The eighth step in the build is the main prep work before painting. This step took 6 hrs 31 mins.
So far this was my least favorite activity. The purposes of this step are to (1) correct areas of the model that don’t fit well and (2) to remove seam lines that don’t exist on the real aircraft, but exist here because of the kit design. It’s also been the most manual-labor-intensive.
I’m also not interested in working in 1:32 scale anytime soon. The bigger the model, the longer it takes to fix errors.
I wondered about this at the time and I was correct… I should have sanded the front fuselage before gluing it to the rear, and I should have sanded the entire fuselage before gluing the wings on. The pieces would have been easier to manipulate instead of having the entire plane to hold at weird angles. Looking ahead to painting, I could have waited to glue the air intakes on.
(Reminder: You can click the images to get larger versions.)
Filling
Note the gap in the middle of the protruding piece
Filled with Tamiya acrylic filler; excess removed with a cotton swab. I prefer acrylic filler because you can clean up excess with water instead of harsher chemicals or sanding.
Gap between the port stabilizer and the fuselage
Starboard stabilizer gap filled; note the rivet holes got filled in, too
Port stabilizer gap filled
Small gap where the center and outer wings are joined
Gap filled, as well as some of the panel line detail
I tried to go light, like I did with the gaps filled so far. Because there’s only hollow space on the other side of the gap, the filler disappeared. My approach was to go heavy and let it cure.
The angle was to small for a cotton swab, so I used a putty spatula to remove excess.
Port-side wing gap filled
Significant gaps between the body and air intake covers
Did the best I could, ultimately needing to re-glue the air intake covers for a better fit
To remove filler from the panel lines and rivet holes, I used a sewing needle mounted in my hand drill.
A bit hard to see, but it looks better. I’m only 80% satisfied with how this worked — very fiddly and hard to get clean lines. Plus I have no idea if skipping this step would have any impact on the final product.
What needs sanding
Left and right halves create a seam down the middle of the vertical stabilizer
Another place where the parts don’t align
Left and right halves make a seam down the front fuselage
Fuselage seam (part 1)
Fuselage seam (part 2)
Underside, front fuselage
Left and right halves again
Note the stair-stepping where the left and right halves don’t align. The lip nearest the exhaust will be obscured by an arresting hook, so I won’t fix that area.
Slight misalignment in front of where the wing meets the fuselage
Poor fits
This model won’t win me fame and fortune, so there are places I decided that I’m not going to spend hours re-shaping and re-detailing.
The bottom-wing part juts out about 1 mm. I think if I sanded it down to align with the fuselage, there wouldn’t be any plastic left. I did fill the gap, though.
Port air intake cover doesn’t line up with the fuselage
Starboard air intake cover is raised
Sanding
Everyone’s favorite task…sanding! I used 100, 180, 240, 400, 1000, and 2000 grits. The lower three were Alpha Abrasives sanding files, and the upper three were Tamiya finishing abrasives (like regular sandpaper). Elbow grease, here we come! (Sanding alone took me 2 hrs 45 mins.)
Middle section seam starting to disappear
Main seam line gone; I’m leaving the seam line between the fuselage and APR 38 receiver.
Front fuselage seam removed
Rough sanding done
Pictures don’t help here. It’s not as glossy as the untouched plastic, but keep in mind that this area will be primed, painted dark steel, and then weathered. It feels very smooth to the touch.
Fuselage (part 1); the tape is for marking where panels were on the top that I’ll need to re-scribe later.
Fuselage (part 2)
Re-scribing and re-riveting
Sanding usually erases those fine panel lines. To restore them, I used a panel line scriber and a metal template for guidance.
The scriber tool is way finickier than I would have expected — very easy to pop out of a groove and create a scratch that you now have to buff out.
A YouTube video on re-scribing recommended using label maker tape because it’s sticky and is thick enough. The last part, not so much. It didn’t have a durable edge.
Port-to-starboard lines re-scribed
Front fuselage re-scribed
Before re-scribing
Good thing I measured the diameter first!
Re-scribing and re-riveting done
Upper empennage re-scribed
Rivets restored
Next step
Step 9 will be all about painting. Given all the steps — priming, pre-shading, panel bleaching, and then three main colors of paint — and that 1:32 is a fairly large scale, I have my work cut out for me!
