Matchbox 1/72 Saab J29 F Tunnan by speedgraflex

[Bolleken]

Very interesting process. I will put it on my list of decent procedures.
I always use Tamiya Extra Thin for melting the edges of self-drawn panel lines.

I am a bit late for a recommendation of filling Matchbox-panel-great-canyons. It is always a pain in the neck when you have done anything and then, much too late, Mr Know-it-all comes around the corner with a comment. Sorry.

Bruce, next time, with your next Matchbox, fill the lines with Magic Sculp. It is a 2k resin-filler. You can put it into the canyons, and smooth it with water-dipped finger or Q-tip. Will lead to an almost perfect surface without sanding and it is quite hard and no brickling when you start new panel-lines

[speedgraflex]

Marius,

Thanks for the Magic-Sculpt recommendation. I agree! It’s a wonderful product. I don’t have any in my inventory only the Milliput—one component of the mixture was slightly exposed to air and despite rehydration did not me the best surface adhesion which is why I turned to CA. Only a few of the seams filled by Milliput actually fell out so far—those being the ones around the tail. I added CA to those.

As this project evolved, it’s carried me further along the path of seam filling than I originally intended. With a hobby that is okay, in my opinion. If I add up the billable hours I get 2 so far, which includes the lower wing modifications which I have not shown.

Last night I took advantage of slightly cooler temperatures in Southern California, along with my Dad’s needle files to start adjusting the streamlined gun shrouds which Matchbox rendered very simply.

Reference

[speedgraflex]

I always use Tamiya Extra Thin for melting the edges of self-drawn panel lines.

I use Tamiya Extra Thin too, but not for this. I’ve found Tamiya leaves a surface texture as it attacks and I could see why Chris and Carlos mentioned that they have used this method to create textures on a smooth surface. That makes a lot of sense.

Why is this version of Mr. Cement different? I did search to try to understand what makes this version of Mr. Cement behave differently and found this online:

Dissolved acrylic or polystyrene resins are added to thicker variations to give body and help fill minor microscopic gaps.

This could explain why the surface appears more polished as the glue fills in the scratches. It also has a strong odor reminiscent of Plastruct-Weld.

[Stuart]

Superb stuff on that nose Bruce, that's a brilliant fit. A very interesting technique, like others have said, I've heard of it to be used to add texture (when I finally build my Inspector Morse Jag that's how I'll do the roofy) but not the other way around.

[speedgraflex]

Thank you, Stuart. I’ve been making an attempt to modify the guns and I’ve also removed the oversized interior details from the landing gear bay. I fancied a bit of carving last night while watching the telly.



You can see three remaining stubs in the far corner. Had to get the knives out for those. Satisfying remodeling.

To give Matchbox credit, they did add 12 of these interior braces to their design; I’m just following that “wild hair up your arse,” as my Grandfather might say and always with a shake of the head.

[Stikpusher]

Watch out for those wild hair ideas… I’ve jumped down a few deep rabbit holes following them…

[speedgraflex]

I know, buddy, Marius said the same. Well—no use cryin’ o’er spilt milk. What’s done is done. Done deal. Hopefully I can crawl outta this rabbit hole.

[Stuart]

Yes they were a bit oversized Looking forward to seeing what you do with them Bruce.

[speedgraflex]

Thanks, Stuart. It only took me about 20 minutes per side to do away with the ribbing. I’ve spent twice as much time shaping the gun shields and these are at the check stage.

It’s a lot easier now that the interior bays are flossed to give them some attention. I am deciding if I should cut and measure thin plastic card to add a better level of detail here. I can also go a bit wild and add hydraulic tubing inside, too.

This is all just prep work before I spray Mr Surfacer to see if I have smoothed the fuselage the right amount.

[Stikpusher]

Thanks, Stuart. It only took me about 20 minutes per side to do away with the ribbing. I’ve spent twice as much time shaping the gun shields and these are at the check stage.

It’s a lot easier now that the interior bays are flossed to give them some attention. I am deciding if I should cut and measure thin plastic card to add a better level of detail here. I can also go a bit wild and add hydraulic tubing inside, too.

This is all just prep work before I spray Mr Surfacer to see if I have smoothed the fuselage the right amount.

Some thin Evergreen styrene strips would work great to replace the removed rib detail in the wheel wells.