Celestialsphere Posted November 25, 2022 Author Share Posted November 25, 2022 It proably would be easier but I thought I would explore a more complicated approach, toptoeing around the various disasters that arise... (Hands up who have been there!) I thought about gluing the wing halves together and just drilling a hole straight into the fairing as it comes in the kit but with my luck even a small drill would wander off and make a complete mess of it. In my judgment drilling into a thicker fairing would work better and look better as well. Each to their own I suppose. I don't know whether all Meteors had the Gearbox Intake. My interpretation from the pictures I have seen: - It appears to always be on the left-hand side when looking into the intake. - Some museum aircraft might have a cover over the intake. - There is one picture on Clubhyper by Paul Gloster which shows an intake with the hole on the right-hand side, but I suspect the photo might be upside down. I'm happy to be proved wrong on any of these points. Cheers Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted November 27, 2022 Share Posted November 27, 2022 That's some dedication to modelling the hole, Andrew! James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted December 1, 2022 Author Share Posted December 1, 2022 Result. I'm happy. Then out with some Vallejo acrylics for an 'impressionistic' session to paint the CMK ejection seat. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 That seat is very impressive 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted December 3, 2022 Author Share Posted December 3, 2022 I have decided to go down the route of fixing the nose halves to the fuselage halves before bringing to two together. Hopefully the nose wheel undercarriage leg can be made to sit square on one side before that. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted December 5, 2022 Share Posted December 5, 2022 I'll be intrigued to see how that works out. The hiatus while I move has at least given me the chance to watch the rest of you find all of the pitfalls and work-arounds 😉 James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted December 6, 2022 Share Posted December 6, 2022 (edited) I'm adding the holes for the cooling intakes to my build, thanks for that information. I have glued the nose halves together on my build, the fit looks quite good as long as the nose leg frame is trimmed down a bit. I think the problem is down to the thickness of the nose sections, the kit plastic being much thicker than the aluminium sheet of the real aircraft. Edited December 6, 2022 by Retired Bob missing word 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted December 15, 2022 Author Share Posted December 15, 2022 Starting to think about how much nose weight is required. Do you think I have enough to play with? 🏋♂️ 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted December 16, 2022 Author Share Posted December 16, 2022 I figured the entire content of my lead weight box might be a bit excessive - 6 kilograms... Eventually I put in 40g of lead (a couple of old car wheel balance weights). This plane is just going to need a longer runway to lift off. There's also some plastic and balsa wood bits to stop anything coming adrift. I once had a Heller 1/72 SAAB Tunnan with a loose nose weight and it annoyed me for years. Never again. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted December 27, 2022 Author Share Posted December 27, 2022 Compliments of the Season everyone. It's a scorcher here in the southern state of Victoria in Australia. As I'm sitting in my uninsulated garage the temperature is 36°C (97°F). Sweat is trickling down my back. I love a good hot day. After a pause for last couple of days I have now finally glued the Meteors fuselage and wings together. My brothers and I, in our younger days, used to call this stage of a model aeroplane 'The Big Glue'. Now I'm tidying up the seams. This is the first time I've tried using sanding sponges on a model. Mainly 1500 grit. They work well. Update on the nose cone - I glued the half nose cones onto the fuselage halves before bringing the completed halves together. (does that make sense...?). I got a nice fit but was it worth deviating from the instructions? I'm not sure but is was worth a try. Cheers Andrew 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Seasons greetings to you as well, Andrew I think your plan with the nose worked well, I've seen a few reports of issues fitting it the other way. Sanding sponges are great, I've been a convert for a while now James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 5 hours ago, Celestialsphere said: Update on the nose cone - I glued the half nose cones onto the fuselage halves before bringing the completed halves together. (does that make sense...?). I got a nice fit but was it worth deviating from the instructions? I'm not sure but is was worth a try. Always worth trying different methods to get parts to fit better. My nose section is also fitted, I trimmed the nose leg frame slightly to ensure there was no problems. I'm using some Montex masks for the canopy and windscreen, the windscreen fits perfectly to the fuselage so no problem there, the 'V' shaped coaming that fits inside the