Mark Joyce
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« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2008, 11:47:24 AM » |
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AMT originally released several P-40 variants, including the short-tailed "F," the "K," and the "N." AMtech obtained these molds to utilize for its "E," long-tailed "F/L" with the resin nose, and "K" with the resin tail. For some reason, all of AMtech's releases seem to have those fuselage bulges; none of the AMT releases did. What I've done with the AMtech P-40's is simply sand down the bulges and rescribe if necessary.
For gaps that aren't too large, say less than 1/8", I'll use either putty (usually Tamiya) or Mr. Surfacer 500. Once dried, either can be sanded or gently smoothed using nail polish remover (for Tamiya) or rubbing alcohol (for Mr. Surfacer) and a Q-tip. For larger gaps, I'll use strip styrene (basically the same plastic used in the model) with perhaps gap-filling superglue. If you try to use putty or the equivalent with larger gaps, it will usually crack.
With AMtech's P-40E, what I've done to reduce or eliminate the gap between the wing and fuselage is first glue one upper wing to the lower wing section, then glue this wing assembly to the fuselage, concentrating on that one wing/fuselage gap. Once dry, I'll glue the other upper wing to the lower wing section. I'll then take a long piece of tape, attach it to one wing tip, and pull it tight over the cockpit area and onto the other wing tip. This usually pulls both wings upward, which helps both with the proper dihedral and to eliminate the wing/fusleage gap. While the tape is on, I'll apply glue (usually Tamiya extra thin cement) with a brush along the gap and leave it to dry.
HTH,
Mark
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