**** DONE: P-51D "Millie G" Lt. Col. E. B. Giller 343rd FS - Aircraft of the Aces GB

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Finished dressing up all the fuselage joints, re-scribed panel lines, added the nose and belly intakes, and glued the wings on (the joints still need to be dressed up). But unfortunately my desktop computer is D.O.A. and does nothing but give me the blue screen of death. I can't resize my pictures on my laptop, so I'll try to do it at work tomorrow if I have time.
 
I agree. I was going to ask my computer expert friend tonight, how to solve your PC problem Glenn. It can be done in the systems programmes, but I can't remember how to do it! My friend instructed me over the 'phone when I got the Blue Screen thing a few months ago, and all worked perfectly afterwards.
 
The computer is in for repair and I have my fingers crossed.

I got a lot done on the Millie G this weekend. All major components assembled , filled where necessary (very minor) sanded and polished.

Picture 1 shows where probably the worst fit in this kit is, and I must say it was almost nothing. The wing root joint, which is always a problem area needed only a little CA and some work with a needle file – very minor. The thing that did surprise me was that the camera port (the little rectangle in the wing leading edge) was misaligned at the seam. I had to work at it a little with the sharp point of a #11 blade to get it looking right.

Picture 2 shows the bottom fuselage after assembly. I lost a few panel lines on the bottom of the intake due to sanding, but that was my fault from not paying good enough attention when I glued it up, misaligning the joint a little. The joints at the nose intake was a perfect fit and needed no sanding at all.

Picture 3
The assembled tail. The horizontal fins were another perfect fit, no sanding necessary.


Picture 4
The assembled P-51, ready for masking and paint.

You might notice that the prop shaft is missing. It broke off somewhere so if I can't find the piece I'll have to come up with another way to attach the spinner.

 
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Nice when it goes together without a hitch. For me, the prop shaft is often something I snip off anyway. I tend to glue the back of the spinner straight to the fuselage, sometimes with a thin spacer as required.
 
Thanks guys,
Andy, I've glued on the spinner many times like that using a then disk as a spacer, and it may come to that, but Tamiya has such a good system of holding on the prop and making it repositionable or removable with that little black rubber washer trapped in the spinner that I'd like to try to still make it work. If I can find the missing piece I'll reattach it using some thin wire drilled in to reinforce it. Other wise I'll use Terry's idea and try to find some tubing the right diameter to work with the rubber washer, and mount it in place of the missing shaft.
 
I've never really had those vinyl discs work well for me. My Hesegawa P-40 had a similar arrangemnt but it seems I can't push it in far enough to provide a close fit before it rebounds out again and becomes sloppy. That's why I don't bother with those things.
 

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