cookie, I cant believe there are that amount of fit issues with this high end small run kit. Surely they built a model of each version for QA to make sure everything is fine. Oh well, at least I know before I start my build or I may just choose something else now to ensure I can complete on time.

[Cookenbacher]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody.

Dazdot - Thanks for pointing out those panel lines on the booms. I'll have to try and remember them, because I think anything I scribe now will probably get lost again in Sand & Fill Fest 2015.

Giemme - I have an electric toothbrush set aside for that purpose, but I haven't modified it yet.

Dave and HT - If we complete these, we will be members of a pretty select group. It's hard to find completed examples on the web (hmm, that's strange).

PC - You've made me nervous to brush my teeth now!

Rich - The glue at the bottom of the bin sounds like a good idea, removes all temptation! Your Fury is super sweet though, and is an inspiration to keep going with this one.

I guess it's time to soldier on, and start filling. I used Perfect Plastic Putty for the first pass.

And wiped it off with a damp cotton bud.

Only 57 iterations to go!

To revive the mojo a little, I assembled the fuselage of an AZ Spitfire IX (I had already painted up the cockpit some time ago).

I think it will be traditional for all my Aleutian builds to include a Spitfire for good luck. I can already feel the tide changing.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Cookenbacher

[trickyrich]

those joins don't look to bad at all, it looks like you're past the major "work" stage., should be smooth sailing now.

Interesting use of "Janga" blocks, plus I only just worked out what the "T" was doing on the tail! Can be a wee bit sloooooooow at times!

[giemme]

those joins don't look to bad at all, it looks like you're past the major "work" stage., should be smooth sailing now.

Agreed 100%. From the last pic at post #26, I thought those were steps instead of gaps (talk about being sloooowww ...), so Cooken, you shouldn't really be complaining, should you? just kidding.

Keep up, this is going to be good.

Ciao

Edit: I forgot to add: yeah, a Spitfire here and there can only be good, after all we're on BritModeller ...

Edited April 23, 2015 by giemme

[dazdot]

Cooken you are doing really well with this and a braver man than I nice work

[nimrod54]

Looks like this is a tough kit to put together, but you're starting to knock it into shape now Cookie.

[rob85]

Great work cookie, tackled the gaps very effectively! Looks like you have broken the back of it (thats not literal its back looks fine didn't want you worrying! )

Good luck with the sand paper

Rob

[Cookenbacher]

Thanks everybody! I've just continued with the filling ans sanding, so not a lot to show yet.

Rich - I'm the slow one, as I didn't add the 'T' until like the fourth time I dry fit the horizontal stabilizer, and had to keep flipping it.

Giemme - Those were steps! I had to file/sand one end of each gap until they were even enough to add putty.

Thanks Daz and John!

Rob - Phew! I almost ran into the other room to see if the P-38's back was broken (then I read the parentheses!) I will say that the back is a bit crooked though.

[giemme]

Giemme - Those were steps! I had to file/sand one end of each gap until they were even enough to add putty.

Ooops ... I'm taking my comment back, then. You do have all the rights to complain, sir!

Ciao

[Cookenbacher]

Not a whole lot to show. Still trying to take care of the seams.

Brushed on MM metalizer makes for a great primer in that it dries immediately and reveals seams as only a NMF can.

The metalizer does no gap filling though. After some more filling and sanding, I used a more forgiving acrylic paint as a primer.

And the 'good luck' Spitfire has some wings.

[Stew Dapple]

Well done Cookie, I do believe you are pretty much done with the filling and sanding, nicely taken care of

Goodluck Spitfire is obviously doing its stuff, and looks good too

Cheers,

Stew

[giemme]

Nasty those seams are! (oops, inadvertently switched to Yoda mode ... )

Ciao

[trickyrich]

you've got those seems beaten, nicely done.

It's looking really good, you should be painting very shortly I suspect!

If Whiffy's were allowed I'd say chop the engine off the Spitfire (and another) and make the Lightning RR Merlin powered!

[nimrod54]

Looks pretty good to me mate, time for some finish methinks. I like the chromate colour, whose is it? It could be useful for the P-47 build.

[Procopius]

That Spitfire is really coming together cleanly, and it looks like you're getting the better of the P-38. Any more progress?

[old thumper]

What a struggle this kit looks. I think you are through the worst of it though, and I'm looking forward to seeing it in the gallery.

[Cookenbacher]

Thanks everybody - this one's been a bit of a chore.

Stew - Yes, I think Spitfires always bring good luck. You built three and got two job offers within the week! I wonder what your next three will bring.

Giemme - I wonder if the Force could fix seams. (That is why I fail.)

Rich - I've got two spare Academy P-51 fuselages, and the thought of a Merlin powered P-38 has definitely crossed my mind.

John - The yellow zinc chromate is Model Master acrylic. I'm planning on using the same priming method on this, that I did on the Aleutian Tiger P-40: brush/buff metalizer on portions I want to chip, and Testor's enamel yellow zinc chromate for the rest.

OT - I ran out of likes, so I owe you one. Thanks for the encouragement.

PC - Why yes, there has been some progress:

Filled the nose up with weight and blu-tack and balanced it on a couple blocks to make sure the Cg is forward enough. It is, barely.

Just a little more clean up, and she'll be ready for primer.

I got the tail surfaces on the goodluck Spitfire.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Cookenbacher

[Procopius]

Wow, looking at it now, you'd hardly guess what a bee it is. The Spitfire's looking mighty nice, too.