WNW SE5a w/Eduard PE

[redpiano]

Hey guys, first post here!

This is what I have so far after about a day's work, I'm using the Eduard photo etch set for the kit and I'll be rigging it with PE turnbuckles and wire nodes. I'm planning on painting it with more of a chocolate color than an OD green, just seems like a more interesting color to me.



I'm going to assemble the fuselage next.

Any advice is always welcome!

[uncletony]

Hey Redpiano, welcome to the forum, nice start!

I assume you are the Redpiano from the RoF board? I am J2_Tony there

[redpiano]

One and the same, nice to see you!

[kinnies]

Hi there,
Got this one in the stash, so I'm going to follow this closely. Didn't know Eduard had a PE set for it. What's it like? Is it worth the dosh?
Cheers,
John

[redpiano]

I think the set is worth it, it's my first time with photo etch so I can't compare to other PE sets, I think the gauge set it comes with is worth it alone but you also get super detailed grills for the radiator, seatbelts, all sorts of hinges and buckles, some engine detail bits and such.




One piece of advice, don't make the mistake I made and order both the general detail set -and- the gauge/buckle set, you only need the general detail set as it also includes the gauges and buckles, I don't know why they sell them separately but also include them in the same package :\

[redpiano]

I have a really nasty gap where the top of the cockpit goes onto the fuselage and the gap is in the corner right along some detail I'd rather not lose, so I'd rather not use the plastic glue I would normally use to fill gaps and I have no putty, what I do have is this loctite repair putty? I wonder if that'll work.

[drdave]

Use something that will dissolve in cellulose thinners. You can smooth this off and allow it to fill the gap whilst wiping off excess without sanding. I use mr surfacer  500

[mgunns]

Hello Redpiano:

Welcome to the forum.  This really turns into a nice model, but; there are some pitfalls to watch for.  I did a build log here called the "Phoenix Project" you may want to check out.  As you are using the Eduard PE you need to ensure the fuselage walls have been trimmed of all existing rigging detail as it will really mess up the fit.  Another thing to watch for is the sequence of assembly.  You can put half the fuselage on the wings with the interior in it, leaving off the left side so you can rig the pedals and stick etc.  Ensure you read ahead in the instructions as well as there are steps that are shown pages ahead that assume the modeler has accomplished.  So, just a heads up.  When rigging, I left the undercarriage off until the very end.  It made for a much easier time of rigging it: also leave off all the aileron/elevator rigging until last as well. 
Good luck with the build, it looks like you are doing a bang up job with the interior portion of it, looking forward to seeing you progress through the build.  Have you decided on which markings to use?  I also use white glue to fill in small voids as well.

Best

Mark

[redpiano]

Hey Gunns, thanks for the reply. I'm looking over your thread now and I've run into most of the same problems, with the PE parts for the interior rigging I ended up having to just tear that rear most panel out and toss it because no matter how clean I got the existing rigging sanded down it just would not allow the two fuselage halves to go together, even after taking it out I had issues so I just sliced about a mm off of each side of the seat and then it went together fine.

I've decided not to rig the interior, I had some plastic sprue stretched out and ready but ultimately I care more about the final paintjob and rigging on the exterior than how the interior turns out and I'm still pretty new to rigging.

I plan to use the "A" option decals with the 4 bladed prop and head rest and I want to get the color more towards the brown side like your phoenix se5a, here's a blurry picture of where I'm at now.



I'm running into a lot of walls because I don't have all the paint I need to actually start doing the necessary pre-assembly paint application like where the vicker is mounted among other things.

For the gap where the cockpit cover goes on I went ahead and just used the plastic glue, waiting for it to dry so I can sand it ever so carefully flush but in case I mess up all the stitching detail I went ahead and scrapped the extra fuselage parts I had and cut off all that stitching detail so if I mess it up too bad I can just sand it down and replace it that way.

After this the only things I can really do before Wednesday is the engine, vickers and lewis and the struts then I have to wait until my paint arrives.

Also I found some white surface primer used on canvas and it actually serves as great filler putty, if this glue doesn't work really well I'll apply some of that, it's thick like paste so it fills gaps easy and dries hard.

[pepperman42]

Nice start redpiano and welcome to the forum.
Steve

[michael]

hello redpiano and good start on your kit. i will be cheering you along 

michael

[redpiano]

I'm at a loss as to how I'm supposed to fix this seam line, I'm trying everything I can  and I cannot get it smooth without just demolishing all that stitching detail, I'm really pissed at the moment. This seems like really crappy kit design to have such a major seam right next to detail like that.

[redpiano]

Here's a picture.



I keep sanding but it will not smooth out and every time I pass over it I chip away at the stitching.

[uncletony]

RP, DrDave's advice is sound:

Use something that will dissolve in cellulose thinners. You can smooth this off and allow it to fill the gap whilst wiping off excess without sanding. I use mr surfacer  500

That's what i use too for most seams.

You can also smooth it with ispropyl alcohol which absolutely won't attack the plastic. Some people use white-out as filler (aka "correction fluid" like what old-timeys used in prehistoric days to erase letters pounded onto scraps of paper with a strange mechanical device called a "typewriter".) Personally I don't like -- I can't get it to feather as nicely as Mr. Surfacer, but that's probably just me...

You might also try masking off the stitching detail before grinding away. Once you start to bite into the masking tape, replace the mask. Tape is cheap :-)

[redpiano]

Well...This is turning into a disaster of a project and has stopped being enjoyable.





Couldn't get the seam filled for the cockpit, I tried super glue, tried what filler material I had available, tried plastic glue. And the photo etch parts are being ruined just by glancing at them, managed to bend the radiator grills so neither of them sit flat and I have no idea how to pop the little slats out. The way everything else is going I don't know that I even want to attempt rigging..