Who put the engine in the back?

[depressed lemur]

Thanks Clive.  It is still looking positive after an hour so, fingers crossed.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

On 7/14/2019 at 7:49 AM, depressed lemur said:

One question, though, is how much nose weight to add.  Eduard don't tell you, but do remind you to make sure it is in there.  Has anyone built one?  will 5g be enough?  Any help greatly appreciated.

Having built multiple P-39's over the last 40 years, use as much as you can cram in. These things are notorious tail sitters. I have an Eduard P-39n sitting in a storage bin doing a wheelie because the 3/4 oz i used wasn't enough ? 

[depressed lemur]

This week has seen very little movement, being mostly concerned with paint revival.  I must say, I was completely flummoxed by the bloom on one wing, after all, both airframes were painted at the same time, with the same paint, form the same mix.  So, the paint was not the issue.  Both kits were varnished at the same time using the same Klear, so the varnish is not the reason.  As I pre-mix all my paint stash I am confident that there was no difference between any of the batches throughout, even at a molecular level. But still, one wing went white.  One Wing!! not the full thing, just one.  Anyhoo, I found a very fine line using IPA between removing the bloom and removing the paint / varnish, so rather than rushing, I have had a slow, steady week, the end result being this.

 

 

It looks a little more weathered than the port wing but I am happy not having to strip and re-build.

 

Yesterday I managed to stick a bit of etch underneath.

 

 

which seems to have worked rather well.

 

which spurred me on to trying on the legs.  This is a moment of truth as the first real time you know that you have enough nose weight.

 

 

Well, slap me sideways with a steamed Haddock.  They are both steady.  Just a few bits and pieces to go (prop, aerials, doors. bit of paint) and I may actually post in RFI.

 

Thanks for looking

[clive_t]

Good rescue, nice job all round

[Eivind Lunde]

Looking good so far!

I have one of these in my stash, although in the surprisingly pornographic "Air a cutie" weekend edition livery, so I will follow this with interest.

 

[depressed lemur]

I never thought I would reach this post.  I have a nasty habit of building close the the end and not posting the results. Today was the last day of the build.

 

Mainly today was propellers and ancillaries.

 

The propeller was built from a number of pieces, not least being individual blades.  these have no locating points and the instructions helpfully give a pitch angle for the blade, but you can put it in any of 360 degree angles, so not much help.  I was able to knock up a simple card jig to allow me to build the damn thing.

 

 

On the plus side, they do build up quite well.

 

On the negative, that great lump in the middle of the spinner is meant to be a cannon barrel.  Looks a bit pants, so out with my drill bits.

 

 

Not perfect, but this was the biggest drill bit I have, so it has to do.

 

The next few hours were spent sticking on bits and pieces, and most importantly, removing masking.

 

 

 

 

I am calling these done.  Finished, Ended,Actually stood on the wheels!

 

A quick summary

 

Negatives.

Bloody etch.  Fiddly, not all is seen at the end

The soddin' great cannon in the nose needs a hollow point.  Eduard, please re-visit the kit.

No indication of nose weight.

Masks do not have curved edges

 

Challenges

Recovering from a bizarre paint bloom.

Attaching the canopies, doors etc.

weathering (pre-shading)

 

Positives

Masks, so much easier.

Unusual subject in the scale

A nice challenge which didn't get me down.

 

I really enjoyed this joint build.  I learned a lot and help from you guys with history and advice was worth it's weight in gold.

 

I am about to go away for a few days on work but hope to get some better pics in the RFI section later.

 

thanks for your help.

 

Thanks for looking

 

 

The Lemur.

[clive_t]

Nice jobs, well done