This is the most comprehensive book on detailing model aircraft ever written. Itdocuments with step-by-step detail and hundreds of closeup photographs how to turn anaverage model into a detailed masterpiece. Dozens of simple techniques will teach youhow to add detail to cockpits; scratchbuild interiors, seats, and seat frames; and addinterior details such as piping, switches, and dials.

You'll learn how to modify and improve kit-supplied parts; detail engines and intake andexhaust ports; how to add detail to wheel wells and landing gear; how to remove, modify,and reattach control surfaces, hatches, and access panels; and add rigging and controlcables to biplanes. An entire chapter is devoted to tips and techniques on everything fromseam removal to masking clear parts and applying and weathering decals. Whether yourmodeling tastes are propeller-driven aircraft from the First or Second World War or thesleek jet fighters of today, this book is for you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Ashey lives in Tallahassee,Florida, with his wife, Kelly, and theirtwo sons, Thomas and Gregory. Mikeis a member of IPMS, and he has beenbuilding models since the early sixties.His interests are primarily aircraft andships, although he does indulge In atank every now and then. He has anundergraduate degree in OceanEngineering, and aside from buildingmodels he enjoys writing, SCUBAdiving, flying, staying in shape, andbeing a father to two future modelbuilders. He spent four years in theU.S. Marines and was honorablydischarged as a Sergeant. He workedfor the Department of the Navy as asenior engineer and project manager,and as a technical advisor for theNavy's elite SEAL combat force.Presently Mike is heavily involved inenvironmental protection and is aBureau Chief for Florida's Departmentof Environmental Protection.

DETAILING

SCALE

MODEL

AIRCRAFT

by Mike Ashey

CONTENTS

FOREWORD 6

1. MODELING TIPS & TECHNIQUES 7

2. COCKPITS 22

3. ENGINES 41

THE FLIGHT LINE 48

4. LANDING GEAR 67

5. GUNS, FLYING WIRES, CONTROL

CABLES & ANTENNA WIRES 77

6. REMOVING & REATTACHING

KIT PARTS 87

MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS 103

INDEX.. ..104

FOREWORD

I have often wondered what makes this hobby so special to me. I guess that, above allother reasons, it helps me to connect with my childhood and the many things that were sospecial about being a kid. It all started when my Dad took me along for a ride one warmsummer day in 1964 and we visited a place called Vince's Hobby store in Clifton, NewJersey. I will never forget the impression it left on me. The store was a wonderland ofelectric trains, gas-powered airplanes that hung from the ceiling and were almost as big as Iwas, and walls lined with plastic models of every type. On that special day we bought aship model, which we built and floated in the tiny pool my Dad had set up for my brothersand me. I cannot remember how many times I broke and repaired that model, but it keptme occupied and it made me hunger for more models.

Some time after my first model, I discovered that the local hardware and repair store,which was within biking distance, carried model airplanes. Within a year or two the ceilingof my room was cluttered with Aurora, Revell, Hawk, and Monogram kits of every type. Ispent every dime of my paper route money on models and long hours in the basementbuilding them. I can vividly remember those warm summer days as I rode my bike to thestore while I fantasized about what it must be like to actually fly the airplane I had pickedout the previous week to buy. My dreams were always filled with fighter pilot Mike Ashey'scourageous exploits.

As I look back on those years, I have come to understand that building all those modelsserved many purposes, besides keeping me out of trouble. Building models gave me anoutlet to express my fledgling creativity, which has developed to the point that now I canlook at a plain, basic, stripped-down model and picture it as a finely-detailed model simplyby changing the picture of it in my head. It honed my skills at following instructions toassemble things, which translated to following machinery diagrams and blueprints in mylater years. It allowed me to become adept at discerning spatial relationships ofequipment, buildings, and site plans, which comes in handy as a practicing field engineer.It developed my commonsense problem-solving skills and instilled in me a sense ofsymmetry and organization. All of these attributes that I now have and which serve mewell in life I can attribute in some measure to quite a few ninety-eight-cent models and five-cent tubes of Tester's glue.

Although the model industry is better now than it has ever been before, something hasbeen lost. Amongst all the fancy high-tech kits, resin accessories, and photoetched partswe have lost the true sense and pleasure of the hobby. Many models are expensive almostto the point of being absurd, and many after-market products cost as much or more thanthe kits themselves. With all the hype about the recessed panel lines of this model or thehighly detailed wheel wells of that model we have forgotten about the kid on the bike whoyearns to expand his or her creativity and let his or her imagination run wild. We are in theprocess of losing an entire generation of modelers because the majority of the industry isfocusing on adults instead of seeking a balance. The future generation of our hobby isgrowing up on electronic games, and most of them will never experience all the positiveattributes that this hobby has instilled in us adults. As a result, they may never benefitfrom all the by-products that model building can bestow upon a young mind and propel ayoung man or woman to success. If we do not address this problem, at some point in thenear future a vacuum will be created in the industry because their customer base is goingto suddenly shrink and our hobby will suffer.

I cannot say enough good things about those manufacturers who strive to seek abalance between all age groups and offer low-cost models to our kids. I wrote this book inan effort to reintroduce to the modeling community the art of creativity, imagination, andideas and to remind all of us that there is life beyond the high-priced, high-tech kit and thatto invest in the kid on the bicycle is the best investment we can make.

A-1H Skyraider manufactured by Monogram, Inc. (1/48 scale kit built by Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

Over the years I have discovered andrediscovered techniques for workingwith plastics that have greatlyadvanced my modeling skills. I havecondensed and refined them so thatanyone can use them with success.The topics in this chapter are cata-loged and grouped so you can find aspecific technique easily. All the pro-cedures and methods presented havebeen tested and proven in building themodels pictured in this book.

REQUIRED TOOLS &EQUIPMENT

Listed below are the tools andequipment you will need to detail yourmodel. All the items listed are men-tioned throughout the book; whereappropriate I have included suppliersor recommended manufacturers.

The fillers and glues I use includeTester's modeling putty, SquadronShop's Green Stuff, the white and bluetube super glues marketed by theDuro Corporation, Two Part epoxyadhesive, marketed by the DevconCorporation, and Elmer's or KristalKleer's white glue. Duro's super glueand Devcon's two-part epoxy can befound in just about any hardwarestore. To apply Duro's white tubesuper glue I use a .5mm mechanicalpencil or thin wires for precise appli-cation. You also need a super glueaccelerator; I have found that a two-ounce bottle will last a long time.Duro's blue tube super glue is calledquick gel and is an excellent filler.

1 For sanding I use sandpaper fromthe Testor Corporation or К & SEngineering Company. It comes on a

waterproof backing and can be usedwet or dry. It can be cleaned withsoap, water, and a brush and bereused. The grades range from 150 to600 grit. They come in 3 x 4-inchsheets and are color-coded for easyidentification. Flex-I-Files and Flex-Padfiles are also handy sanding imple-ments. The Flex-I-File works great toform and shape curves.

For sanding blocks I use smallpieces of pine, balsa wood, plasticstock, or even the handles of my files.Balsa wood is especially usefulbecause it conforms to compoundareas such as wing and fuselage con-nection points.

For polishing I use plastic polishfrom the Bare Metal Foil Company orBrasso metal polish. To polish theareas that are sanded, use a cotton

cloth and either of the two recom-mended polishes. You can't do with-out an X-Acto knife and numerousblades. I always keep a supply of #11and #16 X-Acto blades, as I use themmore than any other size. You willalso need a small pair of wire cuttersto remove parts from their trees.

For masking I recommend Scotch3M painter's masking tape. This is thebest product I have found for masking.It also makes great seat belts.

Plan on using several boxes offacial tissue per model. Tissue makesan excellent stuffer in areas that aredeep and need to be masked, likecockpits and wheel wells.

You will need a glass plate forcutting decals, photoetched parts, andplacards. Tape the edges with ducttape to keep from getting cut. Thetape also acts as a cushion betweenthe glass and your workbench.

For scribing I recommend plasticscribers f rom the Bare Metal FoilCompany or Micro Mark. Both re-move the plastic instead of pushing itaside, as needles do. You can also usea sewing needle in a pin vise (called ascribing needle), which works wellaround sharp corners. Both thesetools are also used to remove controlsurfaces and other parts.

You will need templates to scribecircles and other small shapes. Forlong lines, use labeling tape for Dymolabel machines.

To clean out sanding dust fromscribed lines use a soft toothbrush.

To detect flaws on plastic sur-faces, joints, and seam lines, use silverpaint applied with a soft brush.

To clean plastic prior to applyinga primer coat use Polly-S plastic prep.It can also be used between coats toremove dust and skin oils. Polly-S alsomakes an excellent decal and paintremover for painting disasters.

Waldron Products sells a stan-dard-size punch set for their instru-ments. You will find a thousand andone uses for it besides making instru-ment consoles. It is a valuable tool forscratchbuilding and simplifies manyprojects. Waldron also markets fineconsole instruments and placards.

Model Technologies and othersproduce photoetched seat belt hard-ware and mesh screening with manyuses. Recently, manufacturers havebeen supplying photoetched seatbeltscomplete with buckles and adjustinghardware as part of the belt. Whilethese are easier and quicker to use,you will never be able to achieve theeffect of a multiple-part seat belt, andit is difficult to paint the metal hard-ware. I recommend getting separatehardware for seat belts.

Evergreen Scale Model Productsmarkets the widest selection of plasticsheet stock, strips, and rod sizes.Their plastic is easy to use, soft ,responds well to sanding and shaping,and accepts paint well.

You will need a good selection ofdrafting templates. At a minimum youshould have circles, squares, rectan-gles, and ellipses, and a set of smallclear drafting triangles.

Round toothpicks and cottonswabs are valuable items to have onhand. Toothpicks make good applica-tors for white glue and for picking up

Waldron's instruments. Use cottonswabs to smooth out white glue and toclean and shape two-part epoxy.

For proper decal application youwill need clear gloss and flat finishes.Tester's and Polly-S clear finish prod-ucts will give you excellent results.

You will need a good supply oftweezers and micro files in varioussizes. Micro Mark carries a full line offiles and tweezer sets.

For airbrushing I use Badger air-brushes. I like single-action brushesbecause my hands are not that steady,and I find it difficult to keep the buttonin place as I airbrush. Clean yourbrush after each session and let theparts soak in a jar of mineral spirits. Ialso recommend investing in a com-pressor, even if it is a small one.Having a reliable air source is impor-tant in airbrushing. Buy a spray boothor use a large cardboard box with thetop and front cut out. Moving boxesare sturdy, come in various sizes, andare readily available.

For great-looking decals you willneed a decal-setting solution, but besure the solution is compatible withyour decals. I use the Microscale sys-tem, and it has never failed me.

For weathering use Polly-S weath-ering paints. Another good tool forweathering is pastel pencils. I runthem across a piece of sandpaper andapply the residue with a soft, flatbrush. I also recommend a good sup-ply of quality flat and round brushes,especially small detail brushes.

You will need a variable-speedmotor tool, a motor tool drill press,and a motor tool vise. Cutters in vari-

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To cut straight strips of masking tape use a straight edge and asharp blade. The sharp blade will insure that the masking tapewill not have any feathered edges.

Sanding the gluing surfaces of small parts on a flat surfacegreatly improves the fit and it reduces the amount of seamwork you have to do.

ous sizes, drill bits from !4 inch downto a number 80 bit, and circular sawblades are also a must. Larger sizedrill bit sets can be found in hardwarestores, and micro bits from number 60to 80 can be purchased from MicroMark in sets. You will also need a drillbit gauge and a pin vise for small jobs.I also recommend a motor tool chuck,which can also be purchased fromMicro Mark. Last but not least, youshould have a pair of safety glasses toprotect your eyes whenever you doany cutting or drilling.

You will need razor saws of vari-ous sizes, a jeweler's saw, and an X-Acto miter box for cutting plasticstock. Blades for jeweler's saws comein various sizes.

A good supply of wood dowels invarious sizes for sanding and shapingplastic is a must. A bag can be foundat any crafts store. You can also getmodeling clay from these stores,which is great for adding weight to thenose area of a model.

To flatten tires I use an old iron.To protect the surface and the plasticI place a small piece of waxed paperon the iron's surface when I am readyto work.

For measuring interior areas andto transfer measurements, get a goodpair of drafting dividers. You will alsoneed a contour gauge for making inte-rior fuselage and wing bulkheads.Contour gauges can be purchasedfrom Micro Mark along with scalerulers for 1/32, 1/48, and 1/72 scalescratchbuilding.

For mixing thinner with paint,invest in eyedroppers. They reduce

the mess associated with mixing paintand save cleanup time.

For removing control surfacesand adding interior strength to wings,I use two-part resin. This stuff is greatfor casting parts and adding strengthto control surfaces that have been cutout. It also adds a good weight tothese parts and makes them easier towork with.

You will need stiff piano wire,thin spool wire, thin electronics sol-der, and stranded electronics wire forrigging biplanes and adding wiring andcontrol cable detail. As you buildmodels you should save lengths ofplastic sprue in different colors,including clear. When stretched, col-ored plastic makes excellent riggingand colored wiring for cockpits andengines. To stretch the plastic youwill need a candle and some stickmatches. Small Parts Inc. of MiamiLakes, Florida, carries countless itemsyou will find many uses for, includingstiff stainless steel wire.

To transfer shapes from a cross-section of a wing or fuselage to sheetstock, you will need a grease pencil.Finally, for any detail work you willneed good lighting. I use two ad-justable arm desk lamps.

USING PUTTY &SANDPAPER &

DETECTING FLAWSSqueeze a small amount of putty

onto a piece of paper. Allow it to flowfrom the tube while retaining its roundshape, and squeeze out a line 1A to 1Ainch (6.4 to 12.7mm) long. For mostputty applications use either a #18 flat

ended X-Acto blade or a #16 angled X-Acto blade, and slice off smallamounts with the edge of the blade.This will give you greater control.

Use the minimum amount ofputty to do the job. Too muchincreases your sanding work and yourchances of marring surroundingdetail. When applying putty, be surethe plastic halves are well securedwith glue. Any flexing of the halvesduring curing or sanding and scrapingwill cause the filler (putty) to crackand detach from the plastic.

Mask around the area to be put-tied before applying it so that whenthe tape is removed the only puttythat remains is along the seam line.This guarantees that the putty willonly touch the plastic where you wantit. Tape along both sides as close tothe seam as possible. This will giveyou a thin putty line and reduce yourwork and the amount of detailremoved during sanding.

Work in sections no more thantwo to three inches long and don'tworry about getting putty on themasking tape. Quickly apply puttyand remove the tape by pulling it backover itself and away from the putty. Itis important to remove the tape whilethe putty is still moist, although youwill need to let it dry before you sand.While this is a slow process, the thinputty line is well worth the effort andtime. Before sanding, mask thoseareas around the putty line again tosave surrounding detail.

When using sandpaper, be verycareful of surrounding detail. Onwings this is usually not a problem

because they are normally matedalong the curved edges, making themeasy to scrape and sand. Locationsthat are flat, have large circumfer-ences, or are rounded, such as fuse-lages, require additional care. Maskas close as possible to the seam. Thesandpaper will have a tendency toabrade the tape, so you might haveto replace the masking tape morethan once.

When you plan your sanding, beaware that the rougher the grade youuse, the more work will be required tosmooth the surface. To detect flawsin seam work or surface repairs, paintthe area with Tester's silver paint.The silver highlights fine seam lines,scratches, bumps, and tiny bubbleholes in putty. You will have toremove the silver paint before youapply any more putty, because puttywill not stick to the paint.

When all the areas you sandedare flawless, remove the silver paint.The primer coat will not adhere wellto the silver. In addition, the areasthat are silver will have a deeper colorwhen painted, and the f inishedappearance will be uneven.

The primer coat will also detectflaws. This is your last chance torepair problems before the f inishcoats. If you try to repair flaws afteryou finish painting, your chances ofblending in the surface paint are notgood, so do the hard work up front.

After you have finished repairingproblems detected by the primer,sand the primer coat surrounding theproblem areas with 600 grit sandpa-per, so that it will blend into the plas-tic surface. Next, clean the entiremodel with Polly-S plastic prep. Thisstep will remove plastic residue andskin oils, Finally, spray the primer on

Applying super glue along seam areasthat were covered with masking tapecompletes the gluing and filling process.After the glue has dried, you are ready toshape and sand the seam.

areas that were repaired. If you dida good job smoothing and cleaningyou will not be able to detect whereyou repaired.

REMOVING SEAMSFor gluing and for most seam

work use Duro's white and blue tubesuper glues. Super glue doubles asseam filler and can be sanded andscraped like plastic. After painting,you can't detect the d i f fe rencebetween the glue and real plastic.

Never snap a part off the tree—this may leave an indentation wherethe part was connected. It will almostalways occur along a gluing surface,so be careful. Cut the tabs that con-nect the parts to the tree with smallwire cutters, being sure to leave asmall amount of the tab on the part.It's easier to remove the excess tabafter the part has been removed fromthe tree.

After removing all the necessaryparts, lay them flat. Carefully cutremaining tabs and clean the parts ofexcess plastic or flash. A #11 or #16X-Acto blade works best for this. Becareful not to mar the plastic parts orremove any raised detail when remov-ing flash.

Now check the f i t of the twohalves. Tape the halves together toensure that corresponding aligning

Working small sections at a time lets you remove masking tapewhile the putty is still wet, but be sure to pull the tape backover itself and away from the putty.

The finished putty line is very small and will decrease the sand-ing you'll have to do. This also limits detail loss.

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Masking tape placed close to the leadingedges of a wing surface isolates the lossof detail.

pins and holes line up correctly.Check the fit in the same way on fuse-lages as well as on wings and tail sur-faces before working on these parts.

Check the mating surfaces ofboth halves for flatness. Sometimesthere are mold lines or bumps onthese surfaces. If they are notremoved, the halves will not sit flushagainst each other. The easiest way toremove these ridges is to scrape themflat with a #11 X-Acto blade.

As you tape, identify areas thatneed work and check contours anddetails that are formed when the partsare glued. Panel lines and hatchesthat cross seam lines must be lined upcorrectly. Take care to align cornersand edges properly, or you will bedoing a lot of scraping and sanding.

When you are ready to begin glu-ing, tape the parts together with mask-ing tape. Use as much tape asnecessary to hold them the way youwant. Use super glue and a .5mm leadpencil as an applicator.

Make a small puddle of superglue on a piece of paper. When youput the glue on the paper for the firsttime, the paper will absorb most of it.Let the puddle dry and put more glueon top. Dip the tip of the lead pencilinto the glue and run it along the seamline and between the masking tape

locations. Do not let the tip of thepencil get any closer to the tape thanabout Me to !/s inch (1.6 to 3.2 mm).This will prevent gluing the tape to theplastic. The pencil will carry enoughsuper glue to go about 1A to '/2 inch(6.4 to 12.7 mm) along a seam line.

Capillary action will pull thesuper glue between the parts alongtheir gluing surfaces. The glue willalso act as a filler. You may need toapply several layers to cover the sur-face of the seam. After it has dried—about five minutes—remove the tapeand glue those areas where the tapewas located. Small amounts of gluework better than large amounts.

To remove excess glue and tocontour and smooth the glued sur-faces, scrape with a #11 X-Acto blade.Mask along the edges of the seam andsand along the seam line. Super glueis clear and, because the amount ofglue is so small and narrow, it willalmost appear as if there is none at all.

EJECTION MARKSEjection marks can either be

indented or raised. They are almostalways round, and are usually locatedin places that are hard to get at.Hasegawa's 1/32 scale F6F Hellcat is agood example. The kit has both raisedand indented ejection marks on the

I saved much of the surface detail while filling and sanding the1/8 inch wing-to-fuselage gap on Revell's 1/32 scale P-40 byusing masking tape.

No seam correction job of this magnitude would be completewithout applying silver paint to detect cracks or areas whereadditional gap filler is needed.

Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair got a trial fit using masking tape. This helped identify fitproblems long before assembly of the major components.

insides of the landing gear wheel wellcovers, and along the sides of therockets. Worst of all, each landinggear has three distinct indented ejec-tion marks.

The f irs t step in dealing withthese marks is to see if they will benoticeable when the part is assem-bled. Although this takes a little timeand some creativity with maskingtape, the effort is well worth the timeinvested. If the marks are not notice-able, don't waste your time with them.

Fill ejection mark holes withquick gel super glue or putty and sandsmooth. If you use putty, apply it witha flat-tipped X-Acto blade and run theblade across the ejection mark tosmooth it out as if it were super glue.Another method is to use Waldron'spunch set to punch out a piece of plas-tic filler in the correct diameter. Toinstall the disk, place a small drop ofsuper glue at the center of the indenta-tion, insert the disk, and sand smooth.

Raised ejection marks are easier

to deal with because you are removingplastic instead of filling in. The easiestmethod is to scrape it flat with a #11or #16 X-Acto blade and sand the sur-face smooth, or just use the sandpa-per. For dimples, apply a drop ofDuro's quick gel super glue (bluetube) and sand smooth after it dries.

RESTORING PANEL LINESEvery model builder is faced with

the dilemma of what to do about panellines lost during sanding. To minimizethe length of line you are going to lose,mask as much of the surrounding areaas possible. If the surface hasindented panel lines, you can replacethem by simply rescribing them. Besure to scribe the new line to the samedepth and thickness as those you aregoing to connect to.

Replacing raised lines. If thesurface has raised panel lines, you caneither replace the raised line or scribethe area that was lost. If you chooseto replace the raised line, use a pieceof stretched plastic sprue of the samethickness as the raised detail. This istough to judge, but if you use a thinsection of stretched sprue you will getpretty close. Use an oversized length,so that you can hold both ends with-out getting your fingers in the way,and run the sprue through a puddle ofsuper glue. The sprue should have athin coating of it, characterized byvery tiny balls of glue. Be sure to getrid of any large globs of glue beforeattaching sprue, because they will marthe surface.

Some models have mold lines on the gluing surfaces that caneasily be removed with an X-Acto blade.

The leading edges of the wings of Monogram's 1/48 scale B-29are a tough contour area to glue: add fillers and sand. Tightmasking helps align corners to reduce filling and sanding.

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The dimples on a model can be found mostly in obvious loca-tions, but sometimes they are subtle. Check the surface of themodel carefully and fill them with super glue.

Here the first coat of silver paint has detected areas that needadditional glue. Leave the paint on—it will act as an indicatorof surface smoothness while you sand.

