Well, this arrived in the post.....
so I can get on now with the pit.
First up is detail removal. When I first bought one of these sets, years ago, I chickened out at removing detail..... but since then I have braced myself and have now used these successfully twice, but there are some lessons to learn.
First, there is no rule to say that every piece of p.e. has to be used. Some parts are impossibly small and are almost impossible to use in the way they are supposed to. Beside which, half of these small parts will ping off and get lost and half of those small parts that you do manage to attach will, almost unnoticed, fall or get knocked off and lost. I have never yet succeeded in attaching a small p.e. lever’s end to the face of the i.p...... Sometimes it just is not worth the stress of worrying about it.
What is important is to do enough to improve on the kit detail, that is it..... other than that life is too short.
Anyway to start with detail removal.... the easiest bit first...
above, done and ready to paint before attaching p.e.
Here is the i.p. half way through sanding.
some lessons I learned. First you just need a flat surface for the glue to grip and hold the p.e. You don’t need, or want, a perfectly smooth polished surface. Second, use a sanding stick that bites, a fine one is no good and, let it do the work. Don’t rush, take it easy. Detail may need to be left on so carefully work around it. One trick is not to ‘round’ edges so use slow careful, even strokes of the stick, oh, did I say don’t rush.
i.p. done
I then glued the smaller bit on as it is best painted in-situ, attaching the p.e. to it won’t be a problem.
Here is the tub before detail removal...
And after, note the detail left on...
Except look at this.....
I need to cut that part away carefully flush to the bottom. I was not looking forward to that but I do have a fine razor saw, which is the right tool for the job. So brace myself, slowly does it.....
oooohhhh ‘errr missus, as in the words of the great Frankie Howard, It worked...
J
I did not catch the part in the photo but it is in one piece and I set it aside to paint and attach later... phewww
i am now ready to apply some primer.
here is a shot of the subs awaiting the primer....
And, to show how much I got done during lockdown while awaiting the p.e.....
I have a little bit of seam sanding on the main airframe to do and I will throw some black primer into the exhausts and intakes. I will then close up some hatches and attach a few parts before priming the airframe.
