Jakko’s 1:48 Tamiya Brewster B-339 Buffalo

[Guest]

Jakko.
Seeing this I can see why I stick to tanks at least I have mud to help.
There seems to be no quality standards to adhere to for model manufacturer's, I get the impression that " near enough " will do from a lot of these smaller aftermarket suppliers .

[Guest]

I have even been known to use the edge of a steel rule - bit of a misuse of tools but it works :smiling5:

I tried that, and though it gets the edges off (which are of course raised a bit due to capillary action of the liquid resin in the mould) I couldn’t really get beyond that because the engine is very difficult to hold while scraping the back with a steel rule. Still, this made the edges flatter so they’ll fit more easily to replacement supports if I take out the inner wall

Having built a good few aircraft with a heap of resin cockpits and seats, I too am wondering about my sanity along with that of the people that produce these sets.

Same I normally don’t overly bother with detailing cockpits, since little of it will be visible anyway, but for this one I decided to splash out. TBH, I think I would rather have added a bit of detail to the Tamiya parts using the photos of the real cockpit I linked to earlier.

As good as the it looks when done, you close up the fuselage and think, (well I do), that was a wast of time.

And same here too. That’s why I don’t see the point at all for the 1:72 scale aircraft I usually build, but this being 1:48 I thought I’d give it a try. I probably won’t in future, if I build one in this scale again.

Seeing this I can see why I stick to tanks at least I have mud to help.

Luckily, AFVs are my main area too

There seems to be no quality standards to adhere to for model manufacturer's, I get the impression that " near enough " will do from a lot of these smaller aftermarket suppliers .

I have no other experience with cockpit sets, but this is a new experience in resin for me in that it’s both well-executed (good detail, quality casting) and poorly done (fragile parts, unclear instructions and locations) at the same time. Most resin kits or sets I’ve used over the years have either been good or poor overall, not both at the same time.

[rtfoe]

Jakko, patience is the key bro. You're doing fine. I would use my sprue cutter to chip away at the thick pouring blocks...then sand the remainder. That part is the back of the engine firewall..if it doesn't interfere with what's inside I would just leave it.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

The problem is that it does interfere: the engine is supposed to go against an internal wall moulded inside the fuselage, but the 1.5 mm of resin at the back of the part pushes it too far forward. Far enough, in fact, that the front cowling won’t fit properly because its locating pins hit the engine.

[rtfoe]

Ooh then its cutting then. Normally these manufacturers have testes their product but just before making the mold they may have added the extra but for easy pouring and access to removing from the mold. Thats where the problem starts.

Cheers
Richard

[Guest]

What it needs is more model methods of casting, I suppose. Of course, that’s more expensive than a simple, open mould, which is probably why they still use it.

[Neil Merryweather]

Hey jakko, do you have a scribing cutter?
If you scribe deep parallel groove s across the surface of the block you can then chisel them away one at a time with a knife

[Guest]

I do, but chipping away at it a bit at a time is going to be far more work than cutting out the fuselage wall Now I just need to get around to doing that …

[Guest]

Here’s the fuselage wall removed:

[ATTACH]360550[/ATTACH]

I just cut into it with cutters and scored along where it joins the outer fuselage, then snapped off the pieces. All that remained was some clean-up.

This revealed that the forward part of the fuselage, in front of the wall, is thinner than behind it, so there’s an automatic ridge to glue the engine to (this is also why I left bits of the wall remaining). Once the engine is in, I plan to add some reinforcing strip or rod behind it.

Talking of the engine:

[ATTACH]360551[/ATTACH]

I drilled a hole for the propeller shaft, but unfortunately it ended up slightly off-centre. Nothing to be done about that, I suppose, so I’ll just have to live with it. The resin part comes without pushrods or wiring. I’ve added the former from 0.5 mm plastic rod, and am still trying to work out how to do the wiring without it being too much work. This is what it should end up looking like:

[ATTACH]360552[/ATTACH] (Wikipedia)

[SimonT]

You could always grind out the rest of the hole to that outer ring and then sleeve it with some tubing to get the hole central again

[rtfoe]

You could always grind out the rest of the hole to that outer ring and then sleeve it with some tubing to get the hole central again

I would have done that too.

Cheers,
Richard

[Mini Me]

I was thinking the same thing as I read your post Jakko. It wouldn't be that difficult. To ream and sleeve to get a true center. Not to mention a superior modeling result.
Cheers, Rick H.

[Guest]

Good point, I’ll give that a try. All I need to do is find suitable diameter tubing, but if necessary I’ve got access to a lathe to make something that’ll fit …

[Guest]

After a week or so of not doing any modelling, I solved the engine problem:

[ATTACH]361527[/ATTACH]

I reamed out the hole as suggested, then mixed up a small amount of two-part epoxy putty and used that to fill the space around the plastic rod I’m using as a prop shaft. That took a bit of care to line up straight, by sighting along a square set vertically on my work surface.

I’ve also painted and fitted the seat by now:

[ATTACH]361526[/ATTACH]

It’s really just a quick paint job: aluminium colour paint, pale tan for the belts, and then a coat of Tamiya Smoke and then matt varnish over it all. Once fitted into the model I needed to add the Upper parts of the seat belts:

[ATTACH]361528[/ATTACH]

That’s just bits of masking tape cut to the right width and superglued into place. Obviously they still need painting to match the rest

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Good fix with the prop shaft. The cockpit looks good. Glad you sorted the fit with the wall. Hopefully plain sailing now.
Jim