Position the sprue over the areato be replaced, holding it taut at bothends, and then lay it down. Be sure toget the ends to overlap exactly wherethe raised panel lines end. Do notadjust it once it comes in contact withthe plastic. If you position your eyesdirectly over the area to be replacedyou will increase your chances ofdoing it right the first time. If youmiss, let the glue dry, sand off thesprue, and start again. The glue willbegin to dry immediately once you runthe sprue through it, so you have towork quickly. Once it has dried, cutthe ends of the sprue so they butt upagainst the end of the raised line andrun some 600 grit sandpaper over therepaired area to blend.

Scribing raised lines. The sec-ond approach works well on modelsthat will have a flat paint finish. Whatyou are really doing is playing a trickon your eyes. A scribed line will lookraised because the scribe actuallypushes the plastic out of the grooveand up slightly on each side.

To scribe a line you will need toattach a guide to keep it straight. Uselabeling tape (such as the type used inDymo Label Machines) because it hasa sticky backing and is flexible. Peelthe backing off and place the edge ofthe sticky surface along the raised

The scribing technique was used onupper panel lines that cross over thefuselage on Monogram's1/48 scale B-24J.(Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

Replacing raised panel lines on Monogram's 1/48 scale B-25 with stretched sprueisn't hard, but it takes a steady hand. Be sure the entire length of the sprue has superglue on it, so that it will blend into the surface when you sand the new panel line.

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If you decide to scribe all new panel lines, sand the lines, butleave the sanding dust in the lines. This allows you to get avisual impression of the entire model's new panel lines andhelps to identify mistakes. When you are ready to remove thedust, simply run a toothpick in the scribed lines.

The finished indented panel line will be difficult to detectunless your eye is almost right up to the model surface. Thismethod is much faster than replacing the raised line withstretched sprue.

panel line. This will ensure that thescribed line will butt up against theraised line.

Don't scribe the line too deep.Two or three passes with a scribingneedle will do the trick. After you fin-ish, remove the tape and sand thearea flat, but be careful not to sand offany more raised detail. Use a tooth-brush with soft bristles to removesanding dust from the scribed line.

MASKING, PAINTING &ATTACHING CLEAR PARTS

The best way to get a realistic fin-ish is to mask the clear panels

between the framing and airbrush theparts. There are two basic techniquesfor masking. Which one you choosedepends on the framing on the part.Most framing on clear parts is raised,but some manufacturers design theirswith a high relief between the clearpanels and the framing. While thissometimes appears unrealistic, whenthe framing is painted the high relief ishard to notice.

High-relief framing. This type offraming detail offers a quick and easyapproach to masking, as long as youhave a steady hand. Mask an area ofthe clear part so that the tape covers a

clear panel and overlaps the framing.Burnish the tape down. Then take a.5mm lead pencil and follow the edgeof the framing with the tip. This out-lines the location where the framingmeets the clear panel and provides aline for you to follow when you cut thetape. As the pencil tip pushes thetape up against the edge of the fram-ing, the tape stretches slightly.

After outlining a section, run a#11 X-Acto blade along the edge of theframing by following the pencil line.Because of the high relief of the fram-ing, the edge of the knife will followthe framing easily. Cut through the

(Above) The exterior of Revell's 1/32scale P-40 windshield is finished andready for the last step, which is to maskthe inside area.

(Left) Use the pronounced edge of theframing as a guide for cutting, and besure to use a sharp blade.

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entire section of tape, so that whenyou remove the excess you will notpeel off the tape covering the clearpanel. You will notice that the tapesits up against the base of the framingwhere it meets the clear panel. Thisallows you to paint the sides of theframing, which would be impossible todo if you were painting it by hand.Once you have outlined the entireclear part, run the pencil along theedges of the tape one last time, ensur-ing that all edges are seated properly.

Low-relief framing. The secondtechnique is used for clear parts with-out high-relief framing detail, or forclear parts that have already beeninstalled. Cover the clear panels withsmall pieces of precut masking tape.Lay one strip of tape on your work-bench and another right over the firstone. This top layer will be used asmasking for the clear parts. Next, cutlong thin strips, using a small triangleas a cutting guide to ensure that thelengths of tape have straight edges.For covering small areas or when run-ning the masking around curved fram-ing, cut the strips approximately !/ieinch (1.6mm) wide. Next, use your tri-angle to cut the tape perpendicular tothe long cuts, making each cut aboutMe to ̂ inch (1.6 to 3.2mm) apart. Cutvarious lengths, so you can use thesmall ones to run along framing andthe larger ones to cover the largeareas outlined by the tape locatedalong the framing.

When you are ready to startmasking, peel up a piece, using the tipof a #11 X-Acto blade. Be sure you arenot lifting both layers of tape. Startanywhere along the framing edge andwork your way around the entire clearpanel. As you work along a framingedge, overlap the sections of tape.Press it down with a round toothpick.Once you have completed outlining aframe, you can mask the center area ofthe clear panel with the larger stripsof tape. When you are finished, goback over the areas where the tapemeets the framing and be sure it'spressed down by using a pencil eraseron it. When you have finished, checkto be sure you do not have even asliver of clear plastic showing.

For a fighter aircraft windshield,mask the interior of the clear part andmatch the framing locations. Whileyou can get away with not painting the

The best way to mask clear parts that don't have pronounced framing is to use smallsections of masking tape with square edges.

Here the inside of Revell's P-40 windshield has been masked with tiny strips ofmasking tape.

entire interior framing of a canopy,you can easily see the interior of awindshield, so you need to paint it.This is d i f f icul t because you don'thave any raised framing to guide youas you install the tape, but you dohave the outline of the tape to follow.

If you are painting the canopy,you can get away with just paintingthe interior framing located on thefront and back of the canopy. If youdecide to mask and paint the interiorframing, you can cut long thin strips oftape, follow the outline of the exterior

canopy, and mask the framing thatgoes in the same direction. Paintthese areas and remove the maskingtape. When the paint is dry, mask theframing that goes in the oppositedirection and paint it. This methodworks well on surfaces with no raiseddetail and seldom removes paint youmasked over.

Attaching clear parts. The typeof aircraft and location of the clearpart will dictate whether you mask theclear panels, airbrush the part andthen install it, or install it, mask it, and

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Another good example of Elmer's white glue being used as a filler. Monogram's oldF3F has large gaps between the windshield and the fuselage that were easily filledwith Elmer's glue before painting.

The fit on the windshield of Revell's P-40 is not very good, but Elmer's white gluerenders it undetectable.

then airbrush it. As a general rule youshould attach clear parts with Elmer'swhite glue because it dries clear and iswater soluble. You can wipe it off thepanel areas without marring the plas-tic. When the model has a row ofclear windows that are attached, suchas on Monogram's 1/48 scale DC-3, youcan use Tester's glue for those sec-tions of the clear plastic strip thatcan't be seen. Except for these rareinstances, always use Elmer's.

To attach a clear part, squeeze asmall puddle of Elmer's onto a piece of

paper and use a toothpick to apply theglue. Position the part and wipe offexcess glue with a damp Q-Tip. Forthe installation of interior clear partssuch as windows, apply glue to theperimeter of the opening on the fuse-lage, install the window, and wipe offexcess glue.

Elmer's glue also doubles as afiller; after it dries you can apply moreto fill in any voids between the clearpart and the fuselage. It can also beused to contour the base of the clearpart to the fuselage.

GENERAL PAINTING TIPS

For a quality paint finish on mod-els, invest in an airbrush and com-pressor. This will allow you toproduce the effects necessary forrealism and a perception of depth.With an airbrush you can create thincoats of paint that will not cover upminute detail. You can mix paint col-ors, produce d i f f e r en t tones andshades of the same color, and achievesuperb weathering and streakingimpossible with spray cans or a paint-brush.

For the best results, use thepaint manufacturer's thinner or thethinner they suggest. The same holdstrue for waterbase paints. If you can'tf ind the manufacturer's waterbasethinner, I recommend Polly-S thinner.

Since paint pigments tend to set-tle to the bottom of the container, it'simportant to mix paint thoroughlybefore each use. Drop a few copperBBs into the paint and shake for a fewminutes. I recommend copper BBsbecause steel will rust in waterbasepaints, changing the color.

Another good practice is to cleanthe neck and top of the paint bottleand the inside of the bottle coverimmediately after opening the paint.This will ensure a good cap seal andlonger shelf life for your paints.

The easiest way to mix propor-tions of thinner and paint is to startoff with equal volumes of each in sep-arate jars and use an eyedropper toadd small amounts of thinner to thepaint. I use standard 3/4-ounce air-brush jars for all my paint mixing. If Istart with equal volumes of both paintand thinner, the most the paint canbe thinned is 50 percent. I also markeach bottle of thinner with the colorof paint that I am mixing. That way Ikeep track of individual paint-to-thin-ner ratios. Be sure the paint in themixing jar does not fill more than halfthe jar, or you will not be able to getthe maximum 50/50 mixture.

Add about three-quarters of thethinner and shake the contents. Testthe paint with the airbrush and addadditional thinner if necessary. If youare using enamel paint, warm itbefore use. Warm paint will flow,spray, and adhere better than coldpaint. To warm it, use a coffee cupwarmer plate. It warms paint up in afew minutes and is easy and safe.

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(Right) Copper BBs make excellent paintmixers, and I recommend that you addthem to all your paints.

(Center) Masking tape works well in largeareas such as landing gear bays.

When you place the paint jar onthe warmer plate, be sure to loosenthe cap, so that the air in the jar willnot pressurize. After warming, shakeit again to ensure that the hotter paintat the bottom mixes with the coolerpaint at the top.

When you're finished with thepaint, leave it in the airbrush jar andlabel it with the manufacturer's name,the paint's color name, a federal stockreference (FS) number, if applicable,and the approximate proportions ofpaint and thinner. I usually end upwith about ten jars of thinned paintwhen I am f inished with a model.Since these thinned paints do not havea long shelf life, I usually pour theminto a large container and clean thejars and caps. When the container isfull I take it to the local recycling cen-ter for disposal.

SURFACE PREPARATIONSurface preparation is important

for proper adhesion between thepaint's bonding agents and the sur-face, and for a good finish. Prior toany painting, including priming, cleanthe surface of manufacturer's moldrelease lubricants, dirt, polishingresidue, and oil from your fingers.

I recommend Polly-S Plastic Prepfor surface preparation. It cleans plas-tic, leaves no residue, and makes theplastic static-free so dust won't beattracted to it. If you follow the manu-facturer's directions you will get excel-lent results. Before painting, maskthose areas that have been pre-painted or need a different color. Allplastic surfaces should get a primercoat of paint prior to any finish coats(except buff able metallics).

Again, if you use a primer orsome other color to check the plastic,give it an even coat before applying

For those hard-to-get-at places usetissue paper stuffed into place with atoothpick. Cover it with small pieces ofmasking tape for added protection.

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Trim as much excess clear film as possible from the decal. This reduces the chanceof silvering and enhances realism.

Thanks to a good coat of clear gloss, the clear film in the center section of the FlyingTigers emblem is invisible.

finish paints. Without a uniform sur-face color, the paint finish may have aslightly different color on areas withno undercoat. Another importantpoint in surface preparation is to makesure the plastic is the proper tempera-ture. If the surface is cold, the paintwill not adhere properly.

Use a hair dryer to warm theplastic and to get rid of any remainingdust that became attached to it while

the model was in the spray booth.Hair dryers can also be used to accel-erate the drying of waterbase paints,but they do not work well on oil/petro-leum base paints. In any case, do notlet a hair dryer get too close to theplastic; it may warp or melt it.

One final note on painting tips—clean your airbrush after each use. Ifyou are doing a lot of painting with dif-ferent colors, you can save airbrush

cleaning time between color changes ifyou clean the jar and siphon and runthinner through the airbrush. Thendisconnect the jar and spray to cleanout the remaining thinner. Wipe thetip of the airbrush to remove paint.

After you have finished painting,take the airbrush apart and clean allthe parts. I have used the sameBadger 200 airbrush for over six yearsand it has needed repairs only once.They were free because the airbrushhas a lifetime guarantee. Take care ofyour airbrush and it will give youexcellent results.

DECALINGCutting decals. The secret to

preventing decals from getting a sil-vered appearance on the clear sec-tions is to apply them to a gloss finish.If you have a flat finish, airbrush a coatof clear gloss, apply the decals, andthen airbrush a coat of clear flat torestore the dull appearance of thepaint. Apply the clear coats to theentire model so you won't be able todetect any differences. Just aboutevery paint manufacturer marketsclear gloss and flat finishes, and all ofthem work well. Another advantage tohaving a gloss finish is that the decalswill slide easily, which is helpful whenyou are positioning them or if a decalfolds under itself.

In most cases you can use scis-sors to cut out decals, but if they areclose together and you have to bendthe sheet to cut around a decal, use a#11 X-Acto blade and do all your knifecutting on a glass plate. Bending thesheet while the decals are dry maycrack the inks.

I leave a border of approximatelyMe to l/s inch (4.8 to 3.2 mm) arounddecals and cut them as I apply them.In other words, cut one decal, trim theexcess clear film, apply it, and repeatthe process for the next one. Nothingis more frustrating than cutting outseveral decals and then losing or mis-placing one. This can easily happenwhen applying decals because theprocess is a bit messy. As you cut outand trim the decals, your workbenchwill be littered with small pieces of thedecal sheet.

After rough-cutting a decal,remove as much clear film along theouter edges as possible. If the decal isa series such as "115B6" and is a small

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One of the secrets to successful decalapplication is to be able to hold the back-Ing while you slide the decal into place.

decal, remove the clear film from theouter perimeter. If the series is largeand the numbers or letters are spacedfar enough apart, consider cuttingthem out separately and applyingthem to the model. You do not haveto remove the film from central areasof numbers or letters. If you appliedthe clear gloss paint correctly, theywill blend in.

Scissors work best for cuttinglong straight lines. If you are cuttingalong jagged edges, use a #11 X-Actoblade. When cutting small areas withthe X-Acto knife you can get away withdoing it freehand, but for long cuts usea straightedge to guide the blade.Sometimes when you are cutting intotight corners along a decal's edge, thecutting lines may not connect, leavinga tiny area uncut. If this happens,don't tear the carrier film from thedecal—this may tear some of theinked area as you pull it.

If you are cutting large roundshapes and feel confident with yourscissors you can easily cut the excesscarrier film by rotating the decal asyou cut. Practice cutting out shapesbefore you actually start on the decal.Draw some shapes with a fine-pointpen on thick stock paper, such asheavy bond typing paper, and practicecutting with both the scissors and theX-Acto blade. While this may soundrudimentary, I find it to be good prac-tice, especially if I have not done anydecal cutting in a while. Anotherapproach is to make a photocopy ofthe decal sheet and practice on that.

The decals I find most difficult towork with are the stencils found onaircraft surfaces. They are usuallysmall, and I recommend that you leavethe carrier fi lm on for a little extracontact surface to work with.

Small round decals are also aproblem, especially those applied tofuel caps. For some reason they donot respond to setting solutions well,perhaps because their surface areas

Multiple coats of setting solution appliedwith a Q-TIp will draw the decal downaround the smallest detail.

are so small. If you punch out theclear carrier film from the center ofthe decal it will lie down well and molditself onto raised detail.

Application. To apply decals,first fill a shallow tray with lukewarmwater, add a few drops of Elmer'sWhite glue, and stir the mixture until itis milky. Before picking up a decalwith your tweezers, wrap the tips withsmall strips of masking tape to pre-vent damage to the decal. Keep therest of the decal sheet away from thewater to keep it dry. Dip the decalinto the solution. If it is small, dip itfor no more than 5 or 6 seconds. If itis large, let it sit for about 10 seconds.

When you dip, make sure theentire decal is submerged; when you

are ready to take it out, let the excesssolution drip onto a tissue. Do not letthe decal float in the solution, becausethe glue which holds it to the backingpaper may dissolve quickly, resultingin the decal lifting off the paper.

After you have removed the decalfrom the solution, let it sit until itslides freely across its backing. Whileyou are waiting, apply your settingsolution to the model's surface. UseQ-Tips because they absorb justenough solution and won't damagedecals. If you use a two-step processlike the Microscale system, separatethe bottles by putting them on eitherside of the workbench. This way youwill not mix up the Q-Tips you areusing as applicators.

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Setting solution did an excellent job of pulling the decal down around every rivetdetail on this P-51 Mustang.

I

When the decal is ready, slide itpartly off the backing so you can graspthe backing with the tweezers. Hold-ing the backing with tweezers in onehand and a damp Q-Tip dipped in set-ting solution in the other, place thedecal next to the surface of the model.

Lay the decal on the surface,place the Q-Tip onto the decal andpull the backing away. You can nowposition the decal with the Q-Tip, butdon't put too much pressure on it.Once the decal is positioned, presswith a damp tissue or foam sponge.Keep the decal wet while you areworking with it.

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If the decal is large and is a num-ber or letter such as a "7" or an "F," becareful how you slide the backing off.These types tend to fold over or underthemselves or rip. Try to move thebacking away along the surface leastlikely to be damaged. In the case ofthe letter "F," move the backing to theleft, and in the case of the number "7,"to the right and upward. It also helpsif the decal's glue is fluid and the decalis kept wet. If it does fold under itself,slide it around. Sometimes this willmove the folded portion just enoughto grab it with a Q-Tip and correctthe problem.

Once the decal is dry it will appear asthough it was painted onto the modelsurface.

When you position a decal, checkthat it is straight, not upside down,and not reversed. Also, be carefulwith insignia containing a star. Onfuselages, the center point of the staris always pointing up, and on wings itpoints toward the leading edge.

After you have applied a decaland are satisfied with it, soak upexcess water and setting solutionbefore it dries. If you let the water dryon the model, it will usually leave astain, which can be removed by wash-ing with a damp Q-Tip and drying withtissue paper.

To get the decal to really snuggledown around detail, apply severalcoats of setting solution. If it is lyingagainst a surface with no raised detail,don't waste time applying setting solu-tion because there is nothing for thedecal to conform to. I usually apply atleast three or four coats of settingsolution and let each dry completely.Apply the setting solution with a Q-Tip; only wet the surface of the decal.As it dries it will pull the decal downaround the detail, and it should flattenout. If tiny air bubbles appear, popthem with a pin, apply some more set-ting solution, and press down wherethe bubbles were. Each successivecoat will pull the decal down aroundsurface detail until it appears paintedon. Even details like small rivets andlocking screws will show, so take yourtime and don't skimp on coats of set-ting solution.

Weathering. When you have fin-ished applying decals and the waterand setting solution stains have beenremoved, you can apply a protectivecoating to them. You also need todecide if you want to weather them. Ifyou painted the model with faded col-ors or if you plan to weather it, youwill also need to weather the decals.Nothing looks more out of place than aweathered aircraft with bright decals.Since all military colors and paintedinsignia and markings lighten in thesun, use a light color to lighten thedecals and blend them into the sur-face of the model.

The first step is to apply a coat ofclear flat paint. It will provide a pro-

Fading insignia and other markings on the fuselage sides istricky because they don't fade as much as those on the upperwing surfaces.

A heavy dusting of dilute Polly-S dirt in combination withexhaust and gun powder stains add a dramatic effect to theunderside of Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair.

tective coating and a good adhesionsurface for additional paint. Forweathering or fading on the upperwings or the fuselage, use Polly-S dust-colored paint from their weather col-ored paint series. If you do not havethe Polly-S dust color, use Polly-S flatwhite mixed with a little Polly-S grayso the final color is an off-white.

For weathering decals on theunderside of the wings and theextreme lower half of the fuselage, usethe dust or flat white in combinationwith the dirt color if the plane oper-ated from an airfield, and a flat graymixed with some black for carrier-

based planes. The reason for usingwaterbase paints is that you will beapplying a large volume of thinner tothe model's surface because of thepaint-to-thinner ratio. The waterbasethinner will not react with paintalready applied, even if it is alsowaterbase paint.

The fading effect on decals is sub-tle, so mix a dilute solution of flatwhite/gray or dust. Use a paint-to-thinner ratio of no more than 1 partpaint to 3 parts thinner. Before youspray, test to ensure that it will notcoat the model with paint. The resultyou want is a subtle dusting of paint

particles on the surface of the model,especially on the decals. Don't get theairbrush too close to the surface whilespraying. The paint should be justabout dry as it touches the model.

As I said earlier, use the dust orflat white in combination with a mudcolor for underside weathering onplanes that operated from airfields.The underside of an aircraft does notget much direct sunlight, so the fadingeffect will be a lot less. Insignia andmarkings on the lower fuselage orlower wings are usually dirt- and dust-covered instead of just faded.

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There are over one hundred extra parts incorporated into Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair. The combination of decals,Waldron instruments and placards, and weathering create a realistic effect.

Over the past decade the quality andquantity of detail that model manufac-turers have incorporated into theirkits has been impressive. Within thepast few years manufacturers havebeen marketing high-tech kits thatinclude photoetched parts, which addwonderful detail to cockpits, landinggear, and engines. The plastic model-ing cottage industries offer a widerange of detailing accessories such asphotoetched parts, metal and decal-type placards, highly detailed resinand white metal accessories, as wellas superb decals. All these allow youto build models so detailed you cancount the toggle switches inside thecockpit. But while they will enhance

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your model, they will not take theplace of scratchbuilding techniques,creativity, and imagination.

COCKPIT PAINTING &WEATHERING

Detailing cockpits means manyhours of tedious work, especially inanything smaller than 1/32 scale. Thenumber of parts and accessories youuse to detail a cockpit may wellexceed 100. The addition of theseparts, coupled with some basic tech-niques for painting and weathering,will result in an accurate presentationof the real aircraft.

Adding detail, no matter howmuch, is a waste of time if you can't

see it. One of the tricks of mastermodelers is to use different shades ofthe same color to highlight detail andcreate a perception of depth. Artistsuse this technique when painting apicture that appears to have depth.

For example, if the interior of acockpit is flat black and you use thiscolor throughout, you will end upwith a black hole. Creating the per-ception of depth is easy, but will addextra steps to your modelingapproach. The end results, however,are worth the effort.

A note here on paints: although Iuse enamel paints for all exteriorwork, I use water-base paints for mostinterior painting. I usually end up air-

brushing several shades of a color,and when using an airbrush it is mucheasier to clean up water-base paintsthan enamels. You can also acceler-ate the drying time of water-basepaints with a hair dryer—a greatadvantage when time is limited.

If you are using flat black foryour console, mix a few drops of flatwhite with it so the resulting color Is adark gray. If the radio boxes, switchbanks, and flight control and enginecontrol quadrant boxes on the sidesof the cockpit are also flat black, painta few of them the same color as theconsole and others a slightly lightercolor made by adding more drops offlat white to the gray. If the cockpitwalls and seat are interior green,make the walls a slightly darker shadeof green. The sides of the seat couldbe one shade and the seat bottom andback and frame another. When mix-ing shades, keep these color differ-ences subtle. The different shades offlat black and green will still be visi-ble, allowing the eye to focus on detailyou have added like wires, piping,seat belts, switches, and instruments.

