Issue 91-Front fuselage shroud & Instrument bezels.

**wonwinglo** · 13-10-2005

ISSUE 91-Upper fuselage shroud 7 instrument faces.

This weeks issue 91 contains a rather large chunk of metal,this is the shroud which fits between the guns on the upper forward portion of the fuselage,although we are instructed to put this aside I simply could not resist trying it for fit ! and in doing so I discovered a few issues which need to be resolved.
One of the biggest problems we have encountered with this model has been the distinct lack of scale drawings supplied from day one,to this end it has sometimes been a case of working in the dark,and this latest component is a good example as if you line everything up there remains a gap at the front of the shroud,now it is possible that this is as intended or even a chance that others do not have this gap ? however with the dimensions that have been given to us over the past few months anything can happen and I am prepared for the worst case scenario in that there is a gap,but without resource to the front cowl I am still a little in the dark,so as we have had so many surprises anything could be possible ! so lets dry fit the shroud and take a look at what we are faced with-

At a distance all looks fine,after removing a few burrs it sits across the aerofoil section of the mid wing,in my case the wing can be simply unbolted as many months ago the fiddly side brackets were dispensed with and a combined ply/alloy crossbar was added into which the wing is securely fixed,on reflection this has worked so far and has been especially useful in shoe-horning all the parts that fit around that area,all that needs to be done in cases of working in the cockpit area is to remove the wing.

Here a close up of the shroud reveals the first issue,the holes where the centre section struts are fixed are hidden and the hole needs to be opened up slightly rearward in order to get to the brackets,at this stage I have just gone far enough to reveal the attachment bracket,later on when we get the struts it is possible that this area will need further re-working.It is going to be a fiddly job fixing these struts anyway without the aggravation of not even being able to see them,the picture shows the egg shaped hole worked rearwards a little,the metal is tough so you will need a good half round file to do the job.
My advice is to only cut metal if you cannot see the brackets,the picture explains everything.
Not quite sure how this shroud will be held in place eventually but the magazine cover picture shows their version with an hole placed at the rear of the shroud,just exactly where this screws into and why there is no provision for a single hole at this location is not known ?

Front view showing the gap between shroud and bulkhead,the burning question is should this be there ? as the lower ply floor governs the distance of the bulkhead it could be correct,just hope that the cowling ( where is the wretched thing anyway ! ) covers the gap,otherwise it is thinking cap on again.

INSTRUMENT BEVELS & GLASSES.
You get a set of stick on decals and some acrylic discs,I discarded these bulky glass faces and filled the instrument holes with 'Kristal clear' this can be obtained from specialist plastic model suppliers and it does the job well without the fiddle of those clear discs.

NEXT WEEK.
All we get for our money is a a quantity of what is termed 'rigging cord' not quite sure what they mean by rigging as this aeroplane does not have any apart from a little between the undercarriage ? so horror of horrors could it be for the control runs ? but I would have thought that some type of wire would have been better for this job,we also still need the flat internal wing webbing which criss-crosses between the rib stations,with only nine more issues we still need the following-Engine cowl,undercarriage struts,centre section struts and the promised revised lower front fuselage metal sections,quite a bit to cram in 9 final issues.

OHOPE · 19-05-2007

Two questions , I was under the impression that behind the seat was a fabric panel , in these pictures it appears to be wood , and the magazines appear to be loaded with ammunition in opposite directions ?

**wonwinglo** · 03-06-2007

Hachette provided a plywood panel,some builders have made a correct fabric panel strung to the rear seat former but it needs adding well before the seat is installed.
The ammo painting has since been corrected,and probably appeared like that in a hasty installation to get building instructions posted that week without delays.