Got a bit more done on refurbishment this morning. Aaannd ... the sun is shining.
The badly deformed litho plate at the top of the right legging was taken off with the aid of artery forceps rolling the litho back as the contact cement let go under the persuasive heat of my paint stripper. Gods but that CC is aggressive stuff.
A plate of litho was cut to size not forgetting the t.e. wrap around. It was marked for flush rivets ... spaces as before.
I found the correct sized punch and tested it on a scrap of litho. It was the top one in the pic.
Plate punched and fitted. The line at the t.e. is where she has to be bent. No annealing here. Then it will be stuck down with CC again.
The top plate on the other side was salvageable although wrinkled and slightly split at the very top. It was filled with "plastic metal" and then rubbed back. Primed and painted it will come up a treat.
The damaged plate where the bottom seat of the hefty wing struts sit. Wrinkles and a split.
White two part "plastic metal" now rubbed back. It will come up well without a pristine plastic model look.
The bottom inside bar of wood and glass just below the inner hemispherical cover was fractured. Balsa plat triangles were glued into the fore and aft ends, and then the bar itself was covered with a strip of carbon cloth and epoxy resin. Now it is like concrete.
The heavy carbon cloth epoxied onto the bar.
After filler and a good sand it will be ready for a bit of primer/paint.
Happy with that outcome.
The sprung kick in foot rests are OK, but the Dzus fasteners are losing definition. May have to treat them with the Acetone trick. I will experiment with one and if works I will do the worst affected.
False alarm. The belly pan was not locked in all the way. The plunger holes at each end in the fuselage were tight. That is a removeable Allen Key hanging out of the side. This engages the levers that pull in the plungers. It is sprung as you can just see. Worked reliably for the past twelve years. The two switch stations (holes) have not been used in a decade. Bad design as the whole belly pan was tied up with the switch harnesses. That soon went.
Later, Lurkers.
Time for a beverage.
Ken
__________________ To repair.
102" Meister P-47 Moki 150
1/4 Scale P-47 Moki 400
To maiden
Fatface Skyraider DLE 130
Ziroli Hellcat Moki 150
Flying ...
Westland Lysander 168" Moki 250
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