Great work John.
1/32 Trumpeter Me 262A-1a "Yellow 3"
- Thread starter JKim
- Start date
Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Looks great so far John!
Hansie Bloeckmann
Senior Airman
Si, es verdad, amigo. Muy Bien Hecho!!Bien hecho! y muy interesantes consejos.
Well done! and very interesting tips.
- Thread starter
- #104
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks guys! Just returned from my overseas trip. I still need to work on the photographs that I took (over 3,000) so I won't be able to venture into the modeling den for a few days at least. Just an FYI... the pilot figure isn't necessarily tied to the 262 but I just happened to work on it at the same time.
turbo
Staff Sergeant
Welcome back! I see you work on the same photography principle as me - if you take enough there must be a few good ones in there!
F-104nut
Staff Sergeant
WOW John that pilot and chair lookin really great. Awesome paint work to 
- Thread starter
- #107
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I'm finally able to report some more work on Yellow 3. After my two week trip to Kazakhstan/Kyrgyzstan, I was busy getting over the jet-lag and posting all of the photos from the trip on Facebook. 900 photos spread out over 11 albums! After getting the photos done, it was just a matter of venturing back into the man-cave after a month layoff. There were days where I had free time but for whatever reason, I didn't feel the urge to get back into modeling. I hadn't really gotten into the "meat" of the build and there were still some nagging questions about how the Aires resin cockpit/wheel well was going to fit so there wasn't a definite piece of work or task that I was looking forward to... that uncertainty and lack of momentum was a factor in my delaying my return.
But eventually, the call to get back onto Yellow 3 pushed me back into the man-cave. Rainy day here in Southern California so that helped. First order of business was to get a better handle on the resin components and how they fit with the kit parts. Access to the detail to facilitate painting and secure attachment of the parts were primary concerns besides the actual fit. I may have gone through this process already but I can't remember anything concrete about it so repeating it would help me familiarize myself with the kit again. Forgive the redundancy!
Dry-fitting resin parts that have no positive location aids is like building a house of cards so I needed to make some temporary glue attachments. The rear cockpit bulkhead was attached to the cockpit tub using white glue. I also white-glued the forward cross-truss onto the bottom of the cockpit tub. Attachment of the straight-edged truss onto the curved cockpit tub was very tenous so I used a big glob of glue and let it dry overnight.
The sidewalls were taped into place after the glue was dried.
This assembly was placed into the fuselage, which has been taped together. No real locations aids to snap the tub into place. I just butted it up against the kit bulkhead.
I slipped the wings on to see how everything fits. The wheel well inserts have been taped into the wing parts beforehand. Looked ok initially with a few concerns. One is the gap/overhang between the wheel well inserts and main wheel well sidewalls. I think I can address that when the assembly is glued into the fuselage by applying glue between the sidewalls and fuselage and spreading the sidewalls outward. Another is that the resin piece that bridges the wheel well longitudinally came up way short, meaning that the forward cross-truss is located too far forward.
When I flipped the model over, the kit bulkhead at front of the wheel well opening popped loose. Based on the position of the seat, I think the cockpit tub is situated too far to the rear but the bulkhead coming loose may have disrupted the fit.
But eventually, the call to get back onto Yellow 3 pushed me back into the man-cave. Rainy day here in Southern California so that helped. First order of business was to get a better handle on the resin components and how they fit with the kit parts. Access to the detail to facilitate painting and secure attachment of the parts were primary concerns besides the actual fit. I may have gone through this process already but I can't remember anything concrete about it so repeating it would help me familiarize myself with the kit again. Forgive the redundancy!
Dry-fitting resin parts that have no positive location aids is like building a house of cards so I needed to make some temporary glue attachments. The rear cockpit bulkhead was attached to the cockpit tub using white glue. I also white-glued the forward cross-truss onto the bottom of the cockpit tub. Attachment of the straight-edged truss onto the curved cockpit tub was very tenous so I used a big glob of glue and let it dry overnight.
The sidewalls were taped into place after the glue was dried.
This assembly was placed into the fuselage, which has been taped together. No real locations aids to snap the tub into place. I just butted it up against the kit bulkhead.
