GranddadAl Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 I'm currently building the Airfix 1:24 f6f-5 Hellcat. Having adhered carefully to the instructions thus far I now find that when I offer the two fuselage halves together there is a yawning chasm between them. Is it me or has anyone else experienced this? I've tried reducing the bulkheads but I'm afraid I'll end up with other parts not fitting later in the build. Any advice gracefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishplanebeer Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Some pics would help in trying to establish what is going wrong for your build. I've not attempted to build this kit but as with any other a dry fit is always best before committing to gluing things in place, plus removing all paint from the surfaces that will need to be mated/come into contact with other plastic as the tolerances even with such a big kit will be quite small and thin layers of paint can result in things not going together as they should. That said if you have a 'yawning chasm' it would suggest something more fundamental. Sorry I can't help more and if this is teaching to suck eggs. Regards Colin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Can you find what specifically is holding the two parts away from one another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 I've moved this in the the Tips & Tricks > Techniques section, as although it's a WWII aircraft you're building, the issue isn't related to when it flew. Usually, when you can't close up the fuselage (or anything else for that matter), there's something in the way. Double-check that you've put everything together in the right place, and if you haven't, try and fix it as best you can. It's the old addage, which is also a truism. Test fit, test fit, and test fit. Second only to measure twice, cut once, but in a similar vein. I usually make a point of fitting cockpits within fuselages just after gluing them together, as it's a test-fit, but also because if you let it set up in the correct place (assuming you've got ledges and pins to locate it properly), it's more likely to fit later on, as nothing should move while the glue is setting up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GranddadAl Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Seawinder, for some reason the two main fuselage bulkhead seen to be too big. Clearly this can't be the case can it? But reducing these bulkhead by sanding, filing and hacking does seem to easing this problem, I just content to over do it. Thank you Fishplanebeer for your input too. I started modelling with the Airfix Spitfire, 1/- from Woolworths. It's never too late to learn something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 3 minutes ago, GranddadAl said: the two main fuselage bulkhead seen to be too big. Could you have possibly put them in the wrong places? Maybe the wrong side of the lip, or swapped them accidentally? I'm not familiar with the kit, so apologies if I'm talking nonsense, but those are my first thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GranddadAl Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Colin, not a clue how to post photos since Photo Bucket. Sorry, I've been away for a while. Al 3 hours ago, fishplanebeer said: Some pics would help in trying to establish what is going wrong for your build. I've not attempted to build this kit but as with any other a dry fit is always best before committing to gluing things in place, plus removing all paint from the surfaces that will need to be mated/come into contact with other plastic as the tolerances even with such a big kit will be quite small and thin layers of paint can result in things not going together as they should. That said if you have a 'yawning chasm' it would suggest something more fundamental. Sorry I can't help more and if this is teaching to suck eggs. Regards Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG Posted July 5, 2021 Share Posted July 5, 2021 Al, Have a look at page 8 of this build thread on LSP. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/89339-124-airfix-f6f-5-hellcat-kicked-up-a-notch-june-1021-fuselage-closed/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GranddadAl Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 Thanks to everyone who has taken the trouble to help me out. Difficult to put the bulkheads in the wrong place Mike.. Nice deep grooves to locate them. I masked these off before painting the cockpit. I've followed your advice McG, very helpful article. I seem to be getting close. Apologies for my garbled posts. Auto correct is trying to take over the world I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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