Issue 77 includes four lower wing mounting brackets,beware as fitting these as per the magazine instructions is full of potential problems,my logic tells me to carefully align up the lower wing first and add the brackets once everything is set up,to do this utilise your workbench self healing cutting mat with its built in squares,first lay the wing and then sit the fuselage on top packing up the rear to set at the correct angle,tack the wing in place with four spots of balsa cement and allow to dry,by doing this the wing can be removed easily at a later stage if so required by dropping thinners onto the cement and dissolve it.
Next fit the mid wing in exactly the same way and use your Mk.1 eyeball to check & re-check before proceeding,this time take the interplane struts and push them into the wing slots,check everything for alignment and once again lightly tack the centre section with four spots of balsa cement,by doing this we know then that everything is in line and as it should be,there will be no guesswork as to where the brackets go.
Next fit the upper wing in excactly the same way,carefully pushing the interplane struts into the slots,but do not glue these at this stage.
Before we proceed any further lets see what she looks like at this stage ! a shot in the sun and then it is back into the workshop to do this weeks work on her.
Now you will see my concerns as to how the magazine fits the lower supports,you simply cannot judge fittings by dangling them in mid air,the way we do it here assures that everything is properly in-line and will mate with the fuselage and wings,to do this take firstly the rear brackets and remove the burrs from them,slide them into their spar holes and clip the rear half onto the lower longeron,use slow drying epoxy and allow to dry overnight before proceeding any further.
Do the same with the front brackets so that they sit flush with the front of the spar,it is a fiddly job but just work patiently until you are happy.I just cannot see how fitting them the way they do in the instructions would work,you will just have the brackets hanging out without any knowledge of their width in relation to the cross section of the fuselage,all along with this model we have been deprived of a proper working drawing from which it would be possible to check and align parts,never in all of my model building days have I built in this manner ! it goes very much against the grain to do so but now common sense is beginning to take over from instructions as given,and to this end it is necessary to plod on and see this model through to the bitter end !!
Remember if the wing does need to be removed all you need to do is debond the balsa cement with a brushfull of cellulose thinners,but for the time being I am going to leave my model assembled with the lower & mid wing in place,most of the parts can be juggled into position judging by what has yet to be fitted.
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