Doras Galoras - Unofficial GB

[Zaggy]

@Wayne - hence why I try to 'cut the eraser' out once its served its purpose; plus knowing my luck, it'll add just the wrong ballast to something!

As for the Alclad, kudos must go to them in fact - they got a very angry email from me about 8-9hrs ago, while I was still trying to wipe Black off my face, mouth, nose, corner of my eyes (with Acetone and Airbrush Cleaner - SOOOO not fun!!!!) and the rest of my body, and to their credit they replied extremely promptly, informing me they'd contact the Australian Importer and work something out for me to replace (I assume at least) the $60 worth of Alclad Black Primer Filler ($15) and the 3 lots of Airbrush Cleaner ($15 each) that were used (in conjection with Acetone) to wipe the 3.5oz. of Black off me... The D-15 is still in a state and even my favourite T-Shirt (few metres away) copped a spray and the compressor injested some of it and Im going to smell like Acetone (and feel rather sick too) for the next few days, but thems the breaks! In fact the Australian Importer has already contacted me too... So despite total calamity, Alclad have gotten themselves onto my 'Good' List, along with Eduard, ModelNerds and a few others (unlike Moebius (US), who I will bag for as long as I draw breath!

And the postie has just brought me what looks like Captured Eagles, Volume 1 (from Germany) and something from Southern Sky Models (not sure what that will be)...

Maybe later I will take to the D-15 and start to remove the caked on Microfiller, before it sits there too long and I loose all interest - which would be a shame considering how much work has gone into the front end (and the number of times I have thought, "Yes, its almost there!" until a coat of primer shows up little flaws) and 'how close it is' now... *fingers crossed*


Dan - high on Alclad, AirBrush Cleaner and Acetone (or suffering brain damage - one or the other!)

 

[Zaggy]

I really dont feel very well... I think I drank some Alclad - or at very least, the great blob that went up my nose (do you have any idea how much it sucks, shoving paper town covered in airbrush cleaner or acetone up your nose) is still with me!

 

[Crimea_River]

I'm not surprised. Maybe you should see your doctor.....

 

[dneid]

Zaggy,
So sorry to hear about the Alclad bomb. If you continue to feel bad, please see your doctor.
Dale

 

[dneid]

Black 1 14/JG26 WNr 210003 Dortenmann
OK, I have mode SOME progress over the last couple of days. Not as much as I would like. The entire engine plug alignment has made for a challenge. I started to join the fuse halves over the weekend. Started by installing the exhaust in the forward cowl.

A couple of dry fit runs made me realize that the fuse join would be best done in "installments". So, I started by gluing the absolute rear most of the fuse (rudder). Stopped right there and did a dry fit of the cockpit. Verified what needed a bit of tweak and back and forth. Then, cemented ONE side of the cockpit assembly into the fuse and taped everything together to let that side dry. Next was the engine plug assembly in the same side. 1st problem here. It seems I may have assembled the plug with a bit of a twist between the rear bulkhead and the forward bulkhead. A couple of mild twists and things seemed to popped into place. A quick dbl check on that side and then I cemented that side into place. Taped up the fuse and let it all dry.

Started on the other side of the fuse with cementing. The cockpit seems to be in place. However, there is a bit more of a gap at the rear of the cockpit deck (see pic 1).
Got to the plug and I am really struggling with getting the alignment of the MG rear bulkhead aligned with the fuse (see pic 2).

Andy, I know you had some challenges with the fuse fit. These look similar?

BTW, NO Fuse seams have been glued yet. Only the cockpit is glued on both sides, so I have some flexibility still.
Picture 1

Picture 2

Dale

 

[A4K]

Good stuff Dale!

Sorry to hear of your mishap Dan....and agree you should see your doctor if you're still not well...

Re our little misadventure, cheers for the thoughts guys but we've written the stuff off as gone and not worrying about it.
As for the culprits, in my experience we all pay for our own sins, so not worrying about them either. More important things to take care of.

 

[lostinhull]

Black 1 14/JG26 WNr 210003 Dortenmann
OK, I have mode SOME progress over the last couple of days. Not as much as I would like. The entire engine plug alignment has made for a challenge. I started to join the fuse halves over the weekend. Started by installing the exhaust in the forward cowl.

A couple of dry fit runs made me realize that the fuse join would be best done in "installments". So, I started by gluing the absolute rear most of the fuse (rudder). Stopped right there and did a dry fit of the cockpit. Verified what needed a bit of tweak and back and forth. Then, cemented ONE side of the cockpit assembly into the fuse and taped everything together to let that side dry. Next was the engine plug assembly in the same side. 1st problem here. It seems I may have assembled the plug with a bit of a twist between the rear bulkhead and the forward bulkhead. A couple of mild twists and things seemed to popped into place. A quick dbl check on that side and then I cemented that side into place. Taped up the fuse and let it all dry.

