Pete's Wildcat

stillp

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Added the IP and the forward bulkhead, and dry fitted it in the fuselage:
P1150629.JPG
Not sure why the bulkhead behind the seat is slightly forward of the fuselage - everything else fits perfectly. It'll be easy enough to fix though. Just repainted part of the cockpit as the instructions show the boundary between the green and the grey too far back.
Pete
 

stillp

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Fit in this kit is very good - the paint on the fuselage inside was stopping the two halves meeting, so I've had to sand the edges of the IP and the bulkhead to create enough space.
The join is pretty good - not quite as good as I'd like, but will only need a little sanding.
P1150630.JPGP1150631.JPG
I held the headrest panel in the right place and added a drop of fast CA, which seems to have done the trick.
Also made a start on painting the engine:
P1150632.JPGP1150633.JPG
Vallejo metallic black, then drybrushed with steel to highlight the pushrods and rockers.
There are a few choices to make - it'll be wheels down, probably cockpit open, but can't decide whether to use the folded wings or not.
Did Douglas Bader ever fly one of these?:smiling:
P1150634.JPG
Pete
 
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Nice Pete, love the look of the engine. And that poor pilot! :flushed:
 

stillp

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Idiot alert!

I assembled the nosegear leg, which is quite a complicated assembly of 7 spindly pieces, then realised I should have done that, and fitted it, before joining the fuselage halves!
P1150635.JPG

No way it'll fit in now. I'll either have to build it 'wheels up', or take the legs apart and try to reassemble them through the wheel bays, or take a saw to the fuselage.
P1150636.JPG
The last of those options seems best; I could maybe cut through where there's a panel joint on the real thing. The straight bit in line with the wing leading edge would be pretty simple, but how to cut a curved line from the wing root to the wheel bay?
P1150637.JPG
I used to have a jeweller's piercing saw somewhere...

Take note children, this is what happens when you don't read the instructions properly. :anguished:

Pete
 

yak face

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If it were me pete I would just cut a straight line just underneath the bump , it would be easier to fill and mske good as theres no panel lines or rivets in this area
 

stillp

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Yes, good point Tony, thanks.

At least if I cut the fuselage open I can repaint the bulkhead behind the engine - I followed the instructions there, and painted it in cockpit green, when it should be Grumman Grey.
Pete
 

BattleshipBob

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Bugger, you are not the first Pete

Done it myself far too often. As you say. Read the plans!!!

Sure you will sort it out!
 

stillp

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Thought I'd better get this cut before I lost my nerve!
P1150639.JPG
I used one of the Tamiya PE saws that I bought at Cosford last year. They're really, really thin, so there shouldn't be much filler needed as long as I can get the parts to line up, and the engine cowl will help with that. (Note to self - don't glue the cowl! The engine has to go in first!)
Off to the garage now to repaint that bulkhead.
Pete
 
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Jakko

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I would glue some thing plastic sheet to the front of the fuselage, the thickness of the saw or slightly more, and when dry, trim it to shape. Then add the front cowling.
 
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yak face

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Great job pete , it should be fairly easy to make good the cut , the razor saw looks nice and thin, cheers tony
 

stillp

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Do you mean to glue it to the cut surfaces Jakko? That would be more appropriate. Might not be needed though, those saws are thin! Thinner that any plastic sheet I have anyway.
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Jakko

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Yes, sorry, I should have put it like that: glue the card to the cut surface, to reinstate the thickness lost to the saw. If you don’t have any, then of course this idea isn’t going to help much :smiling3:
 

stillp

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I don't think it'll need any Jakko.
Pete
 

JR

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Well you've sorted that well Pete.:thumb2:
Nice to know that I'm not alone in realising that something needed doing in the right order !
That video of the take off and landing was good, how you would do all those checks, settings and fly while under extreme stress of war time conditions is amazing.
 

papa 695

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Don't know how I missed this one Pete. Looking good so far, pity about the mistake, but it looks like you've got it all in hand.
 

stillp

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That video of the take off and landing was good, how you would do all those checks, settings and fly while under extreme stress of war time conditions is amazing.
He (Kermit Weeks) has a number of similar videos on youtube. He has a collection of warbirds and his own museum in Florida. Yes, all those checks! Presumably in the Battle of Britain the ground crew did some and the pilot did the rest while taxiing to the takeoff, but there's a hell of a lot to remember, and different for each type of plane, so Winkle Brown's achievements for number of types flown must have included remembering all those checks for each type.
Pete
 
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