The parts of the cockpit that areexposed to the sun should be lighterin color. In 1985, working for theDepartment of the Navy, I spent twomonths at China Lake Naval AirStation in the Mojave Desert. An air-craft boneyard at this air station hadseveral B-29 bombers that had beenthere since the early '50s. I crawledthrough them, and among the manythings I noted was that the interiorgreen paint that was exposed to thesun was faded almost to light gray. Inother areas of the plane, where thesun never touched, the same colorlooked almost as good as new. Withthis example in mind, don't be afraidto apply different shades of painteven to a single part, such as a seat.

Number the bottles containingshade mixtures and make a list ofwhich shades you use on what parts.This way you will know which shadeto use on a part if you ever need todo some touch-up. I always use lightgray or white to lighten colors andnever mix flat paint with gloss paint.

We have already addressed theweathering effects of sunlight, butwhat about wear and tear, dirt, andfluid leaks? Wear and tear on thecockpit area consists mostly of paint

The cockpit of Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair was painted several shades of interiorgreen and flat black to create a perception of depth.

that has been worn off by rubbing,chipping, or constant contact. Seatbottoms and backs should have areasthat show metal because they getworn by the pilot's back and para-chute. Places where his arms restand the area of the floorboardsdirectly in front of the rudder pedalsalso get constant rubbing.

It is not always possible to high-light detail by painting parts different

colors. Some examples are rivetdetail, worn paint that shows baremetal, and weathering. Drybrushingcan create these details. This tech-nique uses small, flat brushes nearlyvoid of paint. Shake a paint bottlewell, then dip the tip of a dry brushinto the paint left in the cap. Brushthe paint onto a piece of paper, wip-ing each side of the brush alternatelyuntil only a hint of paint is seen.

This 1/48 scale Hasegawa Zero needs a new paint job. The worn paint effect both inthe cockpit and on the aircraft's skin was achieved with a mixture of silver and blackpaint applied with a soft brush and a toothpick. (Model by Major Bill Crisler, USAF.)

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Although the cockpit of Tester's 1/22 scale Douglas EB-66E has a lot of smallscratchbuilt parts, all the details stand out, thanks to the various shades and colors.(Model by Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

If you are highlighting raised sur-face detail, a light touch of the brushalong the raised surfaces will causetiny paint particles to cling to them. Ifyou are adding colors to flat surfaces,you will have to press a little harderfor the paint particles to adhere.Drybrushing takes some practice. Itis easy to overdo it with paints, so becareful. Upon completion, add a clearcoat to protect the drybrushed paint.

To represent areas where paint

has worn off, mix Tester's silver withsome flat black until the color is notso shiny. Drybrush with a smallbrush along the edges of the seatsides and the edges of panels andboxes. Use a wide flat brush to dry-brush onto larger areas like the sidesof the cockpit and the seat bottomand back. To represent paint that hasworn off wood, drybrush the areaswith a lighter shade of the paint colorand then rub with 600 grit sandpaper.

L

Interior framing should be as accurate as possible. Sometimes kit parts can be usedas a guide.

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Dust, dirt, and fluid stains arealso found inside a cockpit. Addingthem must be done subtly. Polly-Smarkets an excellent set of weather-ing paints that includes dust, mud,dirt, and oily black. Dust usuallyaccumulates in cracks, corners, andcrevices. Dirt is usually tracked in bythe pilot or blown in when the canopyis open and the aircraft is operatingfrom a dirt field. Dirt can accumulatebehind the pilot's seat, around theheadrest, on the rudder pedals, andon the floor, particularly in corners.

In older aircraft, mud is found onthe floor and around the rudder ped-als. Fluid stains are found on thefloor, particularly near the controlstick, the flap actuator, and under therudder pedals. These types of stainsare best applied with a small brush.They should look like stains or wiped-up puddles. To simulate this, place adrop of paint in an area and wipe ordab with a Q-Tip.

As you gain weathering experi-ence, you will learn how to create asubtle effect. To avoid overdoing it,start by applying silver paint to theworn areas, then try some dust anddirt. Add fluid stains if it seems nec-essary. Propeller-driven aircraft,especially WWII planes, suffered a lotof wear and tear both inside and out.Jet aircraft operated from more suit-able locations. Although their sur-faces and exteriors can get faded anddirty, they don't suffer the same wearand tear as their piston-engine ances-tors did.

MODIFYING KIT-SUPPLIEDPARTS FOR INTERIOR

DETAILINGMost large scale kits supply

some level of interior detail ing,including trim wheels, piping, throttlequadrants, and assorted electricalboxes. Sometimes these are moldedinto the interior siding of the modeland you can enhance their appear-ance either by painting and drybrush-ing or by removing all molded interiordetailing and building it from scratch.Working with the interior detailingsupplied with the kit is the best start-ing point. While painting and dry-brushing these details is adequate on1/72 scale models, on 1/48 and 1/32scale models the parts do not haveenough depth to look realistic when

The right side of Revell's P-40 with modified electrical andradio boxes cut out from kit parts. The dial faces are Waldroninstruments. The map box is scratchbuilt.

Although the sides of the cockpit look somewhat empty, onceother parts such as seat, flooring, and console are added, thecockpit begins to take form.

painted. Often kit-supplied parts in1/32 scale can be cut out, modified, orboth for greater realism.

Most 1/32 scale kits, such as theRevell and Hasegawa WW II 1/32 scalefighter aircraft series, come with leftand right interior sides, while thedetail on most biplane models ismolded into the fuselage sides. Jetfighter kits usually have a cockpit tubwith the detailing added. When kitshave separate interior sides, the partsthey contain can be cut out,enhanced, and installed onto theinside of the fuselage. Sketch thesides of the fuselage and identify allthe parts you will add. Next, tem-porarily install the cockpit backing,the flooring, and the console withmasking tape and draw lines wherethese parts meet the fuselage sides.This will identify the boundaries ofthe cockpit sides and provide spatialorientation for the parts you plan toinstall. Next, draw in any interiorframing your reference material iden-tifies and install it.

Determine what is the best wayto cut out the parts and assess whatto do to them. Throttle quadrantscan be enlarged by gluing some thinstyrene stock to the back. If the con-trol levers are not individual lymolded, they can be cut off andreplaced with small plastic stock rodor wire. To provide a positive loca-tion for the levers, drill small holesinto the quadrant, using a pin vise anda small drill bit. To reproduce theball handles on control levers, apply a

small drop of Kristal Kleer to the tipof the lever with a toothpick.

Enhance radio boxes and otherelectrical boxes by adding plasticstock to the back for greater depth. Ifdial faces are molded into the boxes,dri l l them out and add Waldroninstrument dials. To drill out themolded dial, indent the center with aneedle held in a pin vise, drill the dialout—using a bit the same size as thepunch tool required to punch out theinstrument—and drill deep enough tohold the instrument. Drill a smallhole in the center to allow glue toseep out the back.

Once you have drilled all theholes and test-fitted the dials, cut offall the molded switches and drillsmall holes in their former locations.Stretch a piece of silver or gray spruefor the switches. Install dials andswitches by the same methods youused in building consoles and usingWaldron placards. (See pages 35-38).

The control box for flap and trimadjustments is usually rectangularbecause it contains gears, pulleys,and cabling. The flap adjustment isusually a small, arm type device,while the trim adjustments are rounddisks. Make the flap adjuster fromplastic rod or wire, and make trimwheels by punching out disks withyour Waldron punch tool. On theactual aircraft, these trim wheels areusually located an inch or so abovethe box they are attached to. To rep-resent this, simply punch a smallerdisk size than the one that represents

the trim wheel and attach it to theback of the trim wheel disk. Sometrim wheels have small spindlesaround their rims, and you can repre-sent this by notching the disk with amicro file. This is a tedious process,and proper spacing of the notches isimportant. The best way to securethe disk while you notch it is to holdit in a small clamp.

To enhance the appearance ofelectrical boxes, cut off existingswitches and attach new ones usingthe techniques described above. Forindicator lights, use a round toothpickto apply a small drop of Kristal Kleerfor each. Paint the appropriate color.

Almost all cockpits have pipingand wiring running along the sidesthat either terminate at the bottom ofan electrical box or run along thebase of the cockpit and through theback wall into the rear of the fuselage.If you use round plastic stock for pip-ing, place a drop of super glue at thebend locations, so that they willretain their shape. I usually cut alength of styrene rod, bend it, andform-fit it into its location.

For electrical cabling, strip theinsulation off thin strand electronicswire, twist several strands together,place a drop of super glue on thetwisted strand, bend into shape, andpaint it. You can form-fit the wire inplace once you add the parts to thecockpit sides.

When you test-fit the cockpit'sbacking, be sure it fits snugly betweenthe fuselage sides. If it is too small,

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The right side of Revell's P-40. The quadrants were cut from kitparts and modified, and piping and control cables were added.The wiring protruding from the back of the instruments on theconsole added an extra element of realism, because on the realaircraft you could see the wiring behind the console if you werelooking down through the windshield.

Adding interior parts to the flooring gives an otherwise flat sur-face some depth. To further enhance their appearance, paintthem different shades.

add thin plastic stock to fill the void.When you test-fit the interior parts,also test-fit the seat and tape it to thebacking to make sure the parts don'tinterfere with the seat. Enhance theflooring by adding thin plastic stockto the area near the rudder pedals.This will give depth to an otherwiseflat surface. You can also add pipingto the floor next to the fuselage sides;run it from far under the console andthrough the rear cockpit wall. Oncethese parts are completed, paint themand glue into place.

Seats can be separate or moldedinto the cockpit backing. If the seat isa separate part, chances are its backand sides are too thick. To improveits appearance, attach sandpaper toyour workbench or to a piece of woodand sand the back and sides to thinthem out.

Be sure the plastic is of uniformthickness, sanding a few times in onedirection and then rotate it 180degrees, or work in a figure eight.Sides and backing should not bepaper-thin—they are supposed to be

The scratchbuilt parts installed in the Corsair's cockpit. Also visible are Waldronplacards, Waldron instruments, and a variety of other scratchbuilt levers, quadrants,and switches.

armor-plated—but they should notlook out of scale. Some kits comewith a seat frame. Thin this as well,and remove its mold lines.

When attaching a seat, don't glueit to the cockpit backing becausemost seats are positioned away fromthe rear cockpit wall. If the kit hasseat framing, the seat will automati-cally have some spacing. If there isnone, you can attach some stock plas-tic to the bottom of the seat to act asa set of legs and then attach the plas-tic to the floor. If the seat is moldedinto the cockpit's rear wall, you cancut it out and work with it as a sepa-rate part.

Before you cut out the seat, makea new wall by tracing it onto plasticstock and cutting it out. Test-fit thenew wall in the cockpit and make nec-essary adjustments with sandpaper.When you are ready to cut the seatfrom the cockpit wall, if there is noraised outline to work with, first drawan outline of the seat's backing. Tapethe part to your workbench and usetriangles and dividers to draw andmeasure the lengths. Be sure thelines are straight and parallel. Rough-cut it with a razor saw and sand to thecorrect shape and thickness. Once ithas been thinned and painted it isready for the final touch—seat beltsand shoulder harnesses.

Other details attached to thecockpit backing, such as the pilot'sheadrest, should also be cut out, mod-ified, and reattached to the new cock-pit wall. Removing these parts,

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To be sure interior framing is spacedproperly, draw the locations, using asmall section of plastic strip and a setof dividers.

modifying, painting, and reattachingthem will give the cockpit a greatlyimproved appearance.

SCRATCHBUILDING ANINTERIOR

Most kits have interior parts youcan modify to create a more accurateinterior, but some have such poordetail there is nothing you can sal-vage. Reference material or cockpitpictures are a must for scratchbuild-ing, but if you don't have any, remem-ber that most aircraft have the samecontrols at the same locations. Thethrottle quadrant and the propellerpitch control are usually on the pilot'sleft. Trim selectors for the controlsurfaces are also usually on the left,while the flap control can be on eitherside. Radio boxes, electrical boxes,and switch banks are usually locatedon the right side, but smaller electri-cal boxes can be on either side.Electrical wiring and piping arelocated on both sides, as are oxygenbottles. Rudder pedals are locatedunder the console, and the controlcolumn is either a stick locatedbetween the pilot's legs or a controlyoke protruding from the console.

First, mark the location of theflooring, console, and rear cockpitwall on both sides of the fuselage.Some kits have no rear wall but youcan make one using a contour gaugeand sheet stock. The best way tosecure the contour gauge is to strike aline along the interior of the fuselagewhere the gauge will go, tape the fuse-lage half to the workbench, positionthe gauge over the line, and push thewires unt i l they touch the line. Ialways push the wires at the begin-ning and end of the line first becausethis helps maintain the position of thegauge. After you have pushed all thewires, you are ready to transfer theshape to sheet stock. I usually use

Once you are satisfied the contour gaugeIs set correctly, transfer the shape tosheet stock and flip it over to get theother half.

The easiest way to make interior bulkheads is to use a contour gauge. With a littlepractice, a gauge can save you a lot of time and frustration.

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(Left) When the part you outlined withthe contour gauge is cut out, you mayhave to do additional form-fitting to get itinto place. Fill small spacing betweenthe edges of the part and the interior wallof the fuselage with white glue.

(Center) If you are going to try acomplicated project like scratchbuildingan interior, sketch where the interiorparts will go and follow your plan.

.025-inch (.6mm) stock because it canbe cut with a pair of scissors, yet isstiff enough to work with.

You only have half the interiorcontour, so strike a perpendicular lineon your sheet stock and carefullyposition the ends of the shape on thecontour gauge along the line, drawthe contour, flip the gauge over, posi-tion the ends, and draw the contouragain. The shape will appear jagged,but you can smooth it out by sketch-ing the shape freehand. Now you areready to cut it out. If you were carefulto get the exact shape with the con-tour gauge and to transfer it preciselyto the plastic sheeting, the partshould fit into the fuselage. To checkthe fit of the new piece, tape it to oneside of the fuselage and tape the fuse-lage together.

Framing. If you decide to installframing, remember that vertical fram-ing is larger than horizontal framing.Use a small strip of sheet stock or apiece of scrap brass from a photo-etched set to draw lines for framingon a curved surface. If you decide toinstall both types of framing, do allthe vertical ones first and then form-fit the horizontal ones. Since the hori-zontal ones will be in sections andpositioned between the vertical ones,make sure they are all installed alonga straight line. Install all the stripsalong one line, adjust them until theyappear straight, and place a drop ofsuper glue with a .5mm lead pencil onthe underside of each section. Thecapillary action will pull the glueunder the plastic strip.

Avionics boxes. To build radioboxes and electrical boxes I start with

An instrument box completed andinstalled, along with some electrical pip-ing made from Evergreen plastic rod.

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.06 x.25-inch (1.5 x 6.4mm) stock. If Ineed something thicker or wider, Isimply glue more stock to the piece.Draw the shape you want on the sheetstock. Cut and shape with a razorsaw and sandpaper. For instrumentdials use spare instruments fromWaldron's instrument sheet and addselector switches, toggle switches,piping, and electrical wiring.

Flight control trim wheels can beadded using Waldron's punch set, butbe sure to glue a smaller disk to theunderside of the trim wheel to adddepth to the part. If the trim wheel isan actual wheel instead of a selector-type dial, you have several options.For 1/48 scale kits, HO scale trainbrake wheels are about the right size.These parts can be found in well-stocked hobby stores. For 1/32 scalekits, buy Hasegawa's 1/32 scaleBoeing F4B biplane. The kit has anexcellent trim wheel which you cancast with RTV rubber. You can thenmake as many wheels as you need,using two-part resin.

Throttle and propeller pitchquadrants. There are two ways tomake throttle and propeller pitchquadrants to give you a first-classpart. The first is to take a solid pieceof plastic stock, draw the quadrant'ssurface shape onto it, and cut andsand to the correct shape. Once thequadrant is the correct shape, place itin a vise between two pieces of balsawood and strike lines across the topfor the number of lever channels youneed. Throttle quadrants usuallyhave two or three channels, and pro-peller pitch quadrants usually haveone or two channels. Draw the lineswith a pencil, using a small, thin, flexi-ble straightedge. Be sure they areevenly spaced. Scrap brass from aphotoetched sheet works well forapplications like this. Next, take arazor saw or a jeweler's saw and cutthrough the line into the quadrant.Be sure the cut goes a little down theside on both ends.

The second method uses a sand-wich technique that requires you todraw the quadrant's outline severaltimes. For accuracy, cut and shapeone piece of stock to size to use as amaster. If your quadrant has twochannels you must make five draw-ings. I use stock of the same thick-ness for the front, middle, and back

panels and slightly thinner gray stockfor the two inner panels.

Rough-cut the parts, but cut thetop curve where the levers will belocated as accurately as possible.Next, secure the back part on a pieceof masking tape and position the nextpanel—which should be gray—slightly lower than the first. Positionthe next layer at the same height asthe back one, add the second graypart at the same location as the firstgray part and then add the final layerat the same height as the back andmiddle layers.

When you remove the part fromthe masking tape the gray sheets willextend below the base of the part.Sand the part to its correct shapeusing the outline on the front as aguide. To get the correct curvatureon the top and bottom of the quad-rant, rotate the part as you move itacross the sandpaper for a smooth,curved surface.

Paint the quadrants the correctcolor and add levers and handlesmade of round plastic stock or wireby inserting the levers into the chan-nels. The throttle handle is usuallymuch bigger than other lever handlesand is usually in the shape of a handgrip. It can be represented by roundstock that is thicker than the leverarm. Other handles are usually balls,which can be made by applying adrop of Krystal Kleer to the tip of thelever arm with a toothpick. Paint thethrottle handle brown, the mixtureball red, and the others black.

Cables. Cables attached to thebases of the levers, which run from

Throttle quadrants can be made from asolid piece of stock plastic that is cutand sanded to shape. Use a razor or jew-eler's saw to cut the lever channels.

the side of the throttle quadrant tothe engine, can be simulated with thinpiano wire. Drill pilot holes into theforward side of the quadrant and runthe wires through the side of the con-sole. If you add this detail, be sure todrill the holes into the console beforeyou glue the console into place.

Seats. Scratchbuilding seats forpropeller-driven aircraf t can betedious because the parts for theseat's frame are small and the plasticsheeting you use for the seat is thin.

The best way to build a seat frame is to draw side and front views of the framing.

Use pins to position and hold the pieces of the frame togetherwhen gluing.

Once the sides are complete, position them on the front viewdrawing with pins, cut the cross members, and glue themin place.

The first step in making a seat is tobuild the frame.

Draw a front and side view of theframe using reference material andpictures and taking measurements ofthe inside area of the cockpit with apair of dividers. When you are satis-fied with the drawing, tape it to yourworkbench, slip a piece of balsa woodsheeting under the drawing, and beginmeasuring and cutting parts for theframe from either round or squareplastic stock.

Some seat frames are made oftubing, while some are rectangularlengths of metal and others are a com-bination. For 1/32 scale kits use stockthat is approximately .0375 inches(1 mm), for 1/48 scale use .035-inch

(.9mm) stock, and for 1/72 scale use.025-inch (.6mm) stock. I recommendbuilding up the sides of the framefirst, using the side drawing. Thenconnect the sides with cross mem-bers, using the front view drawing. Asyou position the parts, hold them inplace with pins. Be sure to locate thepins where parts will not be attachedto one another. The technique ofusing pins to hold parts in place is thesame one used to build balsa woodmodels, only you can't stick the pinsinto the parts.

Once they are positioned cor-rectly and secured with pins, apply atiny amount of super glue to each con-nection point with a small piece ofwire. You only need enough glue to

Rough-cut the seat sides, attach with white glue, and sand to the proper shape. Thewhite glue comes off easily when you soak the part in water.

join the parts at the upper surface.Avoid gluing the parts to the paper.After the glue has dried, remove thepins, lift the newly constructed partfrom the drawing, and apply glue tothe circumference of each connectionpoint. If the part is stuck to the draw-ing, carefully separate the plasticfrom the paper with a sharp #11 X-Acto blade.

The final step is to glue the crossmembers to the side framing. Toensure that the side frames are verti-cal, pin balsa wood strips at least Viinch (6.4mm) thick and '/2 inch(12.7mm) wide along the outer linesof the front view drawing. This willgive the side framing a positive seat-ing and ensure that they will be at 90degrees to the cross members. If theside framing is at some other angle,the balsa wood strips are still useful;they will provide a positive seating forthe base of each side frame. Set theside frames into place and use pins tohold them. Form-fit the cross mem-bers one at a time and glue, using thesame thin wire. Remove the com-pleted frame from the drawing andfinish gluing the pieces.

Now you are ready to work onthe seat. Since seats can be sandeddown to the correct thickness by run-ning them across stationary sand-paper, you can construct them withthicker plastic stock. This makes iteasier, especially when you are work-ing in smaller scales. Use .025-inch(.6mm) stock for seat sides and .017-inch (.4mm) or .0109-inch (.3mm)stock for the seat backing and base.

30

Use pins to position and hold the pieces of the frame togetherwhen gluing.

Once the sides are complete, position them on the front viewdrawing with pins, cut the cross members, and glue themin place.

The first step in making a seat is tobuild the frame.

Draw a front and side view of theframe using reference material andpictures and taking measurements ofthe inside area of the cockpit with apair of dividers. When you are satis-fied with the drawing, tape it to yourworkbench, slip a piece of balsa woodsheeting under the drawing, and beginmeasuring and cutting parts for theframe from either round or squareplastic stock.

Some seat frames are made oftubing, while some are rectangularlengths of metal and others are a com-bination. For 1/32 scale kits use stockthat is approximately .0375 inches(1 mm), for 1/48 scale use .035-inch

(.9mm) stock, and for 1/72 scale use.025-inch (.6mm) stock. I recommendbuilding up the sides of the framefirst, using the side drawing. Thenconnect the sides with cross mem-bers, using the front view drawing. Asyou position the parts, hold them inplace with pins. Be sure to locate thepins where parts will not be attachedto one another. The technique ofusing pins to hold parts in place is thesame one used to build balsa woodmodels, only you can't stick the pinsinto the parts.