Started on the other side of the fuse with cementing. The cockpit seems to be in place. However, there is a bit more of a gap at the rear of the cockpit deck (see pic 1).
Got to the plug and I am really struggling with getting the alignment of the MG rear bulkhead aligned with the fuse (see pic 2).

Andy, I know you had some challenges with the fuse fit. These look similar?

BTW, NO Fuse seams have been glued yet. Only the cockpit is glued on both sides, so I have some flexibility still.
Picture 1
View attachment 227657

Picture 2
View attachment 227658

Dale

Hi Dale,

hope it's not too late but having performed an octopus impression to get mine together (I'm not holding that up as a paragon of the modelling craft, by any means) looks to me like the cockpit tub needs to go back about 1mm. The sloped bits at the back of the cockpit should fit nicely inside the fuselage so that the top is completely flat (not sure I've expresse that very well - there shouldn't be a step and you shouldn't be able to see the sloped bits which go under the canopy).

I've generally found that with the Eduard kits, if something is a struggle then there's a problem (which then snowballs later in the build). Red 4 was my 3rd Eduard FW190 and they've all followed a similar pattern.

Be interested to see if anyone else manages to close up the gun cowling without trimming off a major part of the top of the engine plug to get it to sit flush.

Dan - echo everyone else here, sorry about the mess and if you're feeling ill get to a doctor. You've absorbed a fair amount of some nasty chemicals (both through your skin as well as ingested) - bet to get checked out mate.

Evan - sorry to hear about your misfortune - hopefully you're right about their ultimate reward being dictated by Karma.

 

[Wayne Little]

Good to see your up and running Dale, can't say much about the fit...haven't built an Eduard Kit yet so will need to see what that's like...

 

[dneid]

Black 1 14/JG26 WNr 210003 Dortenmann

Hi Dale,

hope it's not too late but having performed an octopus impression to get mine together (I'm not holding that up as a paragon of the modelling craft, by any means) looks to me like the cockpit tub needs to go back about 1mm. The sloped bits at the back of the cockpit should fit nicely inside the fuselage so that the top is completely flat (not sure I've expresse that very well - there shouldn't be a step and you shouldn't be able to see the sloped bits which go under the canopy).

Hey, lost,
Yeah, the problem I ran into is there is a rib under the cockpit deck molded into the fuse sauide that seems to engage against another rib on the cockoit deck. I already trimmed that back about 1mm to get a better fit for all aspects of the cockpit. I'll post a picture later tonight.. I need to dbl check how trimming another 1mm off will impact the overall cockpit tub fit. Thank you very much for the feedback. It is nice to find someone else with experience with Eduard 190s.
Dale

 

[Zaggy]

Well, just to let you all know, I'm still alive (and still feeling shady) after a massive sleep yesterday - as for the D-15, fair bit of work there to remove the lumpier 'streaks' of Alclad (fuselage sides and all over the wing bottom) and as such might loose the aileron fabric ribs on the bottom, but I can live with that... Going to need to re-engrave most of the panels on the side and wing bottom too, but hopefully (since the Alclad was not properly mixed at the time) it might be a little softer than usual and hence, engrave easier.

I almost threw it away, but having only JUST gotten with the wing joins into shape (the most dreaded part of the Dragon Builds IMHO), I'm determined to press on - the reinforcing ribs needed removing anyway and the wing tops needed a 800grit sand to remove some of the 'mold damage' that these kits have accumulated over the years; plus (i am going to say it again) the DB nose is SOOOO close to being done!

But for now, must off to school...


Dan

 

[Crimea_River]

Dale, sorry to get back to you so late, but know exactly what the problem is. Those tow little parts that you have to add to the back wall behind and to each side of the seat (parts Y7 and Y8 ) need to be filed down substantially to the same contour as the back wall of the pit that they're glued to (part X9). I found that if Y7 and 8 are glued into the slots as instructed, then the outer edges stick too far out and will force your walls out. If you do this, it will also enable you to shift the entire cockpit back. It should fit the gap at the back nicely.

Here's a close-up of my pit and the surface that I cut down is shown as an arrow.

One further tip I could suggest is this. I do like your sequential gluing approach but, to my thinking, you should start gluing where you have the most difficult fit issue. Starting at the tail and heading towards where the most parts need to align perfectly gives you much less flexibility than if you work the other way. Now, read my next post and decide if you should take my advice!

