SPA Modeler

Nice fit...masking is great, too!

Thanks for checking in guys! I hope everyone is having a wonderful winter!

Only engine components at the intake end and exhaust end are going to be painted.


And only the basic structure of the engine will be constructed. Revell includes some detail bits and pieces that I am leaving off since the engine will be sealed off from view.


The initial gluing the halves of the engine nacelles together feels very vague. But each additional piece adds a bit more rigidity to the structure.


The fit of the engine nacelles is not very good. Methinks I'll be spending quite a bit of time smoothing out the joints and re-scribing and riveting both nacelles.



Work on the fuselage is wrapping up as I finish fairing in the clear parts. No work on the wings is needed until the engine nacelles are joined.


Here's a dry-fit of all of the major components. The wing/fuselage fit looks pretty good with some minor gaps at the wing root that might go away once the proper wing dihedral is established.

Seeing it all dry fit together looks great! Really looking like a swallow now.

The cleanup around the windscreen is just about finished.



The rivets around the nose cap have been removed to reflect the wood construction in this area.


Prior to gluing the wings into place, I've placed tabs to reinforce the joint.


The wings are glued into place and the fit is very good all around. Just some minor sanding and finishing with a little bit of putty work on the port wing root joint.







With the wings finally attached, I can secure the loose ends of the wiring in the wheel wells. There will be one set of hydraulic lines hanging loose which will be attached to the landing gear leg actuators, which will be glued in later.

I got nothing except...

Everything is looking good. But I am still totally blown away by all the wiring and plumbing in the main gear wheel wells.

jkim wrote:

Thanks Fermis! That sums up my feelings pretty well! It's not the most complete wheel well but perhaps a notch above what I did on the Trumpeter 262 build and I'm grateful for any increment of improvement. I'm most happy that MOST of the additional details that I added, especially the plumbing, were rooted in photographs of the actual aircraft, either preserved or restored.

The biggest gap in the wing/fuselage fit is the easiest to address. Some White Milliput forced into the gap at the forward wing root and then cleaned up with a paper towel moistened with water. No further work will be necessary here.


The other areas are being refined with putty work, re-scribing and riveting.

Wonderful work John!

- Kari

I really dig those curtains. It's the little things that make the difference.