Graham T Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Thought I'd be clever & install the ball turret AFTER assembling the fuselage but now a dry fitting seems to suggest this is going to be a problem with the turret & its cradle not fitting through the hole from the outside! Can anyone confirm whether this is possible? If I have to spilt the fuselage I'd rather do it now than after the painting stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antb Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Hi Graham, when i built mine i me I did a test fit and the ball doesn't fit after gluing together. It has to go in before the fuselage is joined. Looks like you will will have to pull it apart to slot it in and then glue it back together again. Sorry to confirm the bad news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham T Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 16 hours ago, Antb said: Hi Graham, when i built mine i me I did a test fit and the ball doesn't fit after gluing together. It has to go in before the fuselage is joined. Looks like you will will have to pull it apart to slot it in and then glue it back together again. Sorry to confirm the bad news Oh FFFFFFFFFFFFFIDDLESTICKS!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Not seen the kit, but have built the Monogram kits. Can you fit the cradle, close up, then spring the turret into the cradle afterwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antb Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Graham T said: Oh FFFFFFFFFFFFFIDDLESTICKS!!!!!!!! You would think that you could slot the ball and cradle in afterwards to make it easier in the long run. Just doesn't work as far as I could tell. The way you have to install the cradle makes it awkward to fit after joining the fuselage together. It would be loads better if there was a different style of fitment for the cradle to go into, rather than the "bar" across the top that holds the whole thing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 You could take a razor saw and just cut a small section out, to save you splicing the full thing? A JLC micro-saw has a kerf hardly worth mentioning (maybe a third of a millimetre?), you could simply cut a section out, pop the turret in, glue it up, I'm sure using Tamiya extra thin glue to bond the cutaway section back in place would take care of most of the join, and failing that, a small amount of filler thereafter would sort the rest? I've not built the kit but I love fixing my own (numerous) mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 I was thinking the same thing. Scribe a square around the hole, remove the square and insert the turret. Refit the square and make good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 Yes, that seems practicable -especially if you're doing a painted one rather than natural metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted May 2, 2017 Share Posted May 2, 2017 What did the instructions say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham T Posted May 2, 2017 Author Share Posted May 2, 2017 1 hour ago, Britman said: What did the instructions say? To put the turret in before joining the fuselage halves but any modeller will usually have deviated from the suggested sequence on many occasions on various kits. I should have dry fitted before doing so as per Antb above. The problem is that if you add the ball turret so early in the building it's a prime candidate for damage (broken guns, filling with "crud" etc., etc.) during the rest of the process. Anyway, it's in now after I split the fuselage (no mean feat as it also meant splitting the floor - had to take a razor saw to both sides of the turret & go pretty deep!) & seam redressed. Hopefully it'll all be OK in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpasenelli Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Instructions what are these instructions of which you speak. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 7 hours ago, Britman said: What did the instructions say? Instructions? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 (edited) We all fall foul of going our "own way" occasionally when it comes to instructions and we always will. Edited May 3, 2017 by Britman I was mistaken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 It is probably thirty years or so since I last built a B17 but if I remember rightly it was possible to build and attach the turret but leave the clear bottom piece until last, after painting. I don't know if this is possible with the new kit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McIntyre Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Can't you just use some coarse sandpaper and carefully ream out the hole until everything just fits? More than likely no one will notice what you've done. I don't have the Airfix kit, so I could be way out to lunch on this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve N Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Here's the relevant page from the instruction sheet. It looks like the turret support assembly is designed so it can be inserted after the fuselage is closed up, but I haven't actually assembled the thing so I don't know. SN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murray Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Rivet counters, cover your ears, shield your eyes, I would just trim the mount back so you could fit it through the hole. With a dod of CA glue on, it would be able to be installed just fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Is it the mount that installs onto the "roof" of the aircraft or the turret flange which must be just inside the belly of the aircraft that stops you inserting it after closing the fuselage? Trimming the former slightly should not be a huge issue, but reducing the latter might take strength away from the side pivots on the ball turret. That strength could maybe be restored by some card cross braces between the A arms that support the turret ring, shaped to clear the turret rotation of course. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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