Building the Yak 28 Firebar ( Bobcat )- vague instructions

[neilh]

I'm currently building the Yak-28 Firebar from Bobcat models.  My one criticism so far would be the slightly vague instructions which do need to be followed closely as this kit is not of usual parts breakdown r build sequence.  I'm really not able to fathom where parts E14 & E15 go. They look to represent some sort of cockpit wiring in the front cockpit but the instructions just show them "arrowed" to fit either side of the tub. Test fitting does not seem to offer any room for them to fit where suggested and a small inset shows just a hint of the rear of the part looking to overlap the top edge of the tub, just above part B32 which I think represents an IP lamp I've had a look at the online builds here on Britmodeller but a) a lot of pictures have died with Photobuckets rule change and b, those that remain don't show the area in question. Any builders able to help me out?

The tub itself is also a bit of a vague dry fit but adding the front wheel well when I actually apply glue might help that.  Not looking forward to avoiding snapping off the complex front U/C though. Did anyone manage to work out a way to install after main construction? I don't want to chop off the ends of the locating pegs and then find they are too short to properly locate!

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by neilh
error in title of topic - wrong kit!

[Pilot Officer Prune]

Are you sure it's a Brewer?  As far as I know, only the Firebar has been released thus far.  I confess that I omitted the parts you mention from my Firebar build, and I installed the undercarriage legs as the instructions suggested, although I left off the wheels until much later.

 

 

 

Ian

[zebra]

I assume you mean Firebar - if it's a Brewer I'd love to know where you got it!

 

I didn't keep the instructions from mine so not certain which parts you mean, but I think I can picture them. If they're the parts I'm thinking of, I couldn't work out how to get them in and left them out. I think I might have got one of them in somehow, but it then wouldn't stay attached and I decided it wasn't meant to be and I wasn't going to miss it.

 

I couldn't figure out a way to install the undercarriage after assembling the fuselage so went with the sequence in the instructions. It was all a bit fiddly and the location of some of the parts was a bit vague - the holes the locating pins sit in are huge - but once it was all together I dropped in a bit of superglue and the undercarriage turned out to be pretty robust. I was paranoid about breaking it for the rest of the build but it turned out fine - unlike some of the aerials that are moulded in to the fuselage, which would have been better done as separate parts.

 

If you haven't already, have a look at my build and Hewy's in the 70s NATO vs Warsaw Pact group build. We discussed the undercarriage a bit there. Hewy pointed out that you're not actually supposed to glue the rear undercarriage until the outrigger wheels are on - that way you can get the sit right - it was too late for me and I ended up shortening the outrigger legs.

[neilh]

Thanks PO Prune and Zebra- as you correctly spotted - its the Firebar!  I've edited that now. Looks like the consensus is leave those parts off then. I did look at yours and Hewys build before I started mine and picked up some tips from them already. I too have engine panels fitting well one side but not the other. Being forearmed, at least I could fettle them a bit to improve the fit.  I may try adding a protective plastic card box around the U/C as like you I cannot see a way of fitting afterwards. The only option I could think of was cutting the locating pegs shorter, then adding some half moons cut from plastic tube so the locating pegs could slot into the open ends of those from underneath. Not accurate, but probably invisible unless you pick the model up and turn it over.  Nice builds by all of you by the way!

[Bjorn]

Parts E14 and E15 should be placed like this: 

 

 

Fit is OK, but there is a rather ugly hole in the middle, which I covered with a small PC strip. I discovered them at the end of the build, and have not painted them yet.

 

The best way to handle the landing gears is to assemble them as the instructions tell. The soft plastic makes this easier, it is not as hard to break as, for instance, Hasegawa plastic. The only good thing with this kind of toy-like plastic that unfortunately is getting more common at Chinese kits.

[neilh]

Thanks Bjorn, your photo shows them exactly. I painted mine last night just in case so now I can colour wash them ready for fitting.