Once they are positioned cor-rectly and secured with pins, apply atiny amount of super glue to each con-nection point with a small piece ofwire. You only need enough glue to

Rough-cut the seat sides, attach with white glue, and sand to the proper shape. Thewhite glue comes off easily when you soak the part in water.

join the parts at the upper surface.Avoid gluing the parts to the paper.After the glue has dried, remove thepins, lift the newly constructed partfrom the drawing, and apply glue tothe circumference of each connectionpoint. If the part is stuck to the draw-ing, carefully separate the plasticfrom the paper with a sharp #11 X-Acto blade.

The final step is to glue the crossmembers to the side framing. Toensure that the side frames are verti-cal, pin balsa wood strips at least '/4inch (6.4mm) thick and '/2 inch(12.7mm) wide along the outer linesof the front view drawing. This willgive the side framing a positive seat-ing and ensure that they will be at 90degrees to the cross members. If theside framing is at some other angle,the balsa wood strips are still useful;they will provide a positive seating forthe base of each side frame. Set theside frames into place and use pins tohold them. Form-fit the cross mem-bers one at a time and glue, using thesame thin wire. Remove the com-pleted frame from the drawing andfinish gluing the pieces.

Now you are ready to work onthe seat. Since seats can be sandeddown to the correct thickness by run-ning them across stationary sand-paper, you can construct them withthicker plastic stock. This makes iteasier, especially when you are work-ing in smaller scales. Use .025-inch(.6mm) stock for seat sides and .017-inch (.4mm) or .0109-inch (.3mm)stock for the seat backing and base.

30

Draw the sides of the seats directlyonto the .025-inch (.6mm) plastic,rough-cut the parts, and shape sothey are perfectly matched. The easi-est way is to glue them together withElmer's glue and use micro files andsandpaper to give them their f inalshape. When you are finished, sepa-rate the parts with a #11 X-Acto bladeand wash the excess white glue offwith soap and water.

Now draw a front view of the seatonto the plastic stock you will use forthe backing and base. The simplestseat is one that does not have arounded bottom where the backingand base meet. For this type of seat,position the balsa strips to act asguides for the seat sides, position thesides on the drawing, and then gluethem. Run a tiny bead of glue alongthe inner contact area between theside of the seat and the backing.When the glue is dry, remove thebalsa blocks and glue a piece of sheetstock to the bottom of the sides. Cutand shape the excess plastic. I usu-ally cut the excess with an X-Actoblade and sand the last Me inch (1.6mm) by running the seat across a sta-tionary piece of sandpaper. This isalso the best way to thin the sides ifthey are too thick.

If the seat has a rounded base,draw a long rectangle onto the sheet-ing, correctly locate and glue thesides on the upper portion of the rec-tangle, and use the remaining area ofthe rectangle as the seat's bottom.After the glue has dried, trim excessplastic, leaving a lip of Vs inch(3.2 mm). Slowly rotate the plasticsheeting around the back and bottomof the seat, gluing the sheeting as youwork toward the forward edge ofthe seat.

After you have glued the bottomhalf in place and the glue is dry,trim the excess and sand the seat tothe correct shape and thickness. Isometimes add an extra layer of plas-tic to the back and base for strengthand sand it down. Sometimes even '/$2inch (.8 mm) of additional plastic canadd considerable strength to a thinpiece. Finally, check for cracks andexcess glue with silver paint. Be sureto remove this paint before primingand give the surfaces of the seat afinal sanding with 600 grit sandpaperto smooth out any scratches.

I

Glue the sides to the backing and run a bead of super glue along the inner joint tosecure the parts. If the seat has a rounded base, simply roll the sheeting around thebase of the sides and glue.

Jet aircraft ejection seats arecomplicated pieces of machinery.Most jet aircraft kits have good seatswhich can be improved by addingplastic stock such as tubing, smallboxes, and strips of wire. Or you canpurchase an aftermarket resin ejec-tion seat with a lot of detail added. Ifthe seat from your kit has molded

seat belts, remove them with a smallpiece of sandpaper wrapped aroundthe end of a piece of balsa wood. Thebalsa wood should be small enoughthat you can sand the belt off the sideor from top to bottom. If you use afine grit, you won't mar the seat'scushion detail. Extra detail and seatbelts, along with proper painting and

The completed seat is ready for final shaping. The corners of the seat still have to berounded. A thicker piece of sheet stock will be added to the bottom to reinforcethe base.

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Ejection seats for jets are hard to scratchbuild, but one way to improve the appear-ance of kit seats is to add wiring, framing, and piping to them. This is a kit ejectionseat from Monogram's 1/48 scale F-100.

drybrushing, can easily transform akit ejection seat into a work of art.

MAKING SEAT BELTS &SHOULDER HARNESSES

Seat belt hardware adds a lot ofrealism to the cockpit. ModelTechnologies and other cottage indus-try manufacturers market high-qualityphotoetched hardware that is easy touse. Some modelers use paper to rep-resent seat belts and shoulder har-nesses, but I have found it difficult towork with. Instead, I use 3M maskingtape, which does not rip easily, takes

L

The back side of this P-51 Mustang seathas its shoulder hardware attached. Theseat belt length has been folded over theseat. The last step will be to add thebuckle and length-adjusting hardware.

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paint well, and looks realistic.For 1/48 and 1/32 scale kits use

two layers of tape back to back. On1/24 scale kits use three layers, andon 1/72 scale kits use a single strip.To work with masking tape, lay itdown on your workbench, draw thecorrect seat belt or shoulder harnesswidth, and cut it out with a #11 X-Actoblade. Cut individual lengths longerthan you need at first. Make enoughfor both seat belts and shoulder har-nesses. Seat belts are slightly widerthan shoulder harnesses, so be sureto measure and cut different widths.

For good-looking leather belts, Ipaint the masking tape with a basecolor of Polly-S earth brown and high-light it by drybrushing with Tester'swood color. When you add the woodcolor, you get streaks of a lightercolor, which helps represent the dis-coloration leather undergoes when itgets dirty, wet, and exposed to thesun. To represent canvas use either alightened olive drab or a light gray.Highlight these colors with a lightershade of the base color and drybrushsome Polly-S dirt for weathering.Definitely use the dirt color on lightgray canvas, because light colorsalways show even the slightest dirt.

Once the paint is dry you areready to add the hardware. For the

seat belts you should have two longlengths. The easiest way to attach thebuckles correctly is to slide themonto the belt and fold a small portionof the belt under itself. Position thehardware in the crease of the fold,making sure the portion folded underis positioned exactly under the uppersection, and place a t iny drop ofsuper glue on the underside of thebelt to secure the fold.

Shoulder harnesses can be twoindividual lengths with separateadjustments or one long length—thephotoetched parts are set up for bothdesigns. When building a seat withone continuous length, measure theapproximate length you will need.Attach the necessary hardware to theback of the seat with super glue, foldthe belt length in two, run it throughthe loop, lay it over the seat, and cutit to the appropriate length. Theshoulder harnesses should be as longas the seat's back, and the tips of theharnesses should almost touch theseat bottom. Add extra length, sothat it can be folded under itself. Forboth types of harnesses, add the mid-length strap length adjusters beforeadding the end buckles. Sliding theselength adjusters takes a gentle touch;be careful not to bend them. Onceyou have them in place, add the endbuckles the same way you did theseat belts.

For belt grommets, place fourdrops of silver paint in a box patternon the top of each belt that needshardware at its tip. Apply the paintwith a sharp-tipped round toothpick.Don't put lot of paint on the tooth-pick; you are looking for a subtleeffect, not four giant globs of paint.

To attach seat belts to the seatbottom, fold them over the edges ofthe seat and lay the remaining lengthacross it. After you cut the belt to thecorrect length, place small drops ofsuper glue on the bottom of the beltand press it onto the seat. The seatbelts should be long enough to touchthe opposite side of the seat. Sinceharnesses lie against the back of theseat, add a small drop of super gluetoward the end of each harness andpress it against the back of the seat.

GUNSIGHTSMany manufac tu re r s supply

some type of gunsight part that usu-

ally has the correct shape but lacksdetail. Most WWII fighter aircraftwere fitted with some type of reflec-tive gunsight centered either at thetop of the console or above, whilemodern jets have heads-up displaysthat combine computer-aided gun andmissile aiming along with instrumentreadings. The reflective glass for thegunsight is positioned so the pilot canlook through the reflective glass atthe target.

Adding some detail and modify-ing kit-supplied gunsights adds apinch of realism to the cockpit. First,define the shape of the gunsight usingsandpaper and micro files. Defineedges and corners and make sureround shapes are actually round. Besure to remove any flash, mold seams,and dimples on the surface of thepart. Flash and mold seams can beremoved with a #11 X-Acto blade, butdimples must be filled.

Once you have better defined thegunsight's shape, identify the loca-tions of any clear parts like prisms orreflective glass. If there is round clearglass located on the gunsight—suchas on a P-51 Mustang—match theclosest diameter f rom Waldron'spunch set, identify the drill bit size,and drill out these locations. Go onlydeep enough to allow a piece of clearplastic to sit either on or just belowthe surface. The shape of the end ofthe drill bit will form a ledge on theinside wall of the hole, and the clearplastic disk will sit nicely against it.Be careful when drilling, because theplastic will be thin afterward. Punchout the appropriate size disk fromclear plastic stock and glue it in thehole using white glue. The easiestway to pick up the clear disk is withthe end of a round toothpick moist-ened with saliva.

If the reflective glass is locatedon the gunsight, the manufacturerprobably molded the correct shapeand location, but molded it as part ofthe gunsight instead of supplying aseparate piece of clear plastic. Thetrick is to modify the area so you caninstall a piece of clear plastic. Sincereflective glass is located on the topof the gunsight and the sides thathold the glass in position are metal,all you have to do is cut out the cen-ter of the plastic, leaving thin walls onboth sides. Use your micro files to

Some World War I aircraft used rope for a seat belt. The small section of rope wastaken from Revell's 1/96 scale sailing ship model USS Constitution.

slowly remove the plastic while shap-ing it. Dig into the plastic with the tri-angular file, using the flat surface filesto define the bottom and sides. Becareful as you thin out the sides—replacing a side with plastic sheetingwill be difficult due to its small size.When the area is shaped, use a pair ofdividers to measure where clear plas-tic will sit. Transfer the measure-ments to clear stock, cut out the part,and glue with white glue.

You can dress up the sides of thegunsight with small plastic diskspunched out with Waldron's punchtool. A switch or two of stretchedsprue, or a small instruction decal orscrap plate from a placard set reallyadds realism. Most gunsights are alight shade of flat black. Mix a smallamount of flat white with your flatblack. Be sure the gunsight is not thesame shade as the console. You wantit to stand out, and if you paint it the

Revell's stock 1/32 scale P-40 gunsight, modified to sport reflective glass and adjust-ing dials. The disks were punched from sheet styrene with Waldron's punch tool.

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Scratchbuilt gunsights are not hard to do. This one is made from two sizes of roundstock, a small piece of flat stock, and a piece of wire.

same color as the console, the detailwon't be visible. Disks and switchesshould also be a lighter shade or a dif-ferent color than the gunsight. Don'tadd clear parts until you have fin-ished painting.

Remember, no one will standover your model with reference pic-tures checking to see that every detailis exact. You are trying for a balancebetween realism, perception of depth,

and overall presentation by buildingan interior that speaks directly to theviewer's eyes.

ADVANCED TECHNIQUESWITH WALDRON PRODUCTS

I've put these techniques foradding cockpit realism at the end ofthis chapter because they requiresome more advanced skills. Althoughmanufacturers now supply pho-

Sketching the console with all necessary information included on each instrumenthelps you coordinate the instruments and their locations.

toetched parts for consoles and cock-pit placards for many aircraft, youmay need or wish to build your own.With the help of some Waldron prod-ucts and the following techniques,you can.

Build a console. Waldron mar-kets flight instruments and instrumentbezels that are easy to install andmoderately priced. The first step inbuilding a console with these prod-ucts is to get some reference materialon the aircraft, including cockpit pic-tures of the console. Without thismaterial, you will have only the kit'sconsole for a guide. Study the pic-tures and become familiar with thelocation of instruments and switches.

Next, make a sketch of the con-sole, including the instruments, whichneed only be represented by circles.The exact location of each instrumenton the sketch is not as important asincluding all of them and their approx-imate locations with respect to oneanother. Most aircraft consoles arestructured so the most importantinstruments, such as the attitude indi-cator (more commonly known as theartificial horizon), the turn and bankindicator, the speed indicator, and thealtitude indicator, are located towardthe center.

Strike a reference line down theapproximate center of the sketch.Since most instruments follow a verti-cal or horizontal line, several shouldbe along the same line..„ Once you have completed the

sketch, label each circle with thename of an instrument and match theinstrument to its location on theWaldron instrument sheet. They arenumbered; the instruction sheet alsohas a cross index that lists each num-ber and the type of instrument, mak-ing them easy to f ind . Write theWaldron instrument number next tothe instrument's name on the sketch,and write the punch size you willneed. Determine what size punch youneed for each instrument by matchingthe punch head with the instructionsheet diagram. To prevent any mix-ups between instrument number andpunch size, draw boxes or circlesaround the instrument numbers.

Once you have a complete draw-ing, decide how you want to make theconsole. Waldron recommends aslightly bigger console so all the

34

Write the correct punch size for each instrument onto the dia-gram. This will give you a reference sheet to check beforepunching an instrument.

Adding extra strip stock to the kit's console helps increase thesurface area so you can fit all the instruments.

instruments will fit. This means youwill have to carefully remove someinterior plastic and do a lot of trial-and-error fitting. I make all my con-soles using a simple sandwichconstruction technique that incorpo-rates the kit's console, and I havenever had a problem making theinstruments fit.

First, check the fi t of the kit'sconsole inside the cockpit. Tape thefuselage halves together and insertthe console. In most cases it will notfit snugly, which means you must addthin plastic strips along the sides.Adding this plastic results in a morerealistic finished console with little orno spacing between the edge of theconsole and the cockpit wall. It alsogives you extra room to play withwhen locating instruments. Once youhave glued the extra plastic strips andchecked the fit, sand the surface ofthe kit's console flat. It will becomethe back half of the new console.

Next, trace the modified kit'sconsole onto sheet plastic no morethat .015 to .017 inches (.38 to.43 mm) thick. This is the best thick-ness for Waldron's instruments,which are approximately .0109 inches(.3 mm) thick. Strike a straight lineonto the plastic sheeting; this will beyour reference line and the base linefor the new console face. Carefullylocate the base of the kit's consoledirectly on top of the line at least \binch (12.7 mm) away from the edge ofthe sheeting. Trace around the edgeof the console with a .5mm lead pen-

cil, then draw a box around your trac-ing about '/> inch (12.7 mm) away fromthe console's edge.

When you have finished drawingthe box cut it out, tape it to yourworkbench, and tape the longest sideof a triangle or other straightedgealong the base of the console drawing.The straightedge must be directly ontop of the bottom edge of the draw-ing, since the bottom edge serves asthe base from which to draw verticaland horizontal lines for locatinginstruments. If you place the straight-edge below the edge of the consoledrawing, be sure it is parallel with thebottom edge.

Locate the center of the drawingby measuring its base and dividing bytwo. Mark this location and strike aline from top to bottom by placing

another triangle along the base of thetriangle you taped to the desk. Nowyou have a reference point betweenthe sketch and the console drawing.

Start drawing vertical and hori-zontal lines on the console to locateinstruments. It will make the job a loteasier if you start with the largestinstruments. Or start with the ones inthe center of the console and worktoward the outer edges. Eithermethod will reduce the likelihood thatyou will have to erase lines and startover. It's a slow process that requiresyou to continually refer to the sketchand your documentation for the loca-tions, alignments, and groupings ofinstruments.

Once you have drawn some cen-ter lines, start drawing circles ontothe console using a circle template.

Another good example of how the kit's console can be used. Here Re veil's 1/32 scaleCorsair console was thinned out and then modified.

35

When all the instrument locations are drawn, the console face should look just like this.

Be sure the size of the circle you usecorresponds to a correct punch sizefor an instrument. I have all my tem-plates labeled for each punch size. Istart with the largest instruments firstand get their locations set; then I canuse them as reference points as I addmore. Getting the locations exactlycorrect is not as important as gettingthem evenly spaced and in line withone another.

If any switches are to be added,locate their positions on the consoleand use a small drill bit to drill pilotholes. For 1/32 scale consoles use anumber 73 or 74 bit; for 1/48 scale kitsuse a number 78 bit; and for 1/72scale use 78 to 82. If several switches

are in line, be sure they are evenlyspaced and straight. The best way todo this is to strike a line and use apair of dividers to space them.

When you have drawn all the cir-cles and located all the switches,remove the new console from yourworkbench, cut out the outline with apair of scissors, and slide it into thepunch guide. Carefully position eachcircle under the correct punch hole.Be sure to pinch the console betweenthe upper and lower parts of thepunch guide so it won't slip.Centering a circle under a punch holetakes some practice. I suggest sometrial runs before you do the real thing.

After you have punched out all

Clean the burrs from around the punched hole, so that the instrument will fit properly.If you don't have the same size drill bits, use a #11 X-Acto blade.

the instrument holes, clean the plasticburrs around each hole so yourinstruments will fit correctly. Take adill bit the same size as the punch andrun it through each hole with a twist-ing motion. To test whether anyburrs remain, run a punch through. Ifit binds or feels tight, you need toopen up the hole. If you don't have abit of the correct size, use a #11 X-Acto blade, but be careful not togouge the edges of the hole.

When the punches slide throughtheir respective holes, you are readyto glue the new console to the kit'sconsole. Position them so the edgesdon't overlap, and apply glue with thetip of a .5mm lead pencil on selectlocations around the perimeter. Afterit dries, run a bead around theperimeter. Don't let any glue get intothe holes—it will prevent the instru-ments from seating correctly. I callthis process the sandwich technique.

When the glue is dry, sand theedges smooth. Take a small drill bit,center it in each instrument hole, anddri l l through the backing. Theseholes will allow the white glue youwill use to glue each instrument toseep out the back instead of overflow-ing onto the face of the instrument.

Now that the console is com-plete, you are ready to paint it andapply the instruments. Most consolesare flat black. Whatever color youchoose, lighten it up with some whiteto create a perception of depthbetween the instruments and the faceof the console.

When you are ready to apply theinstruments, peel off the paper back-ing on the instrument sheet and paintthe back of the instrument sheet flatenamel white or whatever color yourreference material calls for. If youdon't have any information, just usewhite. After the paint has dried, slipthe instrument sheet into the punchguide and begin punching the instru-ments out. Punch one at a time andinstall it before doing the next one.This method is slow, but it will pre-vent you from losing any instruments.The sketch and reference informationyou added will allow you to punch aninstrument, locate it on the drawing,and place it on the console.

To pick up instruments I cut thetip off a round toothpick, wet theblunted tip with my tongue, and pick

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On small instrument consoles use Dremel's drill press to drillholes in the center of each instrument location. The holesallow glue to seep out the back.

The completed console is ready to be primed and painted.This console will be part of a Hasegawa P-51 Mustang.

up the instrument face first. Put asmall drop of Elmer's white glue in thehole where the instrument will go andinsert the instrument. Once it is in, itis hard to rotate, so get it right thefirst time. If you get it wrong, pop itout from the back and try again.

To make switches, stretch blackor silver plastic sprue over a candle.Don't make it too thin. Since switchesare too small to handle and hard tocut to a consistent length, take thelength of stretched sprue and cut itinto sections about '/4 to '/£ inch (6.4to 12.7 mm) in length. Glue them intothe switch holes, using white glue. Besure they are straight with respect toone another and the console.

After the glue has dried, lay the

lengths of plastic against a sandingblock and cut to length with a #11 X-Acto blade. If you lay the bladeacross the lengths of stretched plas-tic, you can cut them all at once.

Cockpit consoles sometimeshave instruction cards, which canbe simulated with small decals.Monogram's 1/48 scale B-29 decalsheet contains dozens of small decalsthat can be used for this purpose onboth 1/32 scale and 1/48 scale con-soles. Another source is Waldron'sPlacards, which can be modified tolook like instruction plates.

The last step is to install instru-ment bezels (the grooved rims aroundthe instrument faces that protrudefrom the console). This is really an

option—although bezels enhance theconsole, you can get by without them.If you decide to add them, cut themout one at a time on a glass surfacewith a sharp #11 X-Acto blade.Although bezels are small, they arestronger than they look and can behandled with a pair of tweezers.Secure the bezel with a toothpick asyou cut the stubs that connect it tothe tree. Sometimes bezels can getlaunched from their trees when youcut the second stub, so hold themdown carefully.

Before you attach the bezel tothe console, paint the edges whereyou cut it from the tree. Chances aresome shiny brass will be visible; thiscan be cured with some flat black.

Use a flat-ended, round toothpick with a moistened tip to pickand position the instruments.

The cockpit of a Corsair is filled with switch banks that can beeasily reproduced with stretched sprue.

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Revell's stock 1/32 scale P-40 instrument console with Waldron instruments andbezels and two additional instruction plates cut from decals. The only thing left to dois add the switches.

Don't attach bezels with anything butwhite glue or Kristal Kleer, which willdry clear and can be removed easilywith a toothpick.

When you are ready to attach abezel, apply white glue to the backside with a toothpick as you hold itwith tweezers. Carefully lay the bezelover the instrument. Avoid gettingglue on the instrument face. Positionthe bezel, press it down, and use asharp toothpick to adjust it andremove excess glue.

As an alternative to usingWaldron instruments, console decalscan be used to produce a fairly goodconsole. Some manufacturers supply

them with some of their kits, andaftermarket suppliers such as SuperScale International include instrumentdecals with some of their decalsheets. On 1/72 scale kits consoledecals look okay, but on 1/48 scaleand 1/32 scale kits the flat appearanceof decals can be readily seen anddetracts from the effect. To create arealistic console using these decals,use the sandwich method to make anew console. Punch out the instru-ments from the decal sheet and installthem just like Waldron instruments.

On many modern jets individualinstruments have given way to CRTdisplays. To make them, use photo-

graphic negative slide material as theCRT display. Form-fit it into the CRTbox and glue with Elmer's white glue.To distinguish the console from theCRT boxes, paint them d i f f e r en tshades or colors.

Placards. Waldron Productsalso markets thin aluminum sheetcockpit placards for engine throttlequadrants, radio boxes, electrical andswitch panels, gun controls, and trimand flap controls. Waldron Productsalso includes plastic disks and boxesfor their placards. I use them in com-bination with both scratchbuilt andmodified kit parts.

Even though Waldron includespictures of finished kits in the assem-bly instructions, having pictures ofthe actual cockpit will help youimmensely during assembly. It alsohelps to sketch the sides of the cock-pit and draw in all the shapes to beadded. This gives you spatial orienta-tion inside the cockpit. It is importantbecause all the parts you add must fit,and when you close the fuselage, theparts cannot interfere with other inte-rior parts such as the seat.

