SPA Modeler

John, are your fasteners made of sheet brass instead? They do look like that.

jkim wrote: ↑Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:19 pm I had a hard time trying to scribe the fasteners on the clear engine cowling. So I decided to take a different route...


I filled the fastener details on the cowling with black CA glue.


You can see that some of my scribed fasteners were ok.


While others were not.


The fasteners that I fashioned out of thin sheet plastic were glued into place with CA glue and then sanded down to reduce their height.


Here is the cowling after the the panel lines were rescribed. The rivets were wheeled on using a circular rivet tool and the cowling was given a primer coat. In hindsight, I wish I would've persevered with the scribing of the fasteners instead of doing them this way but it's too late to go back. Regardless of how they turned out, I think they will be largely camouflaged by the checkerboard pattern.

Wow... simply wow! I’d never would paid that kind of attention to those details on the cowl - especially on a 1/48 scale P-47 Thunderbolt kit. Incredible detail work.

I’ve noticed you use black CA quite a bit. Is this something it can be useful for me? Is black CA used strictly for filling detail work for sanding and can it be used as a super glue as well?

That's a good question about the black super glue. If that's the case I may have to give that stuff a try.

Black CA glue is very useful. Yes, it can be used as an adhesive to attach things like any other super glue. But the nice thing about black CA is that it is rubberized, which makes the hardened glue softer than regular CA. It's still harder than plastic so you can still feather it in seamlessly during sanding but it's much easier to deal with than regular CA. The black color also makes the repair work much more visible. I use Bob Smith Industries IC-2000.

The arrival of the Yahu instrument panels completes the shopping list for this project so I can start on the cockpit.  There is a mixture of painted and unpainted brass parts in the Eduard set and also overlap between the Eduard and Yahu sets so I have to look things over and determine what AM pieces will be utilized, which will not, which ones will be installed prior to painting and which will be attached after painting.

Speaking of cockpit painting, here are the AK Real Color paints that I picked up for this build. I will be using the Dark Dull Green for the cockpit.


I've previously noted the tiny holes in the Yahu main circuit panel that correspond to the switch and toggle positions.  I've ordered a set of toggle switches from ANYZ to play with on this build.



I pre-painted a few toggle switches and placed them on the Yahu circuit panel to see what it looks like. Only with a coat of paint on and under extreme magnification was I able to discern that I had chosen the flat-sided toggles.


And it's probably very difficult to see but in the upper left of the panel, I've inserted a tiny piece of copper wiring to simulate a raised switch. Adding toggles and switches will be very fiddly work, I predict. I think it will be best to glue the panel onto the port sidewall first.


Tackling the throttle linkages is next. I don't have the dexterity to recreate the physical connections between the throttle quadrant and linkage rods so I just fabricated mounting points that will be hidden from view.



Thin brass rods will be used to simulate the throttle linkage rods.



I scraped off the cockpit light that was molded into the port sidewall and fabricated a new one out of plastic. The cord was spun around a small drill bit.



The back of the instrument panel was populated with wires. Most of this will not be visible as it is blocked by the coaming that holds the gunsight and armored glass.

The toggle switches and wiring look great John. It shouldn’t surprise me that somebody makes those switches for 1/35 & 1/32 aircraft. If I ever get around to that 1/32 Apollo capsule kit of mine, those are just what I need for the myriad of switches in there.
Good choice on the Dull Dark Green in the cockpit. That Yellow Green looks perfect for the gun bays and wheel wells, as Republic tended to use that color on those areas.

Thank you for answering my question on the black CA. I may stop at the new HobbyTown that opened up in my area a few weeks ago.

Nice set of toggle switches and wiring detail work. I probably can handle it in 1/32 scale but 1/48 scale? Forget it.

Thanks for those great color photos, Carlos! The Detail and Scale book that you recommended is very good and has been very useful already so thank you!

Yeah, pick up some black CA glue... it has some very good uses. My CA glue repertoire has grown to include:

Thin CA - the capillary action is very useful when attaching small PE parts, especially things like edges of boxes and stuff
Black CA - very good as a filler and as a general adhesive too
Slow set CA - when I need a second or even fraction of a second to adjust the placement of a part before it sets into place
Debonder - used to clean up excess CA glue after attaching parts
Accelerator or Insta-set - primarily used when filling panel lines and gaps. Instantly hardens CA so you can immediately start sanding.

Thin CA - I ran out or it went bad a year and a half ago. Never went and got more. I still have Medium and Thick CA glue. I use Gorilla Super Glue on certain stuff.

Slow Set CA - Don’t have that. May look into it.

Black CA- On my must have list. I will be getting a bottle very soon.

Debonder - I have this stuff. Used it a few times to fix CA gluing mishaps.

Accelerator - I’m on the fence on this stuff.

The work on the cowling and the interior is superb John Those 1/32 toggle switches are insane!

CA Accelerator is great for when you need something to set now, like an EZ Line aircraft antenna or ship rigging. If you’re setting up something with tension, CA plus Accelerator does the trick perfectly.

John, you’re welcome for the photos and I’m glad that the book helps!