windscreen also fitted well but as it's open it might be possible to see the rear of the instrument panel so I have painted it black rather than risk a patch of the blue plastic being visible. Damp and cold at only 3 degrees C here in UK so no spraying in my garage today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 8 hours ago, Celestialsphere said: It's a scorcher here in the southern state of Victoria in Australia. As I'm sitting in my uninsulated garage the temperature is 36°C (97°F). Sweat is trickling down my back. I love a good hot day. Sorry to hear that mate, its been below zero in Chicago for 4-5 days and Im one who prefer’s the cold. The Meteor is taking shape and looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 'Like sand through the hour glass...' Time is slipping away for this Group Build. I am steadily tidying up my Meteor in preparation for painting. The seams have been filled with a combination of CA glue and Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty. I still have to paint the wing spars before committing the intakes to glue. When looking for paint options this morning I discovered the gorgeous 1/48 Meteor model by @CplPunishment He quotes: 'The colour was achieved by using Tamiya's LP-11 with a dash of white.' Sounds good to me. I will do the same and hope for a good result. Cheers Andrew 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 7 hours ago, Celestialsphere said: 'Like sand through the hour glass...' Time is slipping away for this Group Build. Plenty of time left! 🤞🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted January 4, 2023 Share Posted January 4, 2023 It's coming along well, Andrew. Looking forward to seeing it in paint James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted January 16, 2023 Author Share Posted January 16, 2023 Not a great deal of progress here unfortunately, but I can share a little tip: Sometime we have parts that look almost the same but are slightly different or are 'handed'. A drop tank on the Meteor is a case in point. If they are hollow try glueing a nail or other piece of steel inside one of them and note which one it is in the instructions. Then when you need to know which is which, just use a magnet to find the one with the metal inside. I hope this helps someone. Cheers Andrew 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 13 hours ago, Celestialsphere said: Not a great deal of progress here unfortunately, but I can share a little tip: Sometime we have parts that look almost the same but are slightly different or are 'handed'. A drop tank on the Meteor is a case in point. If they are hollow try glueing a nail or other piece of steel inside one of them and note which one it is in the instructions. Then when you need to know which is which, just use a magnet to find the one with the metal inside. I hope this helps someone. Cheers Andrew Thanks thats a good tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 Nah, he's just trying to come up with an excuse of how he ended up somehow gluing a nail into one of his drop tanks! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted January 23, 2023 Author Share Posted January 23, 2023 "Err... João, you have rockets in your fuel tank..." Carrying on my tradition of doing things the hard way, I needed to fix up the top seam on the fuselage. In sanding it smooth I sanded off the two circular fuel filler caps. They are just over 2mm in diameter. I drilled two holes and found a couple of parts from the spares box of the correct diameter - 1/48 Tamiya RP-3 rockets from the Mosquito kit. Glue them them in. Cut them down to just above flush. I know they are most likely completely flush on the real thing but that a little boring. This is an artistic endeavor. Done. Cheers Andrew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Nicely done, Andrew. I've also been thinking of sanding them off when fixing the seam and replacing later, though most likely as punched discs of plasticard James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celestialsphere Posted February 4, 2023 Author Share Posted February 4, 2023 Hello Everyone. Well, this is as far as I got in my build. I'm just about ready to paint. I will push on with the model. Is it ok to keep posting in the Group Build or do I move my build to the Work in Progress area? What is the protocol around this? It's been fun to participate in this, my first Group Build, and I would like to thank everyone for your support, comments and humor! Cheers Andrew 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 13 hours ago, Celestialsphere said: Hello Everyone. Well, this is as far as I got in my build. I'm just about ready to paint. I will push on with the model. Is it ok to keep posting in the Group Build or do I move my build to the Work in Progress area? What is the protocol around this? It's been fun to participate in this, my first Group Build, and I would like to thank everyone for your support, comments and humor! Cheers Andrew You may keep posting here or you may ask a moderator like Mike or Julien to move it by flagging and/or reporting your build. They will move it to aviation work in progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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