Next, decide how you want tobuild up the cockpit. I always to usewhat the kit manufacturer supplies, ifpossible, because it saves time—sodon't be afraid to modify kit parts tomake them fit the Waldron placards.

Once you have become familiarwith the real cockpit and identifiedthe kit parts you want to use andthose you need to make, you areready to start cutting out placards.The secret to working with Waldron

Rough-cut large placards and trim to size on a glass plate, Cut small placards by positioning the blade over the cut lineusing a straightedge. and pressing down.

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Using oversized stock makes mounting placards easy andensures they will be centered on the plastic stock.

The same P-51 throttle quadrant after the plastic was trimmed andsanded. With the levers added, the part is ready to be installed.

placards (or any type of placard madefrom metal or plastic) is to use only asharp #11 X-Acto blade. If you cutwith scissors you will bend the edgesof the placard, and flattening themout may scratch the surface detail.

Rough-cut a placard on a glassplate, leaving some sheeting aroundthe outline. There are two ways totrim the excess. The first is to place asmall straightedge along the cuttingline and run the X-Acto blade along it.You may need to run the blade overthe cut more than once, so don'tmove the straightedge until you aredone. This works well for large box-type placards. For small ones, securethe placard with a Q-Tip so you don'tlose it as you cut. Position a #11 X-Acto blade over the edge to be cutand press down hard. This works

well for placards with cutting edgessmaller than the length of the blade.

If the placards have curved cut-ting lines you will need to cut aroundthe curves by using a series of tangentcuts. Once the part is glued to itsbacking, you can round it off withsandpaper. If the placards are round,punch them out with Waldron'spunch set, but if the size does notmatch a punch diameter, rough-cutthe part and make tangent cuts alongthe edges of the circle. Here againyou can round off the part after it isglued to its backing. To make sureyou don't lose any parts, work withone placard at a time.

Next, bend the placard into itsproper shape. Waldron's instructionsexplain how to bend placards and atwhat angles they need to be bent. If

there are multiple bends in a piece,they provide side-view drawings ofthe f inished part for reference.Placards for square and rectangularshapes usually have only two sides,the top and the front, and these arethe easiest to bend. I use combina-tions of plastic strip, my X-Actoblades, and edges of sanding blocksto help bend them into shape. If youmake a mistake you can flatten theplacard and try again, but this willusually only work once.

After you have finished bending,you are ready to attach the placard toits plastic backing. Although Waldronsupplies plastic shapes for some ofthe smaller placards, you will have touse plastic stock for the larger ones. Iuse stock that is thicker and longerthan necessary; then I don't have to

The left side of Hasegawa's 1/32 scale P-51 Mustang withInstruction plates and some of the Waldron placards installed.The piping was made from Evergreen rod bent into shape.

To cut down the sides of box-type placards, use a razor sawand a miter box.

It's easier to install oversized stretched sprue and cut it to sizethan to cut exact lengths from the start.

The switches on the Corsair cockpit panel were cut to theircorrect length with small wire cutters and painted silver.

worry about getting it positioned cor-rectly. This is because the super gluewill secure the placard the instant ittouches the plastic. After the glue isdry, cut the stock down to within Moto '/J2 inch (2.5 to .8 mm) of the plac-ard. Sand the remainder off by run-ning the plastic across stationarysandpaper.

After you have shaped the stock,paint it to match the black color ofthe placard. Protect the placard'sface from paint with masking tape.

The last step before installationis to add selector and toggle switches.For selector switches choose theWaldron punch size that matches thedial location on the placard, punch

out a small disk, secure it on a strip ofmasking tape, and glue a small pieceof strip stock across the center of thedisk. When the glue dries cut thestrip stock so its edges are even withthe disk's edge. Paint the disk aslightly lighter color than the placard.When the paint is dry glue the selec-tor switch in place. Be sure to posi-tion it correctly—the plastic strip youglued to the disk should be pointingtoward an inscription on the placard.

Toggle switches can be addedthe same way as described in the sec-tion on consoles, but I recommendpainting them a different shade ofblack so they stand out—or use silveror gray sprue. Drill holes through the

Form-fit each placard into place as you construct the interior. The right side ofHasegawa's P-51 is complete and ready to be mated with the other side of the fuselage.

placard to place the switches, indent-ing the drill locations with a pin firstso the bit will be properly positioned.The switches should be evenlyspaced and in a straight line. Theydon't have to be all pointed in onedirection (some will be off and otherswill be on).

If the placards have indicatorlights, they can be simulated byadding a drop of Elmer's white glue orKrystal Kleer to each location using around toothpick as an applicator.These glues have a high surface ten-sion and will form a perfect hemi-spherical shape. After the glue hasdried, paint it the appropriate color.If you have no information on indica-tor light colors, use red and green.

When you are ready to startadding the placards to the cockpitwalls and flooring, first attach partssuch as the cockpit rear wall, the seat,the flooring, and the console. Doingso will allow you to fit everything inplace without having to worry aboutparts interfering with one another.Complete one side of the fuselage at atime. Close the fuselage halves fre-quently to check the fit of each part.

If you decide to use decal plac-ards instead of Waldron's aluminumplacards, the same construction tech-niques apply, but be sure the decal isproperly applied and has a good pro-tective coating. To ensure good adhe-sion, apply it to a gloss surface andgive it several overcoats of a clear flatfinish. This will allow you to drillholes in the decal for switches with-out r ipping it, and to glue plasticstock to it. For all gluing use eitherKrystal Kleer or Elmer's white glue.

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The forward section of this 1/48 scale Monogram Me 262 engine was detailed so that the openaccess panels would display a realistic-looking jet engine. (Model by Scott Weller.)

Detailing engines for propeller-drivenaircraft includes adding wiring, pip-ing, and cabling, as well as properpainting to highlight detail. You mayalso have to replace parts such as thevalve push rods on radial enginesbecause the kit-supplied parts don'tmatch up with their locations on thecylinders; or you may have to addthem if they weren't provided.

The amount of engine detailingyou do depends on how you plan tobui ld the model and display theengine, and whether it's a piston orjet engine. Jet engines don't offer asmuch detail opportunity, and most kitmanufacturers don't include engines,

so all you are left with to work on areair intake and exhaust cone details.Unfortunately, these are sometimeslacking in the kit, but with the addi-tion of small lengths of strip stockthey can be greatly improved.

DETAILING ENGINESAlmost all radial engines have a

ring-shaped wiring harness at thebase of the crankcase. Spark plugwires emerge from this ring. Bothring and wires are protected by metaljackets. Most engines from the early'30s and later had two spark plugwires for each cylinder. They arelocated next to one another on the

ring with a wider space between setsof wires. One spark plug location wasalways centered on the front of thecylinder and the other either on thetop or the back.

To add wiring you will need tomark the wiring harness ring for thecorrect number of cylinder sets anddrill small holes in the ring with a pinvise and small drill bit for a positiveseating. Use the circular template tomatch the ring to a circle size, draw iton paper, and mark the correct num-ber of cylinders on the circle. Thisallows you to play with locations untilyou get them spaced evenly. Onceyou are satisfied with the spacing,

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The wiring harness on Revell's 1/32 scale R-2800 engine was replaced and individuallocations for the wiring were added using Waldron's punch tool.

Drill out wiring locations so the strands of stretched plastic seat properly.

t ransfer the locations to the partusing a small marker.

Now drill holes in the cylindersat the correct spark plug locations.Be sure the drill bit size matches thesize of the wiring. Use strands of elec-tronic wire for 1/48 and 1/72 scaleengines, and stretched sprue for 1/32and 1/24 scale kits. If you use elec-tronic wire, strip the plastic coveringoff, separate the strands, and stretchthem carefully to straighten them out.

After drilling the holes for thespark plug wires, prime the subassem-blies and give them a coat of Tester'sgloss gull gray. To accent cylindersand highlight cooling vanes, handpaint them with Tester's non-buffinggunmetal Metalizer. Tester's Metal-izer paints are thinned for airbrush-ing, but the non-buffing types can bebrushed onto small areas. Due to thethinned consistency of the paint andthe fact that it doesn't adhere well togloss enamels, the paint will flow intothe areas between the cylinder's cool-ing vanes while only slightly stainingthe tops of the vanes. This gives atwo-color appearance to the cylindersand highlights detail.

Be extra careful applying theMetalizer in the area where the cylin-der meets the crankcase becausethinned paint can easily flow onto theface of the crankcase. The tops of thecylinders are usually a darker colorthan the body, so paint them withTester's non-buffing exhaust colorMetalizer. To accent crankcase boltsuse Tester's silver applied with a

Tester's Metalizer colors highlight the details of this engine.The base color was airbrushed and cylinder colors wereapplied with a brush.

No push rods are supplied on Revell's 1/32 scale R-2800, butyou can add them without much trouble. Drill the locations forthe individual push rods using the cylinder locations as a guide.

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sharpened round toothpick. As a finaltouch add a small square or rectangu-lar black decal to the crankcase torepresent the manufacturer's plate.

Push rods that are separate partsseldom match their locations on thecylinder heads. I recommend cuttingthem at their base and replacing themwith Evergreen round plastic stock.Paint a length of round stock the cor-rect color (black or natural metal),then cut approximate lengths for thenumber of push rods you need. Form-f i t each push rod into place andattach with Elmer's white glue.Where the push rod meets the cylin-der head the glue also acts as a fillerthat can be touched up with paint.

To weather the engine, dust itwith a mixture of brown and blackpastel applied with a soft brush andairbrush a coat of clear flat t_Q_seal.Drybrush some Polly-S "oil" coloronto the engine cylinders and thearea where the cylinders meet thecrankcase. Apply a touch of Polly-Soil color to the crankcase sump,which is the long rectangular partprotruding from the crankcase andpointing down. These oil stains mustbe subtle, so don't overdo it.

The last step is to add the wiring.Determine the color of the metal cov-ering protecting the actual enginewiring: usually this was copper, black,or a bright metallic color. After youpaint the wire strands or sprue, installthem around the harness at the baseof the crankcase using white glue.Form-fit them one cylinder location ata time. I usually do the front wiresfirst, then locate the wires for thebacks of the cylinders. If there is asecond row of cylinders I work on thefront row first.

In-line engines are set up muchlike straight block automobileengines—spark plug wires on bothsides of the engine block in straightrows. Remove the molded wiringdetail with a #11 X-Acto blade andsandpaper. Then mark the locationsof the spark plug wires and drill holes.The spark plug wires are usuallywrapped together and distributedalong the block. Glue them one at atime and bundle them together as you

The wiring on this engine ended on theback side, where it would not be seen.

Airbrush the push rods with Tester's Metalizer and then cut and form-fit them intoplace. The engine part on the right is the stock kit part. What a difference a fewlengths of plastic rod can make on an engine that lacks detail!

Hasegawa's 1/32 scale engine for its Peashooter kit is great, but the push rods don'tline up with the cylinder heads. To correct these types of problems, simply removethe kit's rods and replace them with individual lengths.

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Even if the engine is molded into the fuselage, you can still add detail. To enhancethe appearance of Monogram's 1/48 scale P-51 Mustang, wiring and drain tubes wereadded. (Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

(Left) Bundled stretched sprue or a com-bination of plastic rod and thin wire canrepresent wiring harnesses on in-lineengines.

(Center) The wiring harness has beeninstalled and will be painted after assem-bly of the rest of the engine. Thesedetails add a three dimensional effect toin-line engines.

move toward the rear of the engine.White glue works best because itdries clear.

Mixture, throttle, and sensorcables, as well as other types ofwiring you may want to add to anengine, can be made by stretchingvarious diameters and colors ofsprue. Always start with a long lengthof sprue, glue one end in place, form-f i t it into place, and then glue theother end.

To give the engine weight and toanchor the spark plug wires moresecurely, you may want to f i l l theblock with resin. Be sure all seamsare sealed, or the resin will seep out.

You can also highlight detail onthese engines by painting them vari-ous shades and colors. The block isusually a different color than the topof the engine and rear components.Engine mounts are usually framing,which can be painted various shadesof the same color.

The overall e f fec t of addingwires, painting the engine and mountsdifferent colors, and weathering is toturn even an average in-line engineinto a masterpiece.

Jet engines are the most difficultto detail, and few models have them.The original piping and wiring are dif-ficult to remove without marring theengine, so I recommend adding addi-tional piping and wiring to provide aperception of depth. Evergreen rod isthe best plastic for this because it issoft and flexible. Use various sizerods, especially if you are runningseveral lengths together, and alwaysuse Elmer's white glue to attach themto the engine. Thin electronics solderalso works well because it conformseasily to the shape of the engine. Addjunction boxes and other appendagesusing various sizes and shapes ofsmall square stock. If you are goingto connect piping and wiring to these

junction boxes, drill small holes sothe rods will fit into them.

Most engines, like the ones sup-plied with Hasegawa's 1/32 scale F-104or Revell's 1/32 scale Me 262, havelots of molded-on detail which can begreatly enhanced by drybrushing.The molded boxes on these enginesalso make excellent connection pointslor additional piping and wiring.

You might also try sanding thebacking of the intake part until onlythe vanes are left. Trace the part onsheet stock, cut it out, paint bothparts, and position the circular diskabout Me inch (1.6 mm) behind theintake. This increase the perceptionof depth and makes the individual tur-bine blades stand out.

PROPELLERS, ENGINEINTAKES & EXHAUSTSProper painting of propellers

should not be overlooked. After youremove the mold lines, give the pro-peller a coat of primer and mask theblades. Airbrush the tips gloss yellowwith a few drops of gloss white addedto make the color look faded. After ithas dried (two to three days), maskthese areas and paint the blades glossblack with a little gloss white addedto make a slightly lighter shade. (Ifthe hub area is a different color thanthe blades, mask it too.) Use glossblack because f lat black does notaccept a clear finish well. It will alsoensure that small decals on the pro-peller blades will not silver.

Finally, mask the entire length ofthe blades before you spray the hubs.After you have finished painting,

Adding tubing and wiring detail to jet engines takes time because you must conformthe tubing to the shape of the engine. This 1/48 scale Me 262 engine by Monogram isa combination of kit parts, metal, and plastic tubing. (Model by Scott Weller.)

Improve the appearance of jet engine intakes by removing the plastic from around theturbine blades. This is done easily by running the part across a piece of sandpaper.

Masking propeller blades to represent laminated wood is easywith thin strips of masking tape.

Most metal propellers can be masked and painted quickly, but ifyou are using gloss paints, be sure they are dry before youmask them.

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Oil and lubrication leaks on variablepitch propellers are common, so don'tforget them.

apply decals to the blades. Whenthey have dried, run a soft lead pencilacross the leading edges; then runyour finger across the lead residue towork it into the paint and flatten itout. This will give the blades a subtlyworn effect. Seal the residue by air-brushing the entire propeller with aclear flat finish.

Oil and grease leak out of thepropeller hub where the pitch gearsare located and smear onto the huband down the blades. Although theoil is blown off during flight and splat-tered onto the engine and cowling, asthe engine comes to a stop after land-ing the oil seeps onto the blades. Itstreaks across the front of the blades,but not all the way out to the tips.Generally the first quarter length hasthis residual oil, so use your Polly-Soil color sparingly in this area.

Frequently overlooked by model-ers are engine exhaust ports, airintakes, cowling flaps, and other exte-rior engine vents. They are normallymolded as solid pieces or have solidscreen grating molded on. For atouch of realism, hollow them out.

Exhaust ports can be hollowedout in several ways, depending on thetype of model and the locations of theports. On a fighter plane they can behollowed out with a Dremel drill pressstand and a motor tool. Match the bitto the port diameters and drill out theplastic by pressing the part to the bit.The trick is to hold the part with bothhands. Don't let the bit contact it forlong or you may melt the plastic. Go Islowly and drill small layers of plasticat a time. Remove the part frequentlyto check progress and blow away theplastic shavings.

For exhausts like those onbombers use combinations of drillbits and micro files to cut into theplastic and shape it. If the ports areoblong, use motor tool side cutters;when you get the pilot hole drilled,you can shape it easily with the side

Open angled exhaust ports by holdingthem with both hands and carefullydrilling out the individual ports.

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(Right) Hollowing exhaust ports on kit-supplied parts makes a big improvement.

(Center) Sometimes cutters and drill bitsare not enough to hollow out a part. Inthese stubborn cases use micro files tocut and shape.

cutter. When hollowing out exhausts,go only deep enough so the portappears to be hollow—between Meand '/& inch (1.6 mm and 3.2 mm).

Engine breather holes andintakes can be tricky, especially withmultiple holes next to one anotherlike those on a P-51 Mustang. Forsmall holes use a pin vise with a drillbit to get the hole started to a gooddepth. Then if you decide to speedup the process with a motor tool thebit wil l have a good starter hole.Small bits tend to skip if the pilot holeis not deep enough. For square airintakes use micro files or a combina-tion of files and bits to remove theplastic, shape the hole, and thin outthe sides. Since you are working withthin plastic, be gentle and go slowly.

Cowling flaps, especially on abomber, look more realistic if theplastic between them is removed.This can be done with a razor saw ora jeweler's saw, depending on thescale of the model. Generally, thesmaller scales require a jeweler's saw.

Engine vents can also be drilledout several ways, depending on thesituation. The most difficult are thesmall vents, especially on the upperwing surfaces of bombers. The best

Sometimes you have to replace the exhausts with tubing. Themolded in exhaust ports on Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair werecut out and replaced with plastic tubing. The edges werethinned with a #11 X-Acto blade.

Although photoetched parts are available for the breather holeson P-51 Mustangs, it's easier and cheaper to simply drill outthe holes.

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Another area that is sometimes overlooked by modelers isremoving the plastic from between the cowling flaps. It caneasily be done with a jeweler's saw.

The wing vents on Monogram's 1/48 scale B-25J were drilledout and cleaned and shaped with a #11 X-Acto blade. Protectsurrounding plastic with masking tape first.

way to hollow them out is to drill aseries of small holes, use a #11 X-Actoblade to remove the plastic betweenthem, and smooth the sides withmicro files. There is little room forerror, and repairing gouges can be dif-ficult in some locations. Mask the sur-rounding plastic so it will not bedamaged if you slip.

To remove large amounts of plas-tic, start small and progressivelyenlarge the diameter and depth of thehole. This is slow going, but you canachieve thin plastic walls withoutmelting them if you work up to thesize you want. To secure a part in avise, sandwich it between two piecesof balsa wood for protection. Thebalsa will also help hold it in place.

Air intakes can be open or havescreening covers, so check your docu-mentation. Fighters usually have bigair intakes on the front of the cowlingor around the front of the fuselage,while two- and four-engine bomberscan have intakes on the leading edgesof the wings as well. If the area is cov-ered with screening, cut out themolded screening and add photo-etched screening. Not all air intakeson an aircraft have screen covers; agood example is the B-l 7. The intakesbetweeji^the engines have screening,while those between the fuselage andinboard engines don't.

Model Technologies and otherphotoetching companies marketexcellent grades of wire mesh screen-

ing. It can be hard to cut to an exactshape, so plan placement carefullyand use an oversized section. Cut itto the approximate shape and installit on the inside of either the fuselageor the wing. This requires somepatience because you need to form-fitby trial and error, but it sure beatstrying to cut it to the exact size andinstalling it from the outside.

Exhaust ports generally take on arust or mud color due to temperatureand exposure to the elements. Paintexhausts with Tester's burnt metalbuffing Metalizer, polish with a Q-Tip,and seal with Tester's Metalizersealer so the color is dulled. I haveseen real B-l 7s with exhausts thatappear to be almost a mud color.

One of the toughest engine intake parts to scratchbuild is aCorsair intake, but there is an easier way. Run the part acrossa dowel wrapped with sandpaper until the backing is very thin,and remove the remaining plastic with a knife.

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Once the part is cleaned up add photoetched screening andglue it in place. Super glue works best as a filler, especially toshape parts around small areas.

(Right) There is no substitute for the airintakes on this Corsair. All it took toachieve this level of realism is a littleelbow grease and about ten cents worthof photoeteched screening.

(Center) The exhaust stains stand outagainst the faded appearance of the olivedrab paint. Note the subtle exhauststains on the upper surfaces of the ele-vators, caused by the two inboardengines. (Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

Although this might be the actualcolor, on small scale models it justdoesn't look right.

Jet exhaust nozzles are complexpieces of equipment that can expandand contract depending on speed andacceleration. The nozzles aredesigned along the same principles asa camera's diaphragm. The dia-phragm is a series of metal plates thatslide past one another to form anopening of a specific size. On jet noz-zles this can be represented by gluingsmall strips of plastic stock along thenozzle's interior and exterior. Whenadding stock, do a test run and gluethe strips with small amounts ofElmer's white glue. The trial run willtell you a lot about the spacing youneed between strips. Once you getthe spacing set, you can make aspacer out of a piece of strip or sheetstock. It will ensure evenly spacedstrips around the nozzle. If you havean odd spacing, position that areatoward the bottom. To remove strips,soak the part in water.

You can also add the actuatorrods that move the plates, but I rec-ommend this only on 1/32 scale air-craft. On 1/48 and 1/72 scale kits justadding the strips to both sides of thenozzle will give the parts the appear-ance of depth. Paint the nozzle withTester's buffing Metalizer and use aQ-Tip to polish it. The Q-Tip will onlytouch the top areas of the strip,resulting in a two-tone effect.

Don't forget to paint the insidesof the cowling, the engine compart-ment , and any air intakes and

Adding small plastic strips on both theoutside and inside of a jet exhaust cangreatly improve its appearance. (Modelby Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

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The tail areas of jets usually have several shades of burnt metal due to the intenseheat created by the engine. Different mixtures of Tester's Metalizer were used toachieve the various shades on the tail area of this model. The various shades wereblended in with a Q-Tip. (Model by Scott Weller.)

exhausts the correct colors. Enginecompartments are usually covered inexhaust stains, grease, and oil stains,and the engine mounting framing isusually discolored by heat, so be sureto paint these details. The outerareas of engine brackets usuallyacquire a slightly burnt metal appear-ance, so add some Tester's burntmetal Metalizer to these areas. Dustthe engine compartment with a darkpastel and seal it with Polly-S clearflat before you add any oil or greasestains. Wash the interior corners andfolds with Polly-S oil color and dry-brush the interior surface with a com-bination of Polly-S oil and flat black.Jet exhausts are usually a mixture ofburnt metal shades, which can beachieved using Tester's buffing andnon-buffing Metalizers.

