Getting back to the topic... It's time to fill the small gaps on the bottom wing panels.
There are different ways to fill without sanding. Most involve using putty and a liquid that can thin the putty. Water is the most benign liquid so I favor using Milliput, which is a two-part epoxy that can be sculpted with water before curing. I've prepared a small blob of White Milliput, which is the finest grade.
Using the tip of a toothpick, I work the putty into the seams. I "roll" the toothpick, which forces the putty material into the crack.
I take a small piece of folded paper towel moistened with water and I simply wipe off the excess putty. The putty in the seam remains.
Moving to the next line of putty, I am showing an intermediate step. To make it easier to remove the excess, I use a paint brush tipped with water to soften and loosen the larger blobs of excess putty.
The two lines have been filled. I want the panel lines to remain but they are no longer bottomless cracks, hopefully of similar depth to the other recessed panel lines. Note the putty in the small circular rivets. This and other unwanted putty is removed using the tip of a needle.
I've decided to fill all four seams using Milliput. This is a great way to fix small seams or fill gaps without destroying the surrounding detail with sanding.
While puttying the other side, I ran into a little problem. As I was applying the putty, I could feel the panel moving up and down... it had not been fully secured with glue. Putty is not a good adhesive and I knew I had to secure the panel down now or be stuck with a forever loose panel. I wiped off as much of the putty that I had previously applied.
Then I seeped Tamiya Extra Thin glue into the gaps. Another boo-boo... excess glue has leaked onto the wing. The worst thing to do at this point is to try and wipe off the excess glue. Best to just STOP and set this aside, giving the glue plenty of time to evaporate and dry. With luck, no damage should occur.
I pick up the work the following day. I've had to do some sanding and re-scribing to clean up the joint but it looks ok. The row of circular rivets along the front edge of the panel has been removed by sanding and I'll have to replace them.
The panel is given a quick spray of Mr Surfacer 1000 to check the putty work. I'll have to gently scribe along the filled lines to deepen them a little bit.
Next... I'm going start painting the rear engine plug. I've added some additional hoses/tubing and have drilled the bulkheads to accept more.