 

[Crimea_River]

Re my Black 6 and the misalignments of the gun bays, I've done a bit of thinking about what I did and realize that I could have done something different to prevent this. Those of you who will build this kit will find that getting the wing fitted to the fuselage takes a fair amount of persuasion as the ejector chutes glued to the firewall need to clear the top flange of the wing spar while other stuff needs to click into places as well. Once I managed this, everything seemed quite tight and I set about closing the seam formed by the front of the wing and the back of the fuselage cowl without thinking this through. I did notice that there was a gap at the rear wing/fuselage seam and not having the foresight to check the alignment of the gun bay walls, I chose to make the seam at the front of the wing to be closed since a gap at this location would have been more difficult to fill than the gap at the back. In hindsight, I should have found a way to slide the whole wing back to close the back gap and leave a gap open at the front. Although everything seemed tight, it could not have been the chutes stopping me as moving the wing back would have move the chutes AWAY from the spar so there was something else in the way that, if rectified, could have allowed the gun bays and leading edges of the wings at the root to align properly.

Not sure if any of this makes sense but hopefully this could come in handy for anyone having trouble at this point. At the very least, if you have trouble here, let me know and maybe I could help you through it.

 

[Zaggy]

Having not had this sort of issue with any of the Eduard Fw 190's I've done, I can't really speak from any position of authoritative knowledge, but honestly, I'd be doing more work on FITTING the internals rather inside the fuselage than fitting the fuselage around the internals... Just take a light file to the edges of the Engine Plug and Cockpit in area's of concern. Going the opposite way can cause further hassles down the road, such as wings not fitting right, fuselages twisting (so that wings and stabs and tails 'just dont look right'), etc...

Compared to say the DML/Dragon and Tamiya D-series, the Eduard kits are VERY light - I don't know whether this is simply a different formula of styrene or because the fuselage sides/wings, etc are THINNER (my gut says the latter); so again flexing things AROUND parts becomes harder as you have less plastic in area's to play with, if you need to subsequently thin other area's down!

Moral of the story after than, just lightly sand/file the edges of your cockpit and engine plug - make sure nothing is fouling or not quite in its locator slots/holes...


Dan

 

[Zaggy]

Oh, just noticed, Crimea above has suggested things like this also! Actually well spotted - I think now that its mentioned, the rear cockpit armour parts are a bit 'iffy' and do need to be fitted before gluing...

D

 

[Zaggy]

Oh and having a look at the D-15 project, I might need a new 'D-9' part - all that unmixed solvent in the Alclad explosion seems to have eaten the plastic a little Maybe I can save it if things harden back up in a day or so... Does anyone know how long 'solvent softened plastic' takes to re-harden?

Dan

 

[A4K]

What parts you after Dan?

 

[Wayne Little]

You blokes are starting to scare me off them Eduard kits.......Ah stuff it, I need a good challenge...

 

[Zaggy]

@A4K - ummmm, well... Everything Rear of the Firewall and a set of wings... HAHAHAAHAHAHA; ie, the better part of a DML/Dragon D-9... We shall see what happens when this solvent stops reacting - Im testing by (gently) pushing a pin into the corners of panel lines. I think things are getting harder in the worst area's.

@Wayne - NO! They're great kits, but like the DML/Dragon Fw 190D's, they have their idiosyncrasies too. Personally I rate the fit as MUCH better than DML/Dragon, better accuracy in most area's (except that the D-11 uses the D-13 Radiator flaps (!?!?!) which I didnt realise til after I'd painted it) but it is VERY differently engineered, especially if you're going to close it up. Honestly tho, my only problem with them has been the wing spar; on the D-11 when I clamped it, it slid about 0.5mm to one side Everything else is like most other kits; check, fit, sand a little, fit, glue.

But at the same time, I dont see how ppl can claim that the Tamiya D-9 builds itself - I used more putty and clamps and sanding than I ever did on a DML/Dragon D-9!


Dan

 

[A4K]

@A4K - ummmm, well... Everything Rear of the Firewall and a set of wings... HAHAHAAHAHAHA; ie, the better part of a DML/Dragon D-9...

Done! Got a started Revell (ex-DML) 1:48 D-11 from a mate, missing most components forward of the firewall... I think we have a match!

Drop us your address in a PM.

 

[Zaggy]

Why do you have a D-11 sans 'most' of the nose? hahaha (The nose is incorrect on that kit anyway!)... If worst comes to worst, I maybe able to cut parts out and fit in 'bits' of the donor... Most worried about the under wing area tho PM'ing now BTW....