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LANDING GEAR,

BAYS & DOORS

The landing gear bays on Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair are pretty much void of detail, butthe addition of plastic sheeting and strip stock turned them into highly detailed replicas.

Detailing landing gear is not as time-consuming as working on cockpitsand engines, but many modelers over-look these areas because they spendso much time on the big s t u f f .Landing gear bays and doors, forinstance, are sometimes overlooked.In the smaller scales you can get awaywith painting detail on the insides ofthe doors, but 1/48 and 1/32 scale air-craft call for extra work.

Detail provided by manufactur-ers for landing gear bays varieswidely. If the model has no landinggear bay, you can build one and addas much detail as you want. To con-

struct the box accurately you willhave to draw the area to be boxed inon the inside of the upper wing. I rec-ommend attaching the sides of thenew landing gear bay to the upperwing, because it is easier to add detailto the boxed-in area if it is attached tothe upper rather than the lower wing.To accurately draw the outline of thelower wing's opening onto the upperwing, tape them together and drawthe outline, using a lead pencil withits lead long enough to allow you tofollow the edge of the opening accu-rately. Since most landing gear baysare larger than the opening on the

lower wing, enlarge the drawing onthe upper wing slightly.

Now determine the interior con-tours of the sides of the landing gearbay that run from the leading edge tothe trailing edge of the wing. Sincewings are tapered, the sides are differ-ent shapes, so you will have to mea-sure and cut two separate sections.The most accurate method for deter-mining interior wing contours is tocut up a second model and use it as aform guide for the interior areas.

Draw the locations of the sides ofthe landing gear bay onto the outersurfaces of the second model's wing,

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(Left) Even if you only add some sheetstock to form an interior landing gearbay, you will improve your model'sappearance. It certainly looks betterthan just having a hole on the undersideof the wing.

(Center) Using a second kit to get theexact interior wing contours for the areasaround the landing gear bay is easierthan trying to form-fit these types ofscratchbuilt parts. The wing on this kithas been cut up, so interior contoursalong cut lines can be transferred tosheet stock.

glue the wings together, and cut itinto sections along the lines with arazor saw. Run a grease pencil alongthe edge of the cut line, impress itonto sheet stock, and cut out the part.

To check the fit of the interiorsection use small pieces of tape tohold the part in place and tape theleading or trailing edge of the wing soyou can open and close it like ahinged box. This will allow you tocheck the fi t and make any adjust-ments. The interior part should fitalmost perfectly. Once you have bothsides of the new landing gear bayinstalled you can easily do the frontand back areas, because their exactheights will be defined for you. Allyou have to do is transfer the mea-surements with a pair of dividers tosome sheet stock, cut out therequired shape, and install it.

Since cutting the wing area of thesecond model puts a lot of stress onthe glue joints, you may want toinstall some interior bracing so itwon't flex once you cut it. Wheninstalling braces, be careful not tochange the shape of the wing byinstalling one that is too big, and besure to use super glue. Also, cut thearea closest to the fuselage f i r s t ,transfer the shape, cut it out, test-fitit, and then cut the wing along theouter location. Since the thickness ofthe plastic may vary between wings,and since one wing may have an inte-rior contour slightly different than the

Before you start adding interior parts,draw their locations on the inside of thewing area. Add one part at a time andcheck the fit of each part.

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As you build up the landing gear bay, you can start addingother interior parts such as framing.

The landing gear bays on this Corsair have been completed.Adding one part at a time and duplicating your work on bothwing areas as you go will help ensure that both areas lookthe same.

other, cut up both wings and fit eachone individually.

If your model has its landing gearbay within the fuselage, follow thesame procedure, except you would becutting the second model's fuselageinstead of the wings. Some older jetkits have no landing gear bays, butthey can be easily added using thistechnique.

Once the boxed-in area is com-plete you can add interior framingalong the sides, f ront , and bottom.Use a small section of sheet stockwith one straight edge to draw lineswherever you want to install framing.Doing so will ensure that the stripstock is evenly spaced and straight.There is no set size for each scale, butI recommend installing plastic stripsthat look accurate. Cut long lengthsso you can position them correctly,and use a th in wire applicator toapply glue.

Once you have the sidesinstalled you can form-fit the stripsalong the bottom. Form-fit themtightly one at a time and glue wherethe bottom framing meets the sideframing. The super glue will seep

Sometimes all you have to do to improvethe appearance of a landing gear bay isadd some extra plastic to the kit-supplied-detail. The framing was form-fitted intoplace and the holes were punched usingWaldron's punch tool. (Model by RichardBoutin, Sr.)

along the underside of the bottomstrip, securing it. When the framing iscomplete, paint the area and addweathering. Give landing gear bays adusting of various colors of pastels,then seal with a clear flat finish.

The last step is to add interiorpiping. You can use Evergreen rod,stiff wire, or thin solder. If you runseveral lengths close together, makethem different sizes for the addedeffect of depth. Whether you are run-ning piping from front to back or leftto right, drill holes through the sidesof the landing gear bay and slide thetubing into place through the holes.

This looks realistic and you don'thave to be accurate when you cut therod lengths. Paint the lengths beforeyou install them. If they are all thesame color, use different shades. Forsmall paint jobs like tubing, use water-base paints because they dry quickly.You can mix the various shades ofpaint in a bottle cap, clean it out, andmix another shade. Finally, apply adusting of pastel on the piping.

If the manufacturer has supplieda landing gear bay but it cries out foradditional detail, you can add it thesame way you added piping detail to ascratch-built box. If you need to add

The addition of some strip stock can greatly enhance the appearance of a wheel welldoor that has no detail.

The new interior sheeting for the landing gear doors is attached by running a bead ofsuper glue around its perimeter with a thin wire applicator. The hinges were madewith Waldron's punch set.

framing, be consistent with the loca-tions of the strips. Sometimes manu-facturers supply molded framing thatis not high enough or is not accurate.You can add additional framing byform-f i t t ing individual pieces, butagain, be consistent. The best way toglue these pieces is to set them inplace and put a small drop of superglue at each corner. Once the glue isdry, run a bead along the contact areato blend the two together.

Wiring and piping detail that hasbeen molded into the landing gearbay can be difficult to paint. Even ifyou do a superb job, it may not lookquite right. In these instances I paintthe entire area one color and apply alighter wash of the same color to high-

light the molded detail. Additionally, Iselect a different color pastel to fur-ther highlight these details. To createa good perception of depth and helpoffset the appearance that the cablingand tubing are molded into the plas-tic, add some additional piping andcabling painted a different color or amuch lighter shade of the color of theinterior area of the bay. You are try-ing for a three-dimensional effect, andadditional detail will go a long waytoward this.

If the landing gear doors have nodetail, you can add some sheet stockor strips. The doors of actual aircraftlanding gear have either a framingcovered with thin metal sheeting or asandwiched sheet with an outer skin

and an inner skin that has been drop-formed by a heavy press. Whetherthe aircraft doors have framing orinner sheeting, thin the doors for real-ism. If they have flat surfaces, runthem across a stationary piece ofsandpaper. If they are curved, use awooden dowel of the appropriatediameter with sandpaper wrappedaround it.

To add framing, draw the loca-tions of the strips onto the door. Besure the outer framing that followsthe perimeter of the door is slightlyoffset from the door's lip. Check yourdocumentation for the approximatedesign and duplicate it. It does nothave to be exact—you just need toapproximate the appearance.

Run a bead of super glue alongthe contact surface of the strip, andset it along one of the lines you'vedrawn. Plan your gluing so you canuse extra-long strips as much as pos-sible, since they can be cut to sizeonce the glue has set. After you haveplaced all the strips, paint the innerdoors the correct color and lightlyweather them using pencil pastelsand a flat brush.

If the doors have an inner sheet-ing, chances are there are circular orelongated perforations in it. Onactual aircraft these holes addstrength and reduce weight. Place thedoor onto the sheeting you want touse and trace the outline. If the doorsare curved, tape a piece of sheetingaround the same wood dowel youused to thin the part and trace. Thiswill give you the exact size. Next,draw the locations of any holes ontothe area you traced, using templatesand triangles. For any half-circles orcircles, select a template size that isthe same as a Waldron punch.Waldron's punch set can be used on1/24 to 1/72 scale doors. Althoughusing it might not give you the exactsize, no one will notice and it suremakes cutting easier.

Once you have the drawing setup on the outl ine, cut it out andpunch or cut out the holes. Run thenew part across some fine sandpaperto eliminate burrs and remove sand-ing fuzz from the holes. Place it onthe inner surface of the landing doorand run a bead of super glue along theperimeter of the combined parts. Besure the contact surfaces are clean.

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After the glue has dried, sand thesides smooth. The glue should haveseeped far enough along the contactsurface area between the parts tohold them tightly together. If a sec-tion bulges out, drill a small holethrough the surface of the innersheeting and place a drop of glue onthe hole. Once the glue is dry, run thesurface across sandpaper to smoothit. Paint the inside and then weatheras necessary.

The inside of landing gear doorsnever gets direct sunlight so paintdoes not fade, but these surfaces usu-ally have lubricants, fluids, and dirton them from the landing gear, so addthis type of weathering. Even modernjets suffer from dirty interiors.

A final note: Whether you aredrawing framing or location holes, setup the actual door on the sheet stockoutline to locate framing or holesaccurately. To do this, set your trian-gles as you did for making consoles.

The last details to add to landinggear doors are the door actuators.They can either be mechanical armdevices that act like hinges, orhydraulic actuators with extendingarms. For hinge-type actuators usestrip stock of various sizes to build upthe arms. Each door normally wouldhave at least one hinge-type actuator.If the actuators are hydraulic, theyare easy to make out of various sizeplastic tubing, plastic stock, or wire,depending on the scale.

For 1/24 and 1/32 scale kits youcan use hollow tubing and solid rod,while 1/48 and 1/72 scales require

Monogram packed a lot of detail into their 1/48 scale F9F Panther. Although extradetailing is not really needed, a careful paint job can highlight all the details, such asthe actuator arms. (Model by Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

small diameter plastic rod and wire.For large scale kits use hollow tubingfor the outer section and insert solidrod into the hollow tubing. If youhave to use solid rod and wire, drill apilot hole into the rod to give the wirea positive seating. You are trying toachieve an effect, and you may haveto sacrifice some realism and accu-racy when installing these parts.

LANDING GEARSTRUTS & WHEELS

The first step in detailing landinggear struts is to remove seam lines

and fill in ejection marks and dimples.If the strut has scissor-type framingthat extends outward around the oleo(shock absorber) and connects theupper and lower strut, check yourdocumentation to see if it is made ofsolid pieces of metal. Chances arethis scissor-type device, which isdesigned to add strength to the land-ing gear strut, is made of metal fram-ing. Draw the framing onto the solidsections and cut out the excess plas-tic. Start with a pilot hole, enlarge itwith a #11 X-Acto blade and shape itwith micro files.

The first step in removing small amounts of plastic is to drill apilot hole. The interior plastic will be removed so that a frameis formed.

Sometimes you just can't salvage landing gear parts and youhave to scratcnbuild them. A combination of wire and plasticrod has been added to this landing gear.

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Prepare the strut and any otherparts for painting, and mask the oleoportion of the strut. The oleo is theairplane's shock absorber. It pushesup into the strut and is usually a shinymetal, which can be represented withTester's Metalizer paints. I usuallyuse three shades of the same colorpaint for struts. Although thisrequires a lot of masking, the resultsare worth it. The area above the oleogets one shade, the area below theoleo gets the second, and any remain-ing parts, such as landing gear strutsupports, get the third. The tonesshould be subtle, but viewers shouldbe able to pick up detail on the land-ing gear through color differentiation.Mask the lower area when you paintthe upper strut area. Then let thepaint dry and reverse the process.

Additional landing gear strut piecescan be painted separately.

Once the struts and accessoriesare painted, remove the tape from theoleo area and mask the entire strut.Airbrush the oleo with Tester's alu-minum buff ing Metalizer. After thepaint is dry, use a Q-Tip to polish theMetalizer, then carefully remove thetape. Next, attach any additionalparts to the struts. To position theparts correctly, you may have to fitthe strut into its wing location andthen attach the parts to the strut.

Next, ident i fy how hydraulicbrake lines are attached to the land-ing gear strut. To make brake lines Iuse black plastic sprue stretched overa candle for flexible lines, and pianowire for stiff metal hydraulic lines,such as the ones on a B-25. The brake

The oleo on this 1/48 scale B-24 waspainted with Tester's metalizer paintsand polished with a Q-Tip. A coat ofclear gloss was added for an extra shine.(Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

lines usually terminate near the axleor somewhere on the backside of thewheel hub. I locate the terminationpoint, drill a small hole, place a smalldrop of Kristal Kleer or Elmer's whiteglue in the hole and insert the brakeline. If the brake line is flexible, bendthe end toward the strut after the gluehas dried so it follows the length ofthe strut. The majority of brake linesare attached to the landing gear strutswith thin flexible clamps like those onthe cooling hoses for your car's radia-tor. You can simulate them by using athin strip of masking tape laid overitself one time. There are usually twoor three of these clamps on eachstrut. I always work from the brakeline termination point up towards thetop of the strut so I can work out anyexcessive slack in the line. Apply asmall drop of super glue at the pointwhere the tape ends. Paint the tapewith Polly-S aluminum colored paint.

The last step is to add weather-ing and oil leaks. Dust the entire land-ing gear with a dark pastel color, andairbrush a coat of Polly-S clear flat toseal the pastel dust. Be careful not toget the clear flat finish onto the oleobecause it will dull the shiny appear-ance of the paint. Oleos usually havehydraulic fluid stains that start at thetop and streak downward. Simulatethis effect with Polly-S oil-colored

Hydraulic brake lines were added to Monogram's 1/32 scale F3F.

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(Right) Oleos leak hydraulic fluid, sodon't forget this subtle detail. Thinnedwater-base paints work best for this.

(Center) For spokes that are clean anduniform, clean the excess plastic fromthe inside of the wheel.

paint applied with a small brush.Finally, position and glue the land-ing gear struts into place withoutthe wheels.

Most main landing gear wheelsdon't have solid wheel hubs, but kitmanufacturers are forever moldingsolid wheel hubs with indented spokedetail or molding round or oblongindentations. You'll need to removethe plastic between the spokes.

Begin by drilling a starter hole inthe area to be removed and enlarge itwith a #11 X-Acto blade. The raisedplastic that represents the spokes willguide your blade, but be careful not togouge these areas. Use micro files toshape the outline of the hollow areaand smooth out the sides. These filesare especially helpful for the curvedportions of the hollow area. After youhave finished removing the plastic,clean off the excess on the inside ofthe wheel.

For hubs with round indenta-tions use a drill bit of the same diame-ter as the indentation. Since theplastic is usually thick, deepen theindentations with a drill bit and pinvise and finish drilling with a motortool. Oblong holes are a little harder,and if you're working in 1/48 orsmaller, just drill them out with a bitthat will cover the oblong shape.

For 1/32 scale kits you can getthe oblong shape using a combinationof drill bits, cutters, and micro files.First, punch an indentation in the cen-ter for positive seating and drill out asmuch of the plastic as possible with abit that will touch the narrow dis-tance of the oblong shape. This willleave small portions of plastic on bothsides which can be removed with amicro file. Install the motor tool in adrill press; then you can control thecutting action by moving the wheelalong the base of the drill press.

You can deal with odd-shaped areas bystarting a pilot hole and then enlarging it.

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(Left) The completed wheel, primed andready to paint, is a far cry from the stockpart supplied by the manufacturer.

(Center) The spoked wheels on this 1/32scale Corsair add another element ofrealism to the overall effect of the model,thanks to a small investment in drill bitsand micro files.

Once you have completed bothsides of a wheel, sand the gluing sur-faces smooth by sliding the part alongsandpaper; then glue them together.When you glue, be sure the spokes orholes on both wheel halves match soyou can see through the hub.

After the glue has dried, scrapethe seam with a #11 X-Acto blade andsand smooth. Check your work bypainting the area with silver paint. Ifyou find any cracks, apply super glueand sand smooth. Unfortunately,doing this also removes any treaddetail the manufacturer may have pro-vided along the seam line, but it canbe replaced. Place the wheel in a visebetween two pieces of balsa wood toprotect the plastic and take a thinrazor saw or jeweler's saw and cut thetread detail back into the wheel.

For 1/32 scale and larger kits, useeither the razor saw or the jeweler'ssaw, but for 1/48 scale and smalleruse the jeweler's saw. Replacing orcutting new tread is slow work, andyou must rotate the wheel continuallyin the vise.

Be careful to match the treadpatterns. Because the new tread willbe deeper, use the existing tread as aguide. Cut these areas deeper tomatch. When you are done, removethe wheel and sand with 600 grit sand-paper to remove plastic burrs.

Apply a coat of primer to theentire wheel. After it dries, mask therim. Don't paint the rim blackbecause you will have a hard timecovering it, especially with a lightcolor. Next, take a round toothpick ora .5mm lead pencil and run the tiparound the edge of the rim where itmeets the tire. The tape will stick to

This tire would look pretty strange withthe center section of tread missing.Jeweler's saws are excellent tools forreplacing tread detail.

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(Right) When replacing tread detail, makesure the lines match and the depth of thecuts are uniform.

(Center) To get sharp lines between therim and the tire, place a section of mask-Ing tape over the rim and push the tapedown along the rim with a toothpick.

the rim and define where tire meetsrim. Carefully run a #11 X-Acto bladealong the base of the rim using therim as a guide. It is important that theblade runs along the base of the rimwhere it meets the tire. Removeexcess tape and run the toothpickaround the rim again to ensure thatthe tape is sticking. Repeat the proce-dure for the other side and airbrushthe tire with f la t black with somewhite mixed in for a dark gray.

After the paint has dried, removethe tape and mask the side of thewheel, but be sure it overlaps the tire.Again, trace the rim with a roundtoothpick or .5mm lead pencil, andcut it around the base of the rim.This time remove the tape that coversthe rim and run the toothpick aroundthe remaining tape one more time toensure that it is sticking. Repeat theprocedure for the other side. Coverany areas of the tire that aren'tmasked. Paint the hub the requiredcolor, let dry, and carefully removethe tape. Look for a fine demarcationline between tire and rim. Since youpainted the lighter color last, if anypaint bled over it will be the lighteronto the darker, which can be fixedeasily with a detail brush. To add atouch of dirt to the hubs, apply adusting of black pastel with a softbrush, then airbrush a coat of clearflat to seal.

After you have finished the tires,scrape the paint off the strut axlesand position the tires on the axles.Once you have a proper alignment,carefully turn the model over andplace a drop of super glue on the con-tact surface between the strut axleand the wheel rim.

The last step is to flatten eachtire slightly so it appears to be sup-porting weight. I use an iron for this.

Once the tape is in place, run a pencilaround the edge of the rim for a cut line.

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Tires can be given a bulged or flattenedappearance by placing them onto a hotiron, but this effect needs to be very sub-tle. Don't leave the plastic on the irontoo long, or you will end up with a flattire instead of one that appears to besupporting the weight of the aircraft.

To prevent the plastic from sticking tothe iron put a small piece of butcher'swaxed paper between the tire and theiron. The waxed side of the papershould be touching the plastic. Laythe iron next to the side of your work-bench so the side is flush with thebench. Position the model, one wheelat a time, onto the iron and watch thewheel as it begins to soften and loseits round shape. Putting some pres-sure on the wing area directly abovethe landing gear helps the wheelbulge out, but be very careful not tolet it flatten too far or it will look like ablown-out tire. Don't forget to flattenthe tail wheel.

If you don't have sharp lines between the rim and the tire you will ruin the realism, sobe careful when painting. The landing gear on this 1/32 scale P-51 also has weather-ing, which can sometimes hide minor flaws.

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Hollowing out the kit-supplied guns on Hasegawa's 1/32 scale P-51 adds another levelof realistic detail.

Gunsight rings, f ront sight posts,ammo belts, and hollowed out gunsadd considerable realism to yourmodels. Even if you do nothing buthollow out the gun, you will achievean appreciable level of detail.Biplanes are one of my favorite mod-eling subjects; the flying wires andexterior control cables add an extradimension and challenge. In addition,the biplanes of the golden age of avia-tion—the mid '20s to late '30s—hadbeautiful color schemes. Modelingthese aircraft requires some specificconstruction techniques, especiallywhen adding flying wires and con-trol cables.

GUNSThe single most important detail

you can add to guns is to hollow themout. Since these parts can becomefragile after drilling, especially in thesmaller scales, do all cleaning, scrap-ing, and sanding before drilling. Don'tpaint the parts, though, until you havefinished drilling, to avoid marring thepaint finish. When you drill, be surethe surface in contact with the drillbit—in this case, the tip of the gun—issmooth and flat, so the bit will notskew off to one side.

Match the drill bit with the diam-eter of the part. Start with a small bit

and work up to the diameter youwant. Progressively increase the bitsize until you have the desired open-ing and depth. If you use too large abit, the plastic wall that is formed asyou drill may become too thin andcollapse or fracture.

Place the part between twostrips of balsa wood with about :/2inch (12.7 mm) of the gun barrel pro-truding from the wood. Press thestrips together, place in the vise, andtighten just enough to prevent slip-page. By pressing the balsa stripstogether you will push the ridges ofthe gun into the balsa, which will pre-vent it from moving.

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If you can't use the kit-supplied guns, replace them with hollow plastic or metal rod.These guns on Monogram's 1/48 scale Panther are made of brass tubing painted withTester's Metalizer. (Model by Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

(Left) On small scale models the contactsurface for the drill bit is small, so useyour drill press and vise to steady yourdrilling.

(Center) For large scale kits you can dis-card the vise and hollow out the part bypunching it up to the drill bit.

Place the vise onto the drill pressbase and raise it to the motor tooluntil the bit and plastic are next toone another. This will allow you toadjust the part so it is straight andparallel with the drill bit.

Adjust the height of the motortool above the vise. Ideally it shouldbe adjusted so the bit will drill Me to1A inch (1.6 to 3.2 mm) into the plas-tic. Center the bit onto the plasticpart. To ensure that the bit and partare centered, turn on the motor toolat its lowest speed and carefully drilla slight indentation into the part justdeep enough to see. If it appears tobe off-center, adjust the position ofthe vise and repeat.

Once the bit is centered, set themotor tool at its lowest speed. Don'tlet the bit come in contact with theplastic for more than a few seconds ata time. Apply slight, steady pressure.If you push too hard and try to finishthe job all at once you will melt theplastic and ruin the part. You mayfind that during drilling a thin layer ofmelted plastic has covered the tip ofthe drill bit. It can be easily removedwith a knife, but it is an indicationthat you are drilling too fast.

