The Empire Strikes Back - VC10 K3 ZA149 - ** FINISHED **

[iggie]

Sanding? I'd be reaching for my angle grinder!

[DavidWomby]

Sanding? I'd be reaching for my angle grinder!

There's never a laser around when you need one, eh?

David

[DavidWomby]

Yesterday was a bit of a waste. It started out well - I ground the excess plastic off the engine intakes (very carefully) with this.



Then I filled the engines and fuselage seams with (PPP) Perfect Plastic Putty. Unfortunately, when I sanded the fuselage this morning, I realized PPP was a poor choice for that job, so in the end I redid the seams with normal putty. I know it shrinks but i think regular putty feathers better for 'step' type seams. PPP seems to be better for holes and gaps like wing roots.



I haven't started sanding down the PPP on the engines yet. I may end up having to use regular putty on them too.

David

[Purplethistle]

You don't have your troubles to seek with that one, Skip.

To raise your morale, here's a joke about putty.

Heard about the newlyweds who didn't know the difference between KY Jelly and putty?

......their windows fell out!

[DavidWomby]

You don't have your troubles to seek with that one, Skip.
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Thanks for the sympathy but it does seem I have troubles with all the kits I build - and I am the one common factor in each case .

Still, press on.

David

[iggie]

Onwards and upwards David; that's the spirit

It is giving you a rough ride though

[DavidWomby]

Lots of putty/sand/repeat on the fuselage but I'm pretty happy with it now. Just a couple of small flat spots need more putty.



I have also been fettling the wings and tailplane in preparation for adding them but before they get added, it's time to start on sanding the engines!

David

[DavidWomby]

Roll up, roll up! Get yer VC-10 on a stick 'ere !



I will be cutting this aluminium tube flush with the fuselage but this is what the homemade stand will fit into. Unfortunately I cracked open the lower fuselage joint when I drilled the hole for this. So a bit of repair work needs doing there.

Meanwhile, the engines are looking a bit better. Probably one more round of putty/sand.





David

[CammNut]

Call me weird, but I like enjoy the whittling bit of modeling. When a part comes up looking good after endless PSR-ing, I feel a sense of achievement.

To digress, Richard Whitcomb, who developed supercritical wings and winglets at NASA, used to hand-file his windtunnel models to shape. He could tell good aerodynamics by touch.

So just console yourself on your umpty-umph round of PSR that you are following in distinguished footsteps. Oh, and those engines are looking good!

[novokits]

I overslept this wonder! I really enjoy see this your topic. (seen before updating novokits.info now ...) This one of most mystical NOVO kit...

[Molly-new]

It is starting to come together, and you know you will have a better finished model after all this labour of love.

[DavidWomby]

Call me weird, but I like enjoy the whittling bit of modeling.
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Yes, my old friend, you are weird but, after over 47 years of friendship, I am getting used to it.

David

[DavidWomby]

Small progress. I spent a lot of time on the flaps and slats.

Frog designed this kit to have moving flaps. Unfortunately, this meant they had to mould them with a thick wedge of plastic at the rear so they would make a smooth fit to the upper wing when in the 'up' position. Here's what the flaps looked like - moulded with big wedges that would look like foot high steps when the flaps were down.



Since I'm building mine with flaps down, those steps had to go. That plus fitting small wing fence to the leading edge slats and deciding how to fit the slats in the 'open' position, have taken all day. The VC-10 has 12, or so, slat actuators per wing. I'm not modelling all those!! Mine will have 2 actuators per wing just to hold the slat in the right position.



Also still doing PSR on the engines!!!!

David

[DavidWomby]

Wings are on. Not a great fit - there's some shims on the upper side and gaps down on this side.



I also attached the refueling point that I hacked off the bottom of an Airfix K2 (that will be built one day as a C1) and added a small tailcone extension for the APU that RAF machines carried there.

David

[DavidWomby]

Wing roots filled (Perfect Plastic Putty worked great for this) and ailerons added. Tailplane fitted. I attached the elevators in slightly deflected position as this is going to be 'in flight' with flaps and slats down and so in a slightly nose up attitude.

Quite a bit more small bits of PSR still to do then just the undercarriage doors to fit and the flaps plus the underwing refueling pods and the nose IFR probe. Then it's on to painting. I think I may paint the engines separately and then fit them afterwards - it will be easier to paint the natural metal intake lips that way.





David
PS. My apologies for the messy workbench but it's always like that!