Hawkeye’s Squawkbox

Well not exactly true but an issue one needs to pay attention to is what heat and humidity can do to a model. Yesterday evening we had our monthly IPMS Chapter meeting here at my place for a cookout. One of our members Bruce Williams loaded his models into his car before he left for work, figuring he’d go directly to the meeting afterwards…makes perfect sense considering going home first is in the totally opposite direction.

Bruce left his models in his car for the day…which wasn’t probably a wise thing to do considering we were experiencing some rather hot and humid weather. Fortunately no ill effects came to the model itself, however…his base didn’t fair as well.

Bruce mounted his model on a base made from pine…the heat that the wood was exposed to inside his vehicle was enough to get the sap (remember this is dried lumber) to ooze from within. The results…beads of pine pitch around the edges of the base.

You can see the glossy areas in the black border of the base…that is pine pitch oozing out of the woodgrain.

Heat can cause warping, sagging and in extreme circumstances melt a model into a lump of goo. Even when the ambient air temperature is lower than the melting point of the plastic…the temps inside a vehicle can exceed safe levels. Please take the precautions to protect your labors so you have a model that isn’t suffering from heat stress…it is a hard one to repair and is usually fatal…for both the model and the modelers ego.

Oh by the way…GREAT work Bruce!

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Test fitting of parts BEFORE assembly is essential part of building a scale model. Like the adage: “measure twice cut once.” Every modeler has their own methods of assembly. I advocate what works for you to do it. Unless your results are not up to your liking.

Test fitting is the only opportunity that you’ll have to adjust, correct, adapt and align before you commit to securing the part in place with cement. Following the kits instructions don’t necessarily provide the guidance to facilitate in advance the necessary processes to achieving this vital task. Experience is how modelers with advance skills know this.

Example: Here’s a commonly seen problem with clear parts. A gap between the canopy and the fuselage. This gap should have been discovered and addressed long before the painting took place. Now the risk of damaging the paint exists to fill the gap. Some may just use a little Krystal Klear or white glue to fill in the void but that may not solve the problem. You could end up with a canopy frame that looks too thick. Note how clean the fit is on the real aircraft.

When test fitting canopies ALWAYS use all of the sections…such as in this case the windscreen section, the opening section and the aft section. If you place one wrong, then all the others will not align or fit properly. I’ve made the mistake as I illustrated on this Me262 if you cement the forward and aft sections in without checking the fit of the center section. It won’t fit!

You may find that you need to either add some styrene to fill the gap, or use a filler medium such as putty. Your best course of action will be to first dip the canopy in Future, allow it to cure, then mask the canopy inside and out to protect the sections that need to remain clear.

There are times when all that is needed is a little sanding of the canopy. Once you’re 100% sure it is going to fit snug without anything more than a hair line gap, you can set it aside until such time as it is needed.

It’s also not unheard of that you may have to do some serious filing and sanding to get a canopy to contour to the fuselage.The goal is to get the tolerance as tight as you possibly can. The tighter the less adhesive you need to secure it and the more realistic the appearance. Be sure to look at photographs of the real aircraft you are modeling. Take note of how the canopies blend into the fuselage. Some have distinct panel lines, others have none.

I prefer to attach my canopies with…get ready…liquid cements. The same ones I use throughout the build. Either Tenax or Weld-On #3. If the canopy is protected with Future, the solvents shouldn’t have any effect on the canopy sections. As with the P-47 illustrated above, the dipped canopy is also masked, which protects the clear areas from any needed filling, sanding and polishing necessary for a smooth transition between the clear and the colored styrenes.

The trick is to have as tight a tolerance of fit between the two, apply the solvent first to the fuselage, then set the canopy in place. This should give you a tight seal, which can be dressed up and touched up with a little Mr. Surfacer if needed. Then it’s ready to be painted.

Use a digital camera to take pictures of your work as you go along. Review the photos to spot flaws and errors. The camera seems to see them much better than the naked eye. The digital camera is yet another technological advancement in scale modeling. Even an inexpensive one will help you improve your modeling skills. I’m still learning about this hobby and I’ve been at it for nearly forty years!

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Today I uploaded two more videos in the series of using SnJ Polishing Powders. Though they are not exactly they ones I wanted, they’ll work until I can re-shoot something better. Hey, it’s LIVE after all!

The second in the series deals with the tools I use to apply the SnJ Polishing Powders. In the third I actually show you how I apply and buff the powders.

SnJ Polishing Powders-Tools

SnJ Polishing Powders-Applying & Buffing

Hope you find these useful.

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