Simon's Stinger

[bromo]

Looking forward to seeing this come together, a nice easy build so far then

[SJPONeill]

So far...the only bit I am anticipating some issues with may be the undercarriage as the instructions aren't very clear and the parts for the doors are a bit rough...

[SJPONeill]

A little more progress over the weekend...not as much as hoped after chicken coop repair became chicken coop replacement...

Mounted the engine fans in the wing halves but need to sand a smidgen or two off for a proper fit...



Was about to join the fuselage halves on Sunday night when I had a bad thought about tail-sitters - sure enough the CG is well behind the main gear. Somewhere I have a jar with a bunch of old shot that I used to used for counterbalancing but despite searching the garage and the house, I couldn't find it _ obviously in another of those uber-obvious places that I 'won't forget'! Went into town yesterday and forgot to get some more weights - curses! - but while roofing the new chciken coop last night I found a single classic lead head nail which I pocket for re-assignment.

Some quick surgical cuts with the modelling clippers and I had a series of socially-sized chunks of lead, perfect for forward-weighting small aircraft...seen here held in place by some strategically placed blobs of Milliput...



Major assembly next weekend plus work on the cockpit - pulled a set of 1/72 seatbelts out of the spare etch box to tart up the seat...

[SJPONeill]

The lead weights had shifted slightly so a couple of swipes with the big file from the garage were all it took to shave these down so that the fuselage halves would fit and these have now been joined, as have the wing halves. The remnants of my big bottle of think super glue almost totally 'thick' now so filling the seams will have to wait til I get some more super glue on my supply run to the big smoke this week. The edges of the fuselage halves do appear to be square along the join i.e. the edges were slightly rounded so that there is a seam to fill the whole way round...

[JamesPerrin]

Looking forward to seeing this one closed up.

[ShaunW]

You do realise that the shot you lost will turn up now don't you I hope the u/c is strong enough to bear the weight

[SJPONeill]

Well, it's the last day and I'm not done but I see this as progress - historically my GBs are undone at the last moment by a variation on the theme of modelling disaster. This build was actually running quite well but has simply been undone by external influences like a particularly busy period at work where I am currently working close to 80 hour weeks - it's interesting and productive work with good remuneration but leaves me somewhat fatigued in what's left of my waking hours. This will go on until mid-June when normal services will be resumed...

I don't think I was over-confident in opting to build two kits in this GB - both had their issues but are not THAT challenging and so they shall continue in my work bench thread...

Don't be surprised to see some of that extra remuneration diverted into my runaway stash and I am resolving to finish this year (2012) all my outstanding GB kits...

[SJPONeill]

Thanks, Brews - final straw tonight was accidentally deleting the final progress shots I had taken last weekend showing the wings and fuselage together...am committed to packing now and a final family night so no chance to reshoot before the GB ends...