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USAAF A-20G in New Guinea


Giorgio N

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5 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

I'm sorry that my buld has a bit disheartened you, this is not an easy kit to out together

Not disheartened, more 'I think there are other kits I'll build first'. When I do get round to doing them, I'll use this thread as a guide

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20 hours ago, Beard said:

Not disheartened, more 'I think there are other kits I'll build first'. When I do get round to doing them, I'll use this thread as a guide

 

Well. hope my notes will be useful to you when you decide to tackle this kit !

And now more trouble....

Let's talk about the front end of the engine cowlings... When I modified the wing to give a better profile I was worried about the landing gear angles. Now this problem seems to be non existant however I realised that modifying the wing in that way introduce one more serious problem: since the NACA cowlings wrap around the wing leading edge, these now don't fit anymore. To sort this I had to enlarge the slots for the wing leading edge on the NACA rear end. This was not enoug and I had to thin the upper lip of both cowlings. Really this latter work should have little to do with my modifications as without this the NACA were too proud of the wing anyway, but you know what this kit is like by now...

A worse problem was found with the parts connecting the cowlings to the rest of the nacelle, parts 14 and 15. Part 15 is fine but part 14 was almost 2 mm taller than the other, so throwing all the cowling-nacelle assembly off. I had to shave this extra depth from the end where the part touches the wing bottom to sort the matter. To be on the safe side I also removed the ridge on which the engine is glued, so that I could modify the position of the engine just in case this part was also wrongly proportioned.

I have not glued the cowlings in place yet, but a dryfit showed that one of the two nacelles ended up slightly shorter than the other, so leaving a small gap between this and the cowling... don't know if I made a mistake, if the nacelle is actually shorter or if the problem is at the rear end of the wing, in any case I would suggest to check this before assembling.

The reason why I haven't glued the cowlings in place yet is that I i first had to solve a puzzle... the A-20 cowlings are well known for having a number of small blisters covering some of the exhaust pipes. The picture in the link below should clearly show what I mean

 

https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1596010

 

These blisters are shown in the box art and the parts are on the sprues, yet there's no mention of them in the instructions. I searched on the web for instructions of the other MPM issues of this kit and found something interesting... in the D-Day Havoc issue the instructions mention these blisters for 2 out of 3 of the subjects proposed. Ah, now maybe I found the reason for the lack of any mention in my box, maybe the subjects proposed didn't have these blisters. At that point it was back to searching for proper information on the matter and I found that yes, there have been two different configurations of the exhausts on the A-20G, one similar to the older variants (with a few blisters under the rear gills and none on the cowling itself) and one with blisters on the cowling. The link below shows an aircraft with the earlier exhaust system, notice the lack of blisters on the cowl

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Douglas_A-20G_Havoc.jpg

 

Aircraft of the -20 production block had the former, aircraft of the -35 production block have the latter. Mine is a -25 block aircraft... brilliant ! Now I have to try and find what exhaust configuration was used on this block. The MPM box included the rear parts for the earlier configuration, that would replace the famous parts 14 and 15... I'll not be happy if I have to remove these, but it's all my fault, I should have checked these things before starting to build the model. Proper references are vital to get things right !!!!

Edited by Giorgio N
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And here's some pictures to explain the difference in the parts I mentioned.

 

04ad4b73-ea25-4453-a3b7-818ff0099bde.JPG

 

 

2fabf21b-f55b-4e11-a752-beed39a88cf2.jpg

 

As you can see in the early configuration all cylinders exhaust pipes exit at the rear, some on the sides and others on the bottom of the cowling (the latter covered by invidual blisters).

In the late configuration some exit on the sides while the others exit through the cowling sides, again covered by blisters that MPM gives as separate parts.

I'm a bit annoyed that I've had to separate parts that were already glued in place, fortunately I've not had  much damage. At the same time I'm glad that my A-20G features the early configuration as gluing individual blisters on the cowlings would be a real pain. More so as MPM gracefully supplies cowlings with no indication whatsoever of the position of these blisters...

 

I've lost a day because of this issue, I should have really checked before starting. Anyway work must progress as I've got less than 10 days left and I still have to glue a lot of parts. Here are the cowlings with the engines and the relavant rear parts, ready to be attached to the nacelles.

 

5b2cf753-2ecc-4b8d-a407-f801a238c43f.JPG

 

The engines are quite nice, I just added the pushrods for the valves: I would have liked to add the spark plugs wires, I tried to do it with very thin copper wire but realised that it is too much of a task for me at the moment, maybe on my next radial engined subject...

Edited by Giorgio N
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And so it was that disaster struck ! While I was paiting the frames of the canopy in interior green, the clear part broke in two, right in the middle of the windscreen. Now I have a problem, a serious problem.

I have to investigate a solution of some kind, at the moment I have identified these:

1) Glue the part together and use as a basis for a master for a vacuform replacement. Pros: it's cheap. Cons: no guarantee of success, could work immediately or take m ages to get a decent canopy.

2) Retrieve the disassembled Matchbox kit and steal the canopy from there. Pros: it's cheap and very fast. Cons: I don't know if the part fits, will sure require some work as the MPM kit transparencies are arranged differently. And I'd be left with no canopy for the Matchbox kit, that I'd like to restore at some point

3) Retrieve the Matchbox kit and use its canopy as a master for a vacform replacement. Pros: again cheap and would allow me to rebuild the Matchbox kit. Cons: again no guarantee of fit and making vacform parts is a pain.

4) Buy the Falcon Clear Vax Set 10, that includes vacform canopies for both the Matchbox A-20G/J and the Revell A-20C- Pros: I'd have a very nice and clear vacform canopy. Cons: again fit issues and these set are expensive if bought for one single canopy. I've seen that a shop not far from here have a set but € 25... I can buy a new kit for this kind of money !

