P38 Nose Weight

[danjama]

You guessed it - forgot to put a weight in the nose. 1/72 Revell Model.

Any Ideas? It's been shelved for months now, partly because I was so disappointed with myself for forgetting to do it. I'd like to know, do I need to perform surgery? Should I just scrap it? What could I use as a weight?

The good news is, Model Zone have a small sale on, so I treated myself to a spontaneous Academy 1/72 F84E/G-Thunderjet for £4.99. So i'll be hanging around here on these modelling forums more for inspiration. 8)

Cheers. (p.s. I suck at modelling, but really enjoy it).

 

[A4K]

Definitely do not scrap it!

To balance the nose without taking it apart, maybe you could scratchbuild a ladder, with lead figure holding or standing on it? You could drill a small hole in the kit and attach it with a pin or something.
Other than that, maybe you could remove the seat and place some flat lead underneath or behind?

 

[bob3170]

Tungsten powder, available here:

Pinewood Derby - Weight

All you need is a tiny hole and a paper funnel, and you can pour it into the smallest area, it is a very fine powder, squirt a little thin CA in to bond it, and done.

I used some on a Hasegawa 1/72 A6M2-N, that I had forgotten to ballast the float.

 

[bob3170]

Oops, just noticed you are in the UK, I don't think they ship overseas.

Just checked, and they will ship out of the US, but you have to call them to order.

 

[Wurger]

Just go to a fishing shop and check if there you can buy lead bobs. Usually these are offered in rounded boxes like these below and being of different diamaters. You can purchase a set with these tiny or small. I'm sure you can choose a such ones. Then drill a tiny hole of a little bit bigger diameter than these bobs at the nose underside of the P-38 model. Put some of an epoxy to the hole and then a couple of these dumbbells. Then check if the weight is enough. If yes, let the epoxy get hardened. The aperture you can fill either with a putty or a plastic cork made of a piece of a sprue (mould frame). Anyway, some of sanding and painting will be needed to remove traces of your work at the area. But if you do it neatly there shouldn't be any trace noticed.

BTW.... Lead can be easy shaped by cutting, squeezing, flatting , etc.... using a knife, pliers, hammer.

 

[Switcha]

Yep we have all been there and done that before. The trick is not to do it again and again and......I think I'm up to about my fourth time now .
Another method of fixing the problem is to take a leap of faith and go to a hardware shop and buy a cheap wooden base and mount the model to the base. For best effect buy some small welding wire in a roll and drill out a shallow socket in the bottom of the wheels and in the base and use the wire to grip the wheels to the base. I have found just using just glue alone is not alway strong enough to keep the model in place. The other advantage is if you ever snap a landing gear you can also use the wire as a pin inside the landing gear leg. I have never had a failure with landing gear I have repaired like this.
What ever method you try best of luck.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Been there done that!

How I solved it was kinda along the lines of Switch's suggestion with the base. However I drilled a small hole near where the fton landing gear was to be and fed a loop of fishing line through it and looped it around the tire. I then pulled it taught and secured the ends of the fishing line with tape. The nice thing about this was I could easily remove it from the base. Good luck!

 

[woljags]

i have used flat lead strip before in the undercart bay and as undercart doors to weight some of my older models being restored

 

[danjama]

Hi everyone, sorry about my delayed reply, my internet connection has been disabled for a few days. Great suggestions, all very creative. I think I will go for the idea of mounting it to a wooden base - elegant and subtle.

Thank you people