Another technique is to set upthe motor tool in the drill press andhollow out the part by holding it withboth hands and feeding the part up tothe drill bit. This works well on 1/32scale gun barrels. If you drill off toone side, you can correct the problemby installing a drill bit in a pin viseand drilling at an angle. The shaft ofthe bit must touch the thicker side; asyou turn the bit the plastic will beshaved off. You can also use the tipof a #11 X-Acto blade to removeexcess plastic, and use a bit in a pinvise to clean up the hollow area.

You can also hollow out the shellejection ports on fighter planes. Mostfighter plane kits have pronouncedindentations in the lower wings forthese ports, but they are not hollow.

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(Right) To hollow out shell ejection ports,drill starter holes into the plastic. Besure to protect the surrounding wingarea with masking tape in case you slip.

(Center) Once you enlarge the holes, usemicro files to remove the remaining plas-tic and shape the openings.

Drill a starter hole and enlarge it witha #11 X-Acto blade. The molded plas-tic sides of the ports will provide aguide for the knife blade, but be care-ful not to damage these areas. Oncethe holes are enlarged, you can useyour micro fi les to remove theremaining plastic.

For guns on bombers, I recom-mend adding gunsight rings and frontsight aiming posts to the guns. ModelTechnologies makes excellent gun-sight rings which are easy to installwith a small drop of super glue. Frontsight aiming posts can be made fromstretched sprue. Ammo belts for thesingle guns in the nose or along thefuselage of a bomber can be added byusing the 1/48 scale gun belts fromMonogram's Huey Hog kit. Becausethey are in a double row, the kit'sammo belts must be split in half.Given some additional scraping,shaping, and painting, they make afine addition.

Another detail is to attach themiddle of some thin clear stretchedsprue to the back of each gun andattach both ends to the interior wallof the bomber. This represents thebungee cord that held the guns sta-tionary and helped support some ofthe weight. If you are planning toexpose the gun bay areas of fighterplanes with guns in their wings, addgun trigger cables to each, as well ascable sensors for counting the num-ber of rounds remaining. The gunlocations on aircraft kits such asHasegawa's 1/32 scale F6F Hellcat orP51 also beg for added detail such aswiring and gun trigger cables.

When you are ready to paint, useTester's buffing Metalizer gun metal.Spray on two coats and polish with aQ-Tip. The cotton tip will polish only

On this 1/48 scale B-24 machine gun thefront sight post is made from stretchedsprue. (Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

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Gunpowder marks streak the wings of fighter planes and can range from subtle dis-colorations to heavy stains. The best way to replicate these is with diluted water-based paints applied with an airbrush.

Fighter aircraft that operated from dirt fields usually had covers over their gun portsto protect them from dust and dirt which could jam the guns. Small cuts of maskingtape make excellent covers.

the larger raised surface areas, result-ing in a two-tone appearance. Thiswill also highlight the cooling holedetail along the gun barrel. Ammobelts need two separate colors—theshells were brass and the bullets werea dull bronze. Metal ammo drumswere usually flat black, gray, or inte-rior green, while those found on B-17swere wood. Be sure to add weather-ing to the interior areas where gunsare located. These areas had stainsfrom gun lubricant and cleaning sol-vent, as well as gunpowder.

BIPLANE FLYING WIRES &CONTROL CABLES

Biplanes require special con-struction techniques because you aredealing with multiple wing levels andwing struts that must be properlypositioned. Many biplane kits have fitproblems with the struts and theupper wing; the best way to detectthis is to assemble the wings andstruts with masking tape to see howthey fit and how they are positioned.I usually build the fuselage and attachthe lower wings first. Next I build theupper wing, and finally set the strutsand upper wing with masking tape. Inmost instances you can solve a posi-tioning problem by moving the upperwing, but doing so may also affect thestruts. Both wings must be posi-tioned correctly with respect to thefuselage. For this reason I recom-mend that you use masking tape toget set up correctly before you gluethe struts and the upper wing.

Photoetched parts for World War I guns, available from IPMS,are worth the investment. The back half of this 1/28 scale gunwas used instead of scratchbuilding the entire rear assembly.

The fully assembled machine gun, complete with its barrel andsights, is now ready for a good coat of Tester's Metalizer paint.

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Biplanes need special attention, espe-cially when you are checking the fit ofthe wings and struts. This biplane is get-ting an initial fit check to ensure that thewings will sit correctly.

Another good reason to attachthe struts and upper wing with mask-ing tape is to examine how to installthe flying wires. Once the wings andstruts are glued, especially on 1/48and 1/72 scale kits, there is not a lotof room to work between them; it's agood idea to see how tough it's goingto be to get flying wires installed inareas such as between the fuselageand upper wing. In addition, if themanufacturer did not mark locationswhere flying wires need to be, you willhave to do it.

To do this, coordinate the lowerand upper wing termination points forthe flying wires. This can only bedone with the wings set up in theircorrect locations. Most 1/32 scalekits have the flying wire locationsmarked or have holes in the wingsand fuselage. Even so, it's a good ideato check your documentation.

If you have no documentationyou can still install flying wires follow-ing these general guidelines: The fly-ing wires on the struts from thefuselage to the upper wing are usuallycrisscrossed. The flying wires arealways crisscrossed parallel to thefuselage, and sometimes perpendicu-lar to it. Normally, two sets of flyingwires connect the upper and lowerwings on both sides of the fuselage,and two wires make up each set. Oneset usually runs from the forward parton the lower wing near the fuselageand terminates at the outer section ofthe forward end of the upper wing.The second set starts from the for-ward end of the outboard area of thelower wing and terminates at the mid-section or outboard end of the upperwing close to the fuselage. These twosets of wires can't be located alongthe same line or they will be bentaround one another, so be carefulhow you locate them. Use dividersto set the distances between pairsof wires.

Some manufacturers set up theirmodels to accept thread as the flyingwire rigging; there are tabs where thewires go. A good example of this is

When you are ready to attach struts to the wings, tape the parts together, position thewings and struts, and glue them in place with super glue applied with a thin wireapplicator.

Once the struts are glued in place, it's easier to work with the subassemblies andthen reassemble the wings.

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Elmer's glue makes excellent filler for wing struts, especially if there are large voidsto fill.

Monogram's F3F Grumman Gulfhawk,which has both tabs and holes. Thebest thing to do in this case is removethe tabs and use the holes for the fly-ing wires. Don't use thread for anyapplications; it collects dust, which isjust about impossible to remove.

When you are ready to assemblethe struts and upper wing, first paintthe fuselage and lower wing, then gluethem together. Paint the struts andupper wing separately and thenattach them. Keeping the upper wingand the struts separate will allow aquality paint finish, since airbrushingthe underside of the wing and interiorstruts after they are attached is diffi-cult. This useful technique creates aproblem if you are building a triplane,

however. Keeping the mid and upperwings separate until after you paintthe fuselage and lower wing assemblymeans that you will have to do somegood fit work on the mid wing—youwill not be able to do any filling andsanding after it is attached.

When you are ready to assemblethe struts and the upper wing, posi-tion all the parts with masking tape.Remove paint from the gluing sur-faces of the strut attachment pointson the wings and the tips of thestruts. When the wings and struts arepositioned, apply a drop of super glueto the lower strut locations with thinwire. When the glue dries, turn themodel over and do the upper strutlocations. Be careful not to let glue

If the kit has no locations for flying wire,you can add them without much effort.The addition of flying wires on Glenco'sGrumman Duck really help make this oldkit worth the building time.

bleed onto the wing surfaces—youonly need a small amount at eachlocation. To fill the voids where thestruts attach to the wings use Elmer'sglue or Kristal Kleer as fi l ler and atoothpick as an applicator. Paint thefiller the same color as the wing.

Now you can add flying wires.The best material for flying wires isreal wire. Most hobby stores carrythree-foot (1m) sections of piano wire.You can also order stainless steelwire from Small Parts Inc. or use thinspool wire. For 1/32 scale kits I rec-ommend gauge 74 to gauge 77; for1/48 and 1/72 scale, gauge 77 to gauge79. Piano wire or the stainless wire isideal for all scales because it is stiffand will not sag. For 1/48 scale andsmaller, use spool wire if the lengthsof the flying wires are no more than 3or 4 inches (76.2 to 101.6 mm). Spoolwire is easy to straighten, but it is notstiff , and lengths of more-than fourinches tend to sag. If you use it, sim-ply stretch a length by holding theends with pliers and pulling in oppo-site directions. You will see the wirestraighten and feel it stretch slightly.

Use dividers to measure the dis-tance between the end points of theflying wire. Be sure to add approxi-mately !/s inch (3.2 mm) so you willnever cut the initial length too short.Next, form-fit the wire into its loca-tion. If it is too big, cut a small lengthoff the end of the wire, test fit it, andcut again. I usually get the correct fiton the third or fourth try. The wireshould be straight, so check yourwork. If you are not careful you canget a slight bow that may not becomeapparent until you install the otherwires. Test-fi t t ing f ly ing wires istedious, and as you add wires it getseven more so because you have towork around those already installed.

I recommend installing wires asyou cut them to their proper length.In most instances, once you cut a wireto its correct length and install it, itwill not fall out if you have a tight fit.If you are working with pairs of wires,installing both before you glue them

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Use a pair of dividers to measure the approximate length offlying wires.

Once you know the correct length, measure a piece of wire, addabout 1/8 inch (3.175mm) just to be sure, then cut.

keeps you from mixing up the corre-sponding holes—which is easy to doif the wires are close to one another.Use Elmer's white glue on all wires.

A f ina l note: If you are usingpiano wire you will need to sand it toremove surface rust and then paint it.Don't use water-base paints on wirebecause the paint's carrier, water, willcause the wire to oxidize and dis-color. Stainless steel wire does notneed to be painted because it doesnot rust.

CONTROL CABLESControl cables were exposed on

many biplanes, but as aircraft designsimproved, aileron and elevator con-trol cables were incorporated into thewings and fuselage. As with flyingwires, sometimes kit manufacturerslocate holes where control cablesemerge and sometimes they don't.Revell did an excellent job providingthese holes on their 1/28 scale biplanekits and in supplying control horns(external appendages on a controlsurface that the cables attach to) forthe control surfaces. The old 1/48scale Aurora kits, which Monogramhas recently reissued, had controlhorns on the control surfaces but nolocations for control cables on the

Set each wire in place and let the gluedry before doing the next one. Thismeans a long assembly process, butdoing it ensures that you won't knock awire out of position before it has achance to dry.

Sometimes you have to bend the end of a wire to get it to sit correctly in its location;otherwise the wire may have a slight bow in it.

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Hasegawa's 1/32 scale Peashooter haspre-drilled holes for flying wires.Because of the unusual wire configura-tion, this model makes an excellent dis-play piece.

fuselage or wings. Matchbox suppliedcontrol horns for the tail surfaces onits 1/32 scale Tigermoth, but no holelocations on the fuselage.

If there are no holes in the fuse-lage for the tail surface control cables,mark them by checking your docu-mentation and dril l them into thefuselage. After you start the hole,angle it in the direction of its attach-ment on the rudder or the elevator.This way the cable will appear angledcorrectly as it emerges from the fuse-lage. Be sure the holes on both sidesof the fuselage are symmetric.

For control cable material I usestretched clear sprue because itresponds well to heat. The exactthickness you need depends on howsuccessful you are at stretching theplastic, so use your best judgment. Ifthe thickness looks good, use it.When I am ready to install thestretched sprue, I thread the wirethrough the holes in the fuselage andpull it so there are equal lengths onboth sides. Glue one side of thestretched sprue to the correspondingcontrol horn using a drop of Elmer'sglue. After it dries, pull the other endtight and glue. If you are building a1/32 scale kit, notch the tops of thecontrol horns so the stretched spruewill ride in the notch. This makes iteasy to hold the sprue taut, since youcan pull it past the control horn andtape it to your workbench.

On smaller scale models you willhave to glue the sprue as best you canand use the blown-out match trick toget it taut. Light a wooden match,blow it out, and quickly position thetip about 1Л inch (12.7 mm) below thesprue. The hot smoke from the match

(Left, center) When attaching controlcables, you can use masking tape tohold them while the glue dries.

(Bottom) Once the glue dries, cut thesprue and apply a small drop of Elmer'sto hide the cut tip. After the glue is dry,paint it to blend in with the control horn.

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If you have a problem positioning thecontrol cable on top of the control horn,notch the tip so the sprue will ride inthe notch.

will cause the plastic to tighten. Becareful not to melt or distort the plas-tic, which is easy to do if you get tooclose with the match.

If the model has no control hornsyou can make them from plasticstock, but be sure to locate them onboth sides of the rudder and aileronsat the same locations. The edges andthe tops of control horns should betapered; on 1/48 scale and 1/72 scaleyou can use small plastic rod to simu-late them. Remember that controlcables for ailerons emerged from theupper and lower surface of the wing.Elevators had four control cablesemerging from the fuselage (two perside), and rudders had two cablesemerging from the fuselage (one perside). After you have installed all con-trol cables, add a touch of paint to thetops of the control horns so the cabletips and Elmer's glue can't be seen.

ANTENNA WIRESAll propeller-driven aircraft had

some type of wire antenna extendingfrom a vertical antenna to the tail.These antennas also served asreceivers for radio direction equip-ment, so even if the aircraft did nothave a radio, it may still have hadsome direction-finding gear. WW I-eraplanes did not have radios or elec-tronic gear, so don't add any antennasto these models. On the other hand,jet aircraft have no external antennalines or cables because of the speedof the aircraft.

Make antenna wires from clearsprue, stretched and installed thesame way as control cables. You mayhave to drill a hole into the upperarea of the leading edge of the rudderor in the fuselage and wings, as is the

The secondary antenna (vertical wire) onthis Corsair was positioned by gluing itto the fuselage first, then taping theupper end to an adjustable lamp posi-tioned so the stretched sprue lengthstouched. This technique ensured thatboth the horizontal and vertical antennawires would be taut.

Cable-type antennas are attached just like control cables, except that you are usuallynot working in confined areas.

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Modern antennas are usually small protrusions or small squareor rectangular shapes. The multiple antenna arrays onTester's 1/72 scale Douglas B-66B, which was converted to anEB-66E, were made from thin sheet stock. (Model by MajorBilly Crisler, USAF.)

Another nice touch is to remove the molded-on detail for trimtabs and add the control cables and horns. The tail surface ofRevell's 1/32 scale Corsair looks much better with these detailsadded.

case with the B-17 Flying Fortress andthe P-40 Warhawk.

Start from one location, applythe Elmer's glue, let it dry, and gluethe other end. It is a lot harder to getthe sprue taut during gluing, so get itas t ight as possible and use theblown-out match trick. This will onlywork on stretched sprue of smalldiameter—on thicker lengths the plas-

tic will distort or melt. You have todevelop a feel for stretching sprue; Irecommend that you practice andkeep your successful practice runs forfuture projects.

On modern jets, antennas usuallylook like small, thin squares, rectan-gles, or large bumps on the fuselage.Thin sheets of stock cut to size usingsquare or rectangular templates are

all you will need for these. The trickis to attach them straight—this isespecially critical if you have a seriesof them. To create bumps, use scrapstock and shape with sandpaper.Attach both the square or rectangularand bump-type antenna with superglue and paint wherever plastic spruetouches either a vertical antenna orthe model.

Although Matchbox supplies control horns for its 1/32 scaleTigermoth, you have to drill the holes in the fuselage. The con-trol cables are clear sprue, and they are attached to the controlhorns with Elmer's white glue.

A detail that modelers sometimes miss is adding the controlcables to the rudder pedals and the control stick.

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CHAPTER SIXREMOVING &

REATTACHING PARTS

Removing and reattaching control surfaces adds realism to Hasegawa's 1/48 scale Zero.(Model by Major Billy Crisler, USAF.)

The overall appearance of model air-craft can be greatly enhanced byremoving and reattaching control sur-faces, flaps, hatches, and access pan-els. Real aircraft—especially militaryaircraft—are in constant use and arecontinually being cleaned, serviced,and repaired. They are seldom foundwith all control surfaces in the neutralposition, flaps retracted, all hatchesclosed, and access panels attached.

Removing parts, especially thecontrol surfaces, is time-consuming.It takes a lot of finishing work to getthem just right. Filling in voids cre-ated by cutting out the parts, addinginterior detail, replacing hinges, and

fixing spacing problems all take time,but if you follow the techniques pre-sented here and build on them as yougain experience, you will soon findyourself cutting out parts on almostevery model you build.

CONTROL SURFACESThe difficulty of removing and

reattaching ailerons, rudders, and ele-vators depends on the scale of themodel, how it's constructed, andwhether you will cut through oraround the hinges. Before you try toremove control surfaces, review docu-mentation to see how much spacingthere is between the control surfaces

and wings. Also note their positioningand how much movement they have.Typically, elevators and rudders havepronounced movement on most air-craft , while the design of aileronsvaries greatly.

Plan how you are going toremove parts. On most aircraft thespacing between control surfaces andwing attachment locations is small, soremove as little plastic as possible.Control surfaces on large scale air-craft usually require much more workthan smaller scale kits, because onlarge scale kits hinges are largeenough to be noticed if they are miss-ing. On kits 1/72 scale and smaller

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(Left) Reproducing the hinge detail onHasegawa's 1/32 scale Peashooter waseasy, thanks to Evergreen's selection ofvarious sizes of plastic strips.

(Center) The elevator control surfaces onMonogram's B-25 were cut out with ascriber and thin razor saw. Large hingesare best left alone, while smaller onescan be easily replaced.

they are so small that replacing themmay not be necessary.

Start by removing the rudder,then the elevators, and finally theailerons. Don't remove them all atonce, as the amount of work requiredto refinish all the parts may seemoverwhelming. If you mark the con-trol surfaces as you remove them youwill know which aileron or elevatorgoes with what wing. When removingcontrol surfaces, glue the halvestogether first to ensure that wings,fuselage areas, and control surfaceshave the correct contours.

Control surfaces are almostalways engraved, which makes themeasy to cut out—the channels formedby engraving makes scribing and cut-ting easy. The tools of choice are ascriber, scribing needle, razor saw,and a jeweler's saw. Before cutting,protect the surrounding plastic withone or two layers of masking tape.

For control surfaces, check thehinges to see if it will be easier to cutthrough or around them. If they arethin and short and don't protrude intothe control surface very far , cutthrough them. This makes scribingeasier because you are not cuttingaround small details. If you cutthrough the hinges, use a straightedgeas a guide for the first few runs. Onceyou match the engraving depth youcan cut along the entire length.

If the hinges are long, like thoseon the rudder of a 1/48 scale B-29, youmay want to cut around them. If youcut through them and glue on a newhinge, you must treat it carefully,especially if you have to sand, scrape,or file it. A long piece of plastic with asmall area for gluing tends to snap off.

Even a simple scribing needle canremove control surfaces. To achieveclean cuts, be sure the tip is sharp.

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Hold the scriber firmly and main-tain positive control. It's easy to runpast the engraved channel and gougethe surrounding plastic. You mayhave to vary the angle between thescriber and the surface of the plasticto prevent it from binding. If you areusing a scribing needle, make sure it'ssharp, hold the tool at approximately45 degrees to the surface of the plas-tic, and move it in one direction alongthe engraved channel. If you aregoing to cut through hinges, use ascriber. If you're cutting aroundhinges, stick with a scribing needle.The scribing needle takes longer tocut through plastic and requires morecleanup, but it works better aroundsharp corners.

During the first few passes, thescribing tool may stop and start untilit cuts into the plastic. Run it alongchannels in one direction. When thechannels are deep enough (a matterof judgment) work the corners anddeepen them unti l the tool runssmoothly as it changes direction. Asyou get closer to cutting through theplastic, it will turn white along thescribing line.

The depth of the scribing linewon't be uniform, and the tip maycompletely cut through sections,causing the scribing tool to bind.When this happens, reduce the pres-sure and decrease the angle betweenthe tool and the surface. Cut throughthe plastic on one side only, then turnit over and repeat the process on theopposite side.

While you would probably dothis as a matter of course with 1/32and 1/48 scale kits, there is a tempta-tion to cut all the way through fromone side with 1/72 scale kits. Avoiddoing so, because the engravings forcontrol surfaces are sometimes notlined up exactly on the upper andlower wings. While this can easily becorrected with strip stock after youcomplete the cuts, it is difficult ifsome of the control surface as well asthe engraved channel is still attachedto one side of the wing area, which iswhat might happen if you cut all theway through from one side.

Don't try to snap the plastic oncontrol surfaces because the plasticaround hinges won't give as easily asa straight line would. Snapping thepart may break the hinges. It can also

Cutting all the way through the thick rudder as well as around the hinges on this 1/48scale part wasn't difficult, but it did take some time.

A razor saw cut through the end of this control surface while the scriber did the rest.Once the parts were separated, an X-Acto knife was used to clean the excess plasticfrom the newly cut edges.

cause edges to be angled, whichmeans additional work when partsdon't fit back into their locations.

Razor saws or jeweler's saws canbe used for cutting short lengths suchas the ends of control surfaces or thesides of control tabs. To ensure thatthe saw blade does not migrate awayfrom the intended cut line, scribe a

deep channel for it to follow. I havehad some bad experiences using ajeweler's saw to cut long lengths, so Irecommend confining it to small jobs.

Trim tabs, which are really smallcontrol surfaces attached to largercontrol surfaces, usually need out-lines engraved deeper to stand outmore. Cut through the sides of trim

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The top and bottom areas of this trim tab were cut with ajeweler's saw. The scribed detail was deepened, so the tabcould be bent.

The finished tail surface on this Monogram's 1/48 scale B-25Jclearly shows how repositioning control tabs adds anotherlevel of realism to a model.

I deepened the control tab engravings on Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair instead of cut-ting the ends through. With the addition of control horns and cables, the control tabslook like they are ready to move at any moment.

tabs with a razor saw or a jeweler'ssaw, but don't remove them; the trimtab can be easily bent into a morerealistic up/down or left/right posi-tion after the engraving along thelength of the control tab is deepened.Be sure to deepen the engraving onboth sides. Many manufac turersmold control surface cables for thecontrol tabs onto the wing. To addrealism, remove the molded-on detail,drill a hole into the wing where thecable emerges, and add a small stubon the control horn made from stripstock. Slip thin electronics wire intothe hole in the wing and attach it tothe stub with Elmer's glue.