5) Check with Special Hobby if they can sell me a spare clear sprue. They have a few A-20G issues available on their website, so they sure have sprues, don't know if they sell them but I've heard of people who got parts from them with no problem. Pros: I'd have the same part of my kit, so no particular fit issues... well, no more than I've already had. Cons: no idea yet of the cost and may take some time.

6) Check here if anyone has any spare A-20 canopy from a broken up kit ot the Falcon set. Pros: may be easier than finding other solutions. Cons: may happen in a day or a month and I may have problems in fitting the part if this comes from a different kit.

 

Guess that at this point the best I can do is cool down and go to bed. Tomorrow I'll check the matchbox part and see if this fits. If so, I may at least use this as temporary measure, either as it is or as basis for a vacformed replacement. In the meantime I'll drop an email to Special Hobby to check if they can sell me a replacement and I may post a request in the relevant section of the forum for an A-20 canopy.

 

P.S. there could be another option... If the windscreen is flat, i could remove this from the rest of the clear part and replace it with clear plasticard cut to size. I would still have the problem of replacing the small upper front window, that is clearly curved. I am also afraid that the cracks may propagate to the curved side windows, and replacing these would be difficult without replacing the whole part.

 

P.S. 2 Forgot to add that I do have another A-20 kit in the stash, a High Planes Havoc Turbinlite. This features a nice vacform canopy that could easily be used as basis for a master, however early Havocs had a very different windscree so this part is of no use

Edited by Giorgio N
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5 hours ago, dogsbody said:

That is definitely an OH CRAP! moment, Giorgio. I personaly would use much stronger and more crude language but I cannot post such words here, under threat of banishment.

 

 

Chris

 

It sure was one of those moments but when this happened I just stood at the desk speechless. Maybe it was lack of energies, maybe calm acceptance.. I'll see what I can do today, with Christmas around the corner I don't think SH will reply soon. If I want to complete the model in time I have to find an alternative solution 

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gee Giorgio this little beast is really giving you trouble and I no that feeling well as well!!!! It is best just to set her aside for a couple of days.

 

Seeing if you can get a replacement from Special Hobby's is the first thing to try. I think VacForming your own maybe the best option in the end. Glue it all back together and stuff the inside with BluTac or Plasticine to help keep its shape.

 

You'll find the right solution but in the meantime put your feet up and have a :cheers:

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Hi Giorgio 

Sorry to hear about your troubles . Have you tried building the parts up using Humbrol Clearfix . I used it for some port side cabin widow and windscreen replacements on my Viscount over on Brits Abroad . If you don't like the result it is easy to remove 

Martin H

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Update on this: I have enquired with SH but of course I've yet to receive an answer. Not surpsising considering that we're in the middle of Christmas holiday season.

I have also checked the Matchbox part but this is really too thick to fit properly. Even a vacform copy would have problems fitting as Matchbox and MPM depicted the are differently. At this point really the only option will be to wait for SH to get back to me or make a vacform replacement. In any case, I'll not be able to complete the model for the GB, something that really annoys me.

 

On 12/26/2018 at 3:49 AM, Grandboof said:

Hi Giorgio 

Sorry to hear about your troubles . Have you tried building the parts up using Humbrol Clearfix . I used it for some port side cabin widow and windscreen replacements on my Viscount over on Brits Abroad . If you don't like the result it is easy to remove 

Martin H

 

Martin, this is a good suggestion ! The problem is that the windscreen has a slight curve and I'm not sure clearfix or similar products would follow the curve.

I considered removing the windscreen from the clear part and replacing this with a curved square from acetate or similar clear plastic. This may work for the lower windscreen panel, the problem is with the upper small panel, that is very bulged. Unfortunately the crack line is right across both panels...

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On 27/12/2018 at 22:40, Giorgio N said:

Update on this: I have enquired with SH but of course I've yet to receive an answer. Not surpsising considering that we're in the middle of Christmas holiday season.

I have also checked the Matchbox part but this is really too thick to fit properly. Even a vacform copy would have problems fitting as Matchbox and MPM depicted the are differently. At this point really the only option will be to wait for SH to get back to me or make a vacform replacement. In any case, I'll not be able to complete the model for the GB, something that really annoys me.

 

 

Martin, this is a good suggestion ! The problem is that the windscreen has a slight curve and I'm not sure clearfix or similar products would follow the curve.

I considered removing the windscreen from the clear part and replacing this with a curved square from acetate or similar clear plastic. This may work for the lower windscreen panel, the problem is with the upper small panel, that is very bulged. Unfortunately the crack line is right across both panels...

I think you won't have any trouble getting a canopy from SH. I got a 1/48 Ju 87 canopy from them this year and the kit has been out of production for years. It took some time as they had to make it, but it did arrive. 

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22 hours ago, Greg Law said:

I think you won't have any trouble getting a canopy from SH. I got a 1/48 Ju 87 canopy from them this year and the kit has been out of production for years. It took some time as they had to make it, but it did arrive. 

 

That is good to know ! Have to say that in the meantime SH got back to me on the first working day after Christmas, directing me to a form on their website to request the part. I'll see how long it takes for the part to reach my shores, then I'll restart work on the model in the general WIP section.

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it's a shame that happen Giorgio, I think we were all looking forward to seeing her completed.

 

Hopefully it won't take too long for the replacement part to arrive, I'll keep an eye out for further progress on her.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update: I just received a nice little box from Special Hobby. Inside is a new clear sprue, including the part I need. All without being charged or anything. A great example of very good customer support, well done SH !

I will now soon restart working on the model in the general WIP section

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