B-17 Underbelly Color.

[Thebuilderofthings]

. 'Shady Lady'. I might use this one but I would have to go to a natural aluminum finish. Still thinking.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Another odd piece to work out here.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Here is the filler piece.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Now it's glued in but with a gap. I'll fix that here in the next shot.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Just make up a little sawdust...

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Fill the gap with the sawdust then lay it up with CA glue and you've got a great gap filler.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

So here is one side in the rough...

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

...and the other.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

On with the balsa filler. This stuff is dirt cheap and you can get it at any good hardware store. I use a lot of it!

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

This shows you what will be accomplished prior to sanding.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

And finally the other side.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Just a little side track note here. One of the fiberglass cowls I had mentioned in the very beginning of this thread as you receive them from the manufacturer. They already have the panel lines and cowl flaps molded in. Notice the big shiny divot about the size of my thumb. Each one of these cowls has them. Not to mention a nasty joint line as you can see going right through the center.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

Here it is all pin holes, low spots, glass weave, and divot all taken care of and primed ready for paint or other alternative finishes.

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Cool TBOT. I can't wait to see this done!

 

[vikingBerserker]

Nice!

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

And now after an initial sanding with 80 grit. I'm not shy when it comes to this stuff. When you want to get the rough stuff done quick you go for the 80 grit I say. Gets the job done right now!! No messin' around! Takes a tedious task and cuts the time in half it does! You can still see where some of the filler remains. And of course, there'll be more filling to do followed by 220 then 320 grit.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

You can see which one is the crutch by the two cracks I had placed in it in previous steps. The tape prevents sanding on the wing surface.

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

And the other side. They do start to clean up once you hit them with filler and sandpaper.

 

[vikingBerserker]

That's just top notch!

 

[Thebuilderofthings]

That's just top notch!

Thank you yet again. You keep me going you do. Thanks!