I slipped the wings on to see how everything fits. The wheel well inserts have been taped into the wing parts beforehand. Looked ok initially with a few concerns. One is the gap/overhang between the wheel well inserts and main wheel well sidewalls. I think I can address that when the assembly is glued into the fuselage by applying glue between the sidewalls and fuselage and spreading the sidewalls outward. Another is that the resin piece that bridges the wheel well longitudinally came up way short, meaning that the forward cross-truss is located too far forward.
When I flipped the model over, the kit bulkhead at front of the wheel well opening popped loose. Based on the position of the seat, I think the cockpit tub is situated too far to the rear but the bulkhead coming loose may have disrupted the fit.
- Thread starter
- #108
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
I don't have lots of experience using resin so I'm not an expert or anything. I know that Aires has been criticized for producing resin sets that look great but fit horribly. That has not been my experience. I've found that their stuff CAN be made to fit and usually fit well IF you discover some "keys" which, sadly, Aires does not feel like sharing with its customers. Their instructions are usually terribly vague.
While futzing around with Aires cockpit tub for this 262 build, I stumbled onto one of those "keys". Remember that tenuous fit of the forward cross-truss? The cross actually fits much more securely into the bottom wing piece. There is even a lip on inner surface of the wing to guide lateral position of the cross-truss. Any time you can replace a dodgy fit with a secure one is a great win.
Another round of dry-fitting ensues. This time around, the cockpit tub seems to be in a better position.
The space between the forward cross-truss and the rear wheel well bulkhead has been reduced.
I'm also taking this opportunity to check out the fit of nose pieces. Overall the fit is decent but it looks like some shimming might be in order to bridge some of the gaps.
I thought about adding the shims now but I think it'd be better to wait until the fuselage halves are glued together. I don't know how accurate this assessment is when everything has just been taped together. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the fit and I'm hoping most everything will get tightened up as the glue hits the plastic.
While futzing around with Aires cockpit tub for this 262 build, I stumbled onto one of those "keys". Remember that tenuous fit of the forward cross-truss? The cross actually fits much more securely into the bottom wing piece. There is even a lip on inner surface of the wing to guide lateral position of the cross-truss. Any time you can replace a dodgy fit with a secure one is a great win.
Another round of dry-fitting ensues. This time around, the cockpit tub seems to be in a better position.
The space between the forward cross-truss and the rear wheel well bulkhead has been reduced.
I'm also taking this opportunity to check out the fit of nose pieces. Overall the fit is decent but it looks like some shimming might be in order to bridge some of the gaps.
I thought about adding the shims now but I think it'd be better to wait until the fuselage halves are glued together. I don't know how accurate this assessment is when everything has just been taped together. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the fit and I'm hoping most everything will get tightened up as the glue hits the plastic.
SANCER
Senior Master Sergeant
The level of detail of the resin pieces is impressive, and at the scale you are doing, it will be a treat to enjoy your skills, John.
I already missed news of your great bird.
Saludos amigo
I already missed news of your great bird.
Saludos amigo
turbo
Staff Sergeant
Good stuff John, always pleasing when you get the fit right.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Good stuff John, and some nice detail on the resin parts.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Nice check procedure. Now it's time to sniff some glue!
- Thread starter
- #116
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks guys! I spent the weekend painting the cockpit...
Crimea_River
Marshal
Excellent.
- Thread starter
- #118
JKim
Senior Master Sergeant
Thanks guys!
Here is the Revi gunsight. I added the reflector glass from a thicker plastic than what the Aires set came with so that I could highlight the edges of the rear element with clear blue/green. Due to the construction ahead, I'll hold off on attaching the gun sight until the cockpit tub has been glued into place and the front windscreen is ready to be installed.
Here is the Revi gunsight. I added the reflector glass from a thicker plastic than what the Aires set came with so that I could highlight the edges of the rear element with clear blue/green. Due to the construction ahead, I'll hold off on attaching the gun sight until the cockpit tub has been glued into place and the front windscreen is ready to be installed.
SANCER
Senior Master Sergeant
excellent work in that gunsight...!!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Nice work John, especially on the REVI.
Note that the forward glass screen was a retractable sun screen, tinted a greenish brown colour - Tamiya clear green works well for this, and a tiny amount of Tamiya 'Smoke' can be mixed in too, but experiment first.
Note that the forward glass screen was a retractable sun screen, tinted a greenish brown colour - Tamiya clear green works well for this, and a tiny amount of Tamiya 'Smoke' can be mixed in too, but experiment first.
