**** DONE: GB-37 1/48 ACH-47A Chinook - Helicopters / Military a/c of BoB 1940

[Airframes]

I'm sure you could do it Mike - the diorama base could be very simple, and if I can do simple electric wiring (which is very mysterious to me, almost as much as how a woman's brain works !), I'm sure you could.
I'd be pleased to help and advise on the base, and Vic can probably help with the LED set-up.

 

[parsifal]

I reckon you easily have the skills to do it Mike......here we go again.....no pressure sir.

 

[mikewint]

Yea, you silver-tongued devil will have me on the garage roof flapping a set of wings convinced that I could fly IF it tried REALLY hard

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Well, you could fly - it would be a very short flight, and probably a hard landing, but you could fly !

 

[Donivanp]

Very nice work Mike and remember, Whirly birds DON'T Fly, they just beat the sky into submission!

From Ft Rucker's Army Aviation Museum, another experimental Chinook. The wings were supposed to add lift to increase the lift weight if I recall correctly.

 

[mikewint]

OK, be warned this is a Piss & Moan post. I have NEVER had SOOOO many problems getting parts to fit. I do have to admit that it is 50% my fault. The inner fuselage was completed with zero problems except that there were no real tabs to locate the four sections. Now this completed unit was to be enclosed within the two outer fuselage halves along with a third outer floor piece. Now remember NO actual instructions just drawings to show where everything goes. So I did some thinking (Yea you're right herein starts the problem) I figured that the inner fuselage needed to be secured within the outer...sooo me put down a bead of CA on one half and put in the inner fuselage unit. That way, me thought, it would not shift around when I tried to get the outer half in place. Remember NO locating tabs I aligned the way I thought (Yea you're right Prob #2). Well major problem with fit when I tried to install the outer fuselage halves. The inner unit was not located exactly correctly, a bit too far back and a bit canted. Managed to get the back pylon glued and then the front pylon. Now I had a good 3-4mm gap in the top seam between the two pylons. Forced that together and CAed. So far so good. Now the back won't close enough so I have a 6-7mm gap in the back...hoping putty will solve that FUBAR. Now the bottom outer floor. Forcing the top together spread the bottom and the canted inner fuselage has cause the outer fuselage parts to also shift fore and aft so they no longer align with the bottom floor sections. The cant has also lowered the bottom of the cockpit so the front three outer fuselage parts no longer come together there. IF I had not CAed the inner fuselage I THINK (Yea I really should learn NOT to do that) that I could have shifted it around within the outer fuselage. 'Course I never know now.
I'm still fighting the good fight but I'm about 1 inch from turning the whole thing into a target for my .45 Colt

 

[fubar57]

Brutal, hope it works out for you Mike

 

[Wurger]

Doing well though.

 

[Airframes]

Oh dear !

 

[mikewint]

Doing well

That's what the man that jumped off the Empire State Building said as he passed the 2nd story window. Those massive clamps will give you an idea of how much force I'm exerting trying to force thing together. The whole thing may shatter like a egg at some point.
Then it's truly SOL time

 

[mikewint]

Oh dear

Was think more along the lines of "Oh self-fornication"

 

[Wurger]

That's what the man that jumped off the Empire State Building said as he passed the 2nd story window. Those massive clamps will give you an idea of how much force I'm exerting trying to force thing together. The whole thing may shatter like a egg at some point.
Then it's truly SOL time

What is the reason for the brutal treating of the fuselage- bended fuselage halves?

 

[Donivanp]

Hammer and ten penny nails?

 

[Airframes]

I think I'd be inclined to open it up, and attempt to 'undo' the mis-aligned interior assembly.
If successful, then clean up the contact points, and re-fit, using cement, not CA, and, when partly set, check for fit and alignment in the opposite half. Once confident, then CA can be used, just a couple of spots, as reinforcement.

 

[mikewint]

That was my first thought as well BUT the CA holding the inner fuselage assembly to the outer fuselage half proved stronger than the assembly and the joints shattered. Fortunately along the glue joints but there was absolutely zero chance of removing the CA-glued section from the outer fuselage half. The plastic would have shattered and I had no way to get UnBond to the CA. It would have just leaked out the windows. I re-glued the inner fuselage and so far so good but it was just slightly misaligned so the outer fuselage halves would no longer meet at the top seam. The inner fuselage assembly was holding them apart and I could no longer shift the inner fuselage assembly. Apparently the inner and outer fuselage fit together like a lock/key and no glue would have been required to secure the inner fuselage within the outer. This fact was not apparent and there were no instructions saying "DO NOT GLUE"
The top seam gap was successfully forced together and CAed but that opened the bottom gaps even more.
It's like playing WHACK-A-MOLE

 

[Gnomey]

Nicely done so far!

 

[Donivanp]

Mike, get nail polish 100percent acetone. It Will cut the ca. Walmart has it for like .97

 

[Crimea_River]

Lordy.

 

[mikewint]

get nail polish 100percent acetone. It Will cut the ca.

Yup, works great IF the bond is not to plastic. The inner and outer fuselages are both plastic. Acetone would eat-up both of them. And again recall that there would be no way to keep the acetone in the outer fuselage. It's full of mounting holes and windows