SPACING PROBLEMS WITHCONTROL SURFACESAfter cutting out the control sur-

faces, clean up the cut lines andremove excess plastic. Check the fitbetween the wing and control surfaceand especially between hinges andhinge openings. You will find spacingat these locations that must be filled,particularly at hinges. The spacesresulted when plastic was removedby scribing and cutting. If the engrav-ing lines on the upper and lower wing

If the aileron control surface onMonogram's 1/48 scale B-25 had beencompletely cut through from the top ofthe wing, a section of the lower controlsurface would still be attached to thewing and would make repairs difficult.The solution on this wing was easybecause the aileron was cut throughfrom both sides.

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surfaces were not lined up, add stripstock to even out the opening on oneside while removing plastic on theother. I usually add the strip stock tothe wing and then run the controlsurface across sandpaper to even upthe edges.

Spacing problems between con-trol surfaces and wings can also be aproblem with kits that supply sepa-rate control surfaces. Kits such asRevell's 1/32 scale Spitfire and P-40Warhawk and Matchbox's 1/32 scaleBf 109 have such problems; they canbe easily fixed the same way.

Control surfaces should f i tsnugly. There should be no spacebetween hinges and hinge openings,little spacing along the leading edge ofthe control surface and the wing, andno space on the ends. In most casesthe spacing can be easily filled. Usestrip stock if the spacing is along thelength of the control surface, andsheeting if it is along a hinge or at theends of the control panel.

To determine what size plasticstrip or sheeting you need, positionthe control surface and secure it withtape. Start adding pieces of plasticwhere a space must be f i l led .Normally you can find strip stock orsheeting close to the size you need. Itis always easier to use a larger sizeand sand it down than to build up thearea. It may be necessary to stackseveral thicknesses to get the correctsize, and sometimes you will have tosand it down after you attach it.

Don't try to get all the spacingresolved at once. It's too easy to mixthings up. Start by getting the posi-tioning of the control surface correct

Revell's 1/32 scale P-40 is a good kit, but there are spacing problems on the alreadydetached control surfaces. They can easily be fixed with some Evergreen sheet stockand super glue.

Sheet stock was added to the ends of the ailerons on Monogram's 1/32 scale F3F fora tight fit.

It's easier to work with oversized sheet stock than to try to measure and cut an exact size.

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Fixing the spacing problems on small parts with hinges might seem overwhelming atfirst, but if you take it a step at a time, it's no big deal.

The vertical stabilizer on this Corsair has been completed and silver paint was usedto detect cracks or flaws. Super glue will be added to any problem areas and aftersanding the paint will be removed with Polly-S paint and decal remover.

by adding plastic sheeting to theends. Then you can set the controlsurface into place without having totape each time. For a rudder, do thebottom and uppermost hinge contactsurface area so it will stay in place.

Once the ends are complete andpositioning is correct, add strip stockto the edge of the wing to reduce spac-ing, then start on hinges or hingeopenings. If the openings are uniformit really doesn't matter where you addsheeting. The sheets for the hingeswill be small, which makes applyingthem a tedious process, especially ifyou must add plastic to the front ofthe hinge.

In most cases it's easier to glue apiece of oversized sheeting to its loca-tion and form-fit it. Attach all sheetingwith white tube super glue appliedwith the thin wire applicator. Afterthe glue dries and you have cut andsanded the plastic sheet to shape, runa bead of glue around the edge.Although you will have to sand again,applying the second coat will ensurethat the sheeting is completelyblended in with the plastic and that nocracks remain. Attaching the sheetingbecomes almost intuitive as you gainexperience. You will soon be able tojudge a part and determine the bestand easiest location for placement ofthe plastic and be able to control theappearance of hinges and hinge open-ings. After you have fixed all the spac-ing problems, apply silver paint todetect flaws. If you find problems,simply add super glue and refinish.

FILLING VOIDSWhenever you remove a control

surface you will have a void in thewing and the control surface thatmust be f i l led or covered. Areaswhere hinges are located shouldalready be covered, but you still needto do something along the length ofthe opening on the wing and along thecontrol surface. When you removecontrol surfaces you weaken the wingand the plastic may sag along the cen-ter of the area where the part was

If you have to use putty as a filler, placea plastic wedge inside the part. Thisgives the part extra strength, preventsthe surface from flexing, and preservesthe shape.

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removed. Filling these voids addsstrength and prevents sagging. Thereare several options for filling voids,including using plastic strip stock,plastic sheeting, thick gel super glue,or two-part resin. The type of fillerwill depend on the scale of the modeland the depth and size of the opening.

If you are working with a 1/72scale kit you can cover the voids onthe wing and control surface withsmall strip stock or thin sheeting. Ifyou use strip stock you will have toform-fit the lengths into place. If youare using sheeting you can cut anapproximate length, glue it in place,and cut and sand to the correctshape. Be careful not to ruin theshape of the hinge on the wing or thehinge opening on the control surface.Always use super glue to attach theplastic and fill in any cracks.

To fill in the interior area of the•wing or control surface to give thearea some extra strength, squeezethick gel super glue into the void andadd accelerator. The quick gel willappear to defy gravity. I have hadgood success applying it over anopening as large as '/§ inch (31.8 mm).Use a flat-t ipped X-Acto blade tosmooth out the glue before addingthe accelerator.

If you are working with 1/32 scalekits, fill the control surface voids andtail surfaces with two-part resin. Two-part resin fills voids completely andeasily and adds strength. With 1/32scale parts the seams on control andtail surfaces will crack as you sand,scrape, and shape them because theparts are big and the contact surfacesthat hold them together are small.Resih prevents this from happening.

/To apply it, be sure the seamsare sealed and mask along the edge ofthe opening, covering the entire sur-face of the part. This will preventoverflow resin from sticking to thesurface. Mask the part between twopieces of balsa wood. Be sure it islevel so resin will not flow out oneside. The wood will act as the standwhile you pour the resin. The plasticwill get hot as the resin cures; you canreduce the heat by applying a smallice pack to the sides of the plastic.The resin will not stick to the plasticwell, and if you were to break the con-trol surface in two you would have aperfect casting of its interior. If the

Plastic strip stock makes an excellent filler in areas where there are no protrusionslike hinges.

Duro's Quick Gel super glue makes an excellent filler and the glue can be sanded andshaped. The white coloring on the glue is caused by the accelerator.

This control surface was filled with two-part casting resin. Masking tape preventsspillover resin from attaching to the plastic. Resin is the best filler because it addsweight and increases strength in hollow parts, especially on 1/24 and 1/32 scale kits.

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(Left) The resin on this part has beensanded and shaped by running it acrossa stationary piece of sandpaper. To pro-tect the surface detail on the part, coverit with masking tape.

(Center) Oversized sheet stock can betrimmed down to its approximate sizewith a #11 X-Acto blade and then sandedand shaped.

opening is large I sometimes insert apiece of strip stock in the center ofthe void and glue it in place. After theglue has dried I pour the resin intothe void. The strip stock prevents thehardened resin from moving or sepa-rating from the interior surface.

Once the resin has dried you cansand and shape it any way you want.You can use resin in combination withboth strip stock and sheeting.Reserve the plastic for covering smallareas, but use thick enough stock tosand and shape it.

For wing openings, form-fit sec-tions of sheet stock into place andglue them. Once the glue is dry, sandand shape the sheeting so it's flushwith the wing. If the wing flexes andyou want to add strength, pile somequick gel super glue inside until ittouches both inner surfaces and addaccelerator. Another method is toinsert some wedges into the interiorof the wing and glue them into place.As you fill in the voids, check yourwork frequently by fitting the controlsurface into its location.

As a final step, round off the lead-ing edges so they are contoured cor-rectly by running them alongsandpaper while you rotate the part.A few passes on both sides will do it.

REPLACING HINGESEven if you can cut around the

engraved hinges of control surfacesyou may still find yourself replacingthem. Sometimes no matter howcareful you are when cutting, hingesget ruined or snap off.

When you are ready to start

As you add sheet stock, check the fit onthe wing and control surface. Be sure toduplicate the placement and positioningof sheet stock on elevators and aileronsso the parts will match.

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On a Corsair the elevators have rounded leading edges and the tail surface has an indentedsemicircular shape. To duplicate these surface arrangements, run the tail across a dowel cov-ered with sandpaper.

replacing hinges, position the controlsurface and select the plastic stockthat most closely approximates thehinge opening size. Don't try to shapethe size of the plastic stock until afteryou attach it. Start with a slightlylarger size and sand it down. This is arepetitive process; it is important todo hinges one at a time to ensure aproper fit. Sometimes the plasticstock is an almost-perfect fit. In thesecases, remove the necessary plasticand slide the stock into the hingeopening to check the fit.

Carefully apply a small drop ofwhite tube super glue where thehinges contact the wing surface.Remove the control surface afterthe glue dries. Next run a bead ofsuper glue along the perimeter ofeach hinge.

When all the hinges associatedwith a control surface are in place, besure they line up and cut them to

The completed tail surface on Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair has all resin filled parts.The control surfaces fit snugly against their wing surfaces—thanks to careful sandingand form-fitting.

Micro files were used to cut and shape the hinge locations onthis F3F aileron. The size of the opening on the aileronmatches the strip stock size that will be used as a hinge.

Always run a bead of super glue around the edge of each pieceof strip stock before you cut and shape for maximum strength,and fill all cracks or voids. Once again, protect all surfacesbefore you start cutting.

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(Left) Long hinges on small scale kitsneed to be handled carefully due to thesmall gluing contact surface.

(Center) As you add hinges and plasticsheeting to fill voids, check and recheckyour work. Then you won't end up hav-ing to reposition a hinge.

their proper lengths by masking thesurrounding wing surface and cuttingthe plastic that protrudes above witha razor saw. If the plastic strip issmall, position the wing or fuselageonto a small hard block of wood sothe hinge will be in contact with thewood base. This is where these smallhardwood sanding blocks come inhandy. Cut the excess plastic with a#11 X-Acto blade by placing the knifeblade on the backside of the plasticand cutting toward the wood block.This will keep you from putting stresson the glue joint. After you have fin-ished cutting, apply a drop of superglue where the hinge contacts thewing to seal it and provide a good sur-face for sanding and shaping.

When you are ready to shape thehinges, mask the wing area to protectsurrounding surface detail. Sand thehinges flush with the wing using asmall sanding block wrapped in sand-paper. To ensure that no seamsremain between the hinge and theattachment area, apply silver paint. Ifyou find flaws, apply more super glueand sand smooth.

Hinges have round edges, andthis shape is easy to achieve with asanding block. The trick is to give allthe hinges the same contouredappearance.

It does not take much contactbetween the sandpaper and the plas-tic to round off edges, so go slowlyand check your work as you progress.Sanding with a rotating motion, it usu-ally takes no more than two or threestrokes to round off the edge. Whenyou are finished, run an X-Acto bladealong the edges to remove any resid-ual plastic.

Always check for flaws as a last stepprior to painting. Silver paint or grayprimer can be used as a flaw detector,but be sure to remove it before thefinal painting.

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Edges on hinges can be rounded with sandpaper wrappedaround a small sanding block. Rotate the sanding block as youmove it across the hinge.

The aileron on Monogram's 1/32 scale F3F is finally ready forpainting. Note that sheet plastic has been added to both sidesof the aileron and the rounded edges of the hinges are nohigher than the aileron's surface.

The aileron on this F3F looks as thoughit is about to move thanks to some extraplastic and a little elbow grease. Notethe added control cable. These smalldetails greatly enhance realism.

FLAPSThere is a fundamental di f fer-

ence between removing control sur-faces and removing flaps. Controlsurfaces are removed after the winghalves are glued together, while flapscan be removed either before or afterthe halves are glued. In either case,use the same techniques for removingflaps as you used for removing con-trol surfaces. On large aircraft, such

The repositioned flaps and slats on Monogram's 1/48 scaleProwler makes a world of difference in the kit's appearance.Adding these types of details is what modeling is all about-taking a good kit and making it better. (Model by Scott Weller.)

If the flap has an engraved channel, the easiest way to cutthrough the plastic is to use a scriber.

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If the flap has no engraved channel, like the upper flap detail onRevell's Corsair, use labeling tape to guide the scriber.

Sometimes you can get away with using a razor saw to speedup your work, but it is important to have a cutting guide. Inthis case the scriber cut a channel and the job was finished withthe saw.

as two-and four-engine bombers, flapsare usually on the lower wing. Onpropeller-driven fighters flaps canbe either on the lower wing or a partof the entire trailing edge, so thatwhen they are actuated, that sectionof the wing actually moves. On jetsyou can have both flaps and slats.(Slats is another name for the flapsthat extend from the leading edge ofthe wing.)

When you cut out flaps you willprobably use a combination ofscribers, a razor saw, and an X-Actoknife. The surface detail will usuallybe recessed, so use a scriber to get adeep channel before using a razor sawto finish. When a saw won't work,take your time and use the scriber.On some kits the flaps are outlinedwith raised detail. In these instances,

use labeling tape as a guide and cutalong the raised line with a scriber.

Once the parts are removed,clean off excess plastic on the wingsand the flaps and sand the edges flat.If the flap is the trailing edge of thewing and it simply rotates downward,simply close the void in the wing withstrip stock where you cut out the flap.If it rotates downward and outwardyou may need to add interior detailingsuch as framing, but this depends onhow far you extend it.

Flaps also need the addition ofplastic stock. The sides need sheetstock and the front will need thickerstrip stock, which should be sandedand shaped. If you extend the flapsfar enough, you will expose the flap'srod actuators, which can be easilyduplicated with plastic rod.

If the flaps are part of the lowerwing, you may have to add interiorframing using the same techniques asf raming the inside of a cockpit.Framing can be duplicated with plas-tic strips placed at equal intervalsalong the length of the underside ofthe flap and the inside of the wing.The size of the strips should appearto be in scale. When you are ready toadd framing, cut the number you willneed and add about an inch to eachstrip to make them easy to position.After the strips are applied, cut themflush with the edges and contour thetrailing edges of the framing by run-ning the edge of a sanding blockacross each frame edge.

If you don't have photographs ofinterior detailing at the flap locations,take a guess. At a minimum you will

The repositioned flaps on Revell's 1/32 scale Corsair look a lotbetter than the kit's engraved flap detail. Note the actuator rodbetween the two outer flaps.

Adding detail to the interior of the wing can be as simple asadding a piece of sheet plastic. Adding interior framing inareas of the wing exposed by an extended flap would be a morecomplicated endeavor.

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Removing the flaps on a Corsair is one of the more difficult flaprepositioning projects because the flaps are curved. The lead-ing edges of all flaps need additional plastic.

The completed right side flaps for a Corsair. To get them to fitcorrectly, sheet stock was also added to the sides.

Always check your work, especially oncomplicated flap or slat arrangements.

f i n d rows of f r aming on both theinside area of the flaps and the inte-rior of the wing. When you haveadded the framing, paint the insideareas. Finally, add a faint dusting ofblack pastel with a flat brush to dirtyup the interior.

REMOVING & DETAILINGHATCHES & ACCESS

PANELSIf you are cutting out access pan-

els or hatches and the parts areengraved, use the same techniques asyou used for control surfaces. If theparts have raised plastic outlines asmany models have, scribe them outusing labeling tape as a guide. Use aneedle scriber on the initial channel;its thin sharp tip will more easily fol-low the outline defined by the tinyplastic ridge. Don't use a lot of pres-sure—let the tip guide itself along theridge and run it along the ridge sideclosest to the part to be cut out. Thisis a matter of feel, so go slowly andstop frequently to rest your hand.Once you have a shallow channel youcan add more pressure or switch to ascriber that removes plastic.

Now clean up the edges of thehatches and the locations they werecut from. Carefully sand the surfacesafter masking surrounding areas toprotect detail, especially hinge detailalong the edge of a hatch.

Access panels are usually muchthinner than hatches, as they are usu-ally part of the aircraft's outer skin.Thin the parts the way you thin land-

Sometimes flaps had external hinges.Check your documentation.

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The simple flap rotation on a P-51 Mustang makes it an ideal kit for trying your handat cutting out flaps. This Monogram kit looks a lot better with repositioned flaps.(Model by Richard Boutin, Sr.)

Labeling tape is a must if you are goingto cut out hatches or access panels. Thepanels from this A-10 will be used with aVerlinden detail set.

ing gear bay doors. Select a curved orrounded surface with the same con-tour as the part, wrap sandpaperaround it, and run the part across thesandpaper.

Wooden dowels will provide theapproximate diameters you need tothin parts. If they are not the rightsize, try paint bottles or other con-tainers. Use rough-grade paper to getthe plastic to the thickness you wantand higher grades to smooth it out.Since it doesn't take long to thin plas-tic, check your progress often. Rotatethe part every few strokes for eventhinning. If the part is f la t , run itacross stationary sandpaper. Reverseevery few strokes or sand with a fig-ure eight motion.

If your documentation showsbackside framing or plating, adding itwill enhance the part's appearance.Framing is easy to install, as long asyou are using plastic strips of the cor-rect thickness cut to their properlengths. Use the same techniques asframing cockpits and landing gear.

(Left) A Verlinden detail set was used todetail the exposed electronics bays onMonogram's 1/48 scale A-10. New doorswere also supplied by Verlinden, but thekit's cut out parts were used instead.(Model by Scott Weller.)

Needle scribers work best for cutting out small hatches thathave rounded corners.

Curved cut-out parts need to be thinned on a curved surface.For large scale parts you can usually find a jar or plastic con-tainer with the correct diameter.

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Flat surfaces can be thinned by taping them to balsa wood andrunning the part across stationary sandpaper. If you choose touse your hands, stand by to lose some skin on your fingertips!

The access hatch on this 1/32 scale Peashooter by Hasegawawas repositioned, and framing was also added to the inside ofthe hatch.

To trace a curved part onto sheet stock,use the same dowel or container sizethat you used for thinning the part.

If the part has no noticeableframing on the backside but has aninner surface similar to the insides ofsome landing gear doors, reproduce itin the same way. Trace a new part onsheet stock using the cut-out part as aguide, and add hole locations, if any.Cut out the new part, punch out theholes using Waldron's punch tool, andglue it to the kit's part using superglue and a thin wire applicator.

If the hatch you are removinghas a window, modify the clear plasticpart by cutting off the positioningtabs and filling in the corresponding

Waldron's punch tool has hundreds of uses and makes cuttingout holes a snap.

After you cut out access panels or hatches, don't forget to thinthe area the part was cut from. Otherwise the hatch openingwill look strange.

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Aside from removing hatches and access panels, don't forget that naval aircraft look goodwith folded wings. Every collection of aircraft should have at least one. (Model by Major BillyCrisler, USAF.)

Although this Hasegawa 1/48 scale Corsair II already has open access panels, atten-tion to painting details can make or break the appearance of a model. (Model byMajor Billy Crisler, USAF.)

holes on the back. This requires care-fu l cutting and gluing. Be patientwhen modifying clear parts, and makesure the plastic will seat properly.

Another detail that must beadded is the framing around the open-ing of the access panel or hatchwithin the fuselage. This is the fram-ing that the door, hatch, or accesspanel will seat against when closed. Itshould protrude from around thepart's opening for accuracy. Add thisand any other detail to the interiorbefore you glue the halves together,whether they are fuselage or winghalves. In some cases, as in the 1/48scale bomber series by Monogram,the interior detail is there, and all youhave to add is small strips of framingaround the opening. There is no trickto this. All the techniques presentedin this chapter can be applied to thislast step. Just remember that eachsituation is different and may requirevariations on the basic techniques.

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CONCLUSION

After you have selected the model you want to build, you should also decide what details, modifi-cations, and scratchbuilding you want to add before you begin to build. If you were to try all thetechniques and projects presented in this book at one time, it would overwhelm you. Pick two orthree of the techniques that intrigue you most, then continually add to your list of accomplish-ments as you build more models. I also encourage you to improve and modify my techniques.There is often a different or better way to achieve the same results. Aside from the fun of tryingsomething new, it will stretch the bounds of your creativity and your imagination.

It is also important to keep in mind that you are going to have a few disasters along the way.Even when your modeling skills are advanced, you will still have disasters. Any modeler whosays he or she does not is either lying or does not truly build models. So take a break if you getto the point where you have that wild urge to test-fly your model across the free space of yourworkroom. It's only a hobby, and it is supposed to be relaxing, not raising your blood pressure!Happy modeling—and please do not forget the kid on the bike who yearns to be creative andimaginative.

MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS

Badger Airbrush9128 West Belmont Ave.Franklin Park, IL 60131(Airbrush Equipment)

Bare Metal Foil CompanyP. O. Box 82Farmington, MI 48332(Plastic polish and plastic scriber)

Borden Inc.Department CPColumbus, OH 43215(White glue)

Creations Unlimited Hobby Products2939 Montreal Dr. N.E.Grand Rapids, MI 49509(Flex-I-File and sanding sticks)

Devcon CorporationDanvers, MA01923(Two-part epoxy)

Dremel4915 21st St.Racine, WI53401-9989(Drill bits, cutters, drill press and drillpress vise)

Evergreen Scale Models12808 N.E. 125th WayKirkland, WA 98034(Plastic strips and sheeting)

Floquil-Polly S Color Corporation4715 State Hwy. 30Amsterdam, NY 12010-9204

(Paints, plastic prep and paint/decalremover)

К & S Engineering Co.6917 59th St.Chicago, IL 60638(Sandpaper)

Loctite CorporationCleveland, OH 44128(Super glue)

Micro Mark340 Snyder Ave.Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-1595(Hobby Supplier)

Microscale Industries, Inc.1570 Sunland LaneCosta Mesa, CA 92626(Decal setting solution)

Model Technologies13472 Fifth St., Suite 12Chino, CA91710(Photoetched parts)

Pacer Technology9420 Santa Anita Ave.Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730(Super glue accelerator)

Scotch 3M Painters Masking TapeBox 33053St. Paul, MN 55133(Masking tape)

Small Parts Inc.13980 N.W. 58th Ct.P. O. Box 4650Miami Lakes, FL 33014(Steel wire and hollow wire)

Squadron ShopUlSCrowleyDr.Carrollton,TX75011(Putty)

Super Scale International, Inc.2211 MoutonDr.Carson City, NV 89706-0471(Decals, decal setting solutions, andwhite glue)

Testers Corporation620 Buckbee St.Rockford, IL 61104-4891(Paints, putty, sandpaper, and glue)

Verlinden ProductionsLone Star Industrial Park811 Lone Star Dr.O'Fallon, MO 63366(Model accessories)

Waldron Model ProductsP.O. Box 431Merlin, OR 97532(Waldron punch set, placards, instru-ments, and photoetched parts)

X-Acto, Division of Hunt Mfg. Co.230 S. Broad St.Philadelphia, PA 19102(Blades and cutting tools)

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