I figured that it is time I try my had at something different . One of the most iconic space planes from the past and as a kit probably just as iconic. I did read a couple of build reviews and found that this kit does have some issues. One is the softness of the plastic which reminds me this is a limited run kit. Any attempt to sand,file or make any effort to clean it up from the part gates changes the shape of the part rapidly and if you are not watching it you will have some filling to do.
From the dry fit at this distance there is not much to show that there are fit issues here as well.
It looks rather good from here too. This is going to be a rather large beastie.
The issue stems from the top part of the forward fuselage. The part is about 2 mm shorter than the bottom causing either the panel lines from the top part and the bottom to be misaligned or the gap seen here.
The step here can be pushed around a bit to get it to come into alignment and as for the bottom side the gap there will have to be filled in with some plastic card and body filler. Sanding away all the excess if one is not careful will eradicate all the detail.
This is the aft section of the fuse. The top part has areas where the fit is flush horizontaly but there are areas that are recessed in the other part. This gap is the result and will need plastic card and filler to make right. Another area that requires care when sanding so there wont be any damage to the raised detail.
Here is another issue. The panel is to be painted a light gray and all the bezels and other instrument faces painted black. I am hoping that it can be brought out by dry brushing, any help or suggestions here would be greatly appreciated.
Hey Paul
Looking forward to seeing this build, you may took a look this Tips and tricks article I found are ARC. May be helpful with instrument panel
http://www.arcair.com/tnt1/001-100/TNT033-PE-Painting-Kwikkel/00.shtm
I saw that before, Casey and I will probably apply that before I get any farther. Thanks for the interest/
After I spent most of the day banging out the pit I realized that I was going to try to display this in flight.
So I canned the pit mostly only to keep a few items that may be seen through a tiny pea sized window. In order to get the aft fuse sections assembled I used the aft bulkhead to help keep the form aligned and assembled the halve carefully one bit at a time.
After this was all done I used Tube glue to seal the gap and when that was dried I filled it with body filler.
Carefully sanding it down to avoid damaging the details too much. I got it as smooth as I could and buffed it down to a dull gloss.
It looks better in person that in this pic.. I assembled all of the wings and things , control surfaces and such. Being this is limited run the fit is pretty iffy so Ill need to do some creative sanding and shimming.
Given the time and effort required to make this a good model, it should be impressive..... a 1/32 scale X15!!! Patience and diligence.
I forgot you had this in your WIP.