Minicraft 1/144 Pan Am Stratocruiser

[tor lives]

Really good progress Kev. Mate, to be honest, I can't even notice the engine misalignment. Looks fine to me.
That trailing edge work really is nice.
TOR

[kfutter]

Thanks Ray. The engine misalignment is definitely there! But I'll be glad if it's not as obvious to everyone else as it is to me.

Kev

[hrtpaul]

Cracker progress mate

[kfutter]

Cracker progress mate

Thanks, Paul! I wish I had more to show for it.

Kev

[kfutter]

OK, so I've managed to carve out some progress on this one, but as often happens with me, it's a case of two steps forward and one step back. I decided that I'd need to paint the wings prior to mating them with the fuselage, even though test-fitting showed there'll be large gaps to fill, as I'd struggle to get the airbrush into the insides of the inboard engine nacelles. Not such a big deal with camouflage paint, but with NMF, I didn't want to risk it.

So, I broke out my bottle of AK Interactive's Xtreme Metal Aluminium, and gave them a squirt:



On close inspection of the results, I discovered more flaws than the Rialto. At first I was going to ignore them, but as I noticed more and more of them, I decided I'd better fix 'em all up and start over. There's nothing so revealing of flaws in your surface preparation than silver paint!

Back to the drawing board...

Kev

[kfutter]

Well folks, it's taken me long enough, but I've finally been able to refinish these damned wings!



Ironically they don't look that much different in the photo, let alone better, but the difference to the naked eye is obvious. I used Micromesh pads on this one, and I really must get some of the cloths, as the pads have edges that can catch on surfaces, and that's what they did here. Again, you can't tell in the photo, but there are some micro scratches on the surface, plus one really big, nasty one! It doesn't matter now, as I'm done with this phase - I'm not doing them again! But please, remind to get some Micromesh polishing cloths before I tackle this kind of finish again.

Kev

[tor lives]

Looking great Kev....and great catching up today mate.
TOR

[hrtpaul]

Great work again mate

[kfutter]

Well, another token update chaps, thanks to my glacial build rate! I even have this week off work, but with plenty of chores and other sundry duties to attend to (tax, car service, etc), I've found that any plans I had for extended time at the workbench have evaporated. Anyway, I got the wings glued on:



I deliberately left the cockpit window part off so that I could check the alignment of the tabs on each wing, which are supposed to interlock inside the fuselage. Is OK I think. My next job is to add some weight in the nose before adding the glassware.

Before that, though, I have some ugly gaps to deal with at the wing roots. This one is typical:



Out with the Milliput! I bought a new pack, too, just for the occasion.

Kev

[hrtpaul]

Nice work