A hurried Harrier

[Quaralane]

Those fit problems are reminding me of my Tomcat.
But, it sounds like you're tackling them

[NecronautDrummer]

Yeah, Q, I found significant gaps between the landing gear wells/air brake and the fuselage.  I've been applying some Mr Dissolve Putty in light layers last night & this morning, to be sanded flat later tonight.  Halfway through the day, I realized that I could/should have used some thin plastic strip as a backing between the gaps.  Might have reduced the goopiness factor in those areas.

However, bad fit finally worked in my favor when I dry-fitted the wing assembly!  Way too tight to fit the first time, so with some sanding I finally got it to snug in very tight with zero gap.

Off to finish gluing the front half of the fuselage....

[Myke]

bummer about the fit problems. I'd never heard of the CA/lead issue before either, somehow missed that one. I should have some seams popping out any minute now on a couple of kits. Oops. White glue it is from now on.

thanks

[JMac]

I'd never heard of the CA/lead issue before either, somehow missed that one.

That totally surprised me also - I've never used lead as I don't have any kicking around the house (fishing weights, tire weights, ect). Just thought I'd pass the warning along.

N.D. - Good to hear that the fit issues translated into a good situation of not having any heavy seam filling and sanding to do. Looking forward to some pictures.

[NecronautDrummer]

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I haven't dropped off the planet.  Semester change means marking assignments and finals, and prep work for the upcoming semester.  Toss in a ski weekend getaway and there's not a lot of time left over for attacking this bird.  Here's where I'm at...


Sanding!  Not very exciting, I know.  While some parts fit too tightly together, requiring sanding of excess material to get a tight fit, others leave large gaps.  This is after about 3 applications of Mr Dissolve Putty, 2 applications of Mr Surfacer 500, and a final glazing of Mr Surfacer 1000.  The seams around the top wing-fuselage junction looked like they'd be ok with no filling, aka. giant panel lines.  It still looked too deep, so I just hit it with some Mr Surfacer 500 to fill in the gap and give the 'panel line' a bottom.  There is a cavernous void between the fuselage halves right behind the seat.  Tough to sand flat and flush with the seat in the way, but it should turn out OK.


Giant gaps between the landing gear bays and the fuselage were filled with several careful applications of Mr Dissolve Putty, and Mr Surfacer 1000 to smooth out the lumps.  Now how am I going to sand it?!  The blob of Mr Surfacer on the nose SHOULD be my last application of that before I'm satisfied with the contour, though.


The intakes actually fit really nicely, with little work needed for a flush fit around the cockpit.  These side intake doors, on the other hand, look horrendous.  The oversized sprue attachment points were right on the exposed surface of the doors.  Cutting them off left pits & holes.  I'm going to try and smooth them out with some careful sanding and filling.

At the rate I'm working, I should be finished the basic assembly by Wednesday next week.  Then off to the paint booth!

[Quaralane]

Nice work on the seams

[Myke]

Sounds like you might have to order some more Mr Putty/Surfacer products.
Good work though, those joins are disappearing!

[fumblethumbs]

Looks like you've got it well in hand ND.  Especially where the wing meets the fuse.  That looks perfect!   Keep up the good work!

[JMac]

Nice work on the seams. I have to agreewith Fumblethumbs - the fuselage to wing looks great. It's shaping up very nicely.

[NecronautDrummer]

Great?  Thanks for the compliments, everyone!!  However, I'm attempting to take it a step further...

So I filled the 'panel line' gaps between pieces with some Mr Surfacer, as I've already said.  It worked out great.  It was when I was sanding away the excess that I started to notice that one side of my panel line fix was getting sanded while the other was not... they must not be lining up!   
So here I am, applying even more Mr Surfacer to try and 'lift' the low spots at the joints between pieces to create a seamless flow of lines and surfaces from one part to the next.  You can probably see the patch-like spots where I've painted a panel with some Mr Surfacer thick at the trouble spot and gradually thinned the coat out towards the opposite side of the panel.

Not a very 'hurried' Harrier after all, I guess.  But I'm confident that I'll be able to completely finish it on time and make it 'pop' like a 1/48 or 1/32 scale bird, just with ENORMOUS panel lines.     Thanks to all who encourage me, offer helpful tips, and keep it interesting on this forum!   

[NecronautDrummer]

Man, that seat is getting banged up something fierce.    The worst part is that I have no idea what paints I used to make those colors either!  A little Intermediate green, a touch of dark rubber, some castle gray maybe?, mixed on a wet palette... touching that up might be tricky!  If I have to touch it up, I should probably fill the gap inside the seat, eh?
So, are my endless 'eureka' moments I ramble on incessantly about just a normal part of the hobby for the rest of you?  I can stop if necessary.... 

[fumblethumbs]

Yes they are...I think...Not really sure, but please do continue ND, Your musings are amusing!
I made a colour for...umm...oh yeah, my ambulance.  Two days later I realized I had forgotten to paint the door mirror and like a fool had thrown out the two drops of leftover.  Couldn't for the life of me remember how I'd mixed that colour!  Time for a pen and paper eh ND??

[Myke]

Been in that spot a few times man. No worries though, whatever you mix up will just give it an "artistic" touch. Maybe you'll have a Bob Ross moment and make a happy accident.
Keep it up bud.

[NecronautDrummer]

Ok, seeing as how this build hasn't officially closed yet...

The cockpit's all touched up, the intakes are fitted and squared off, landing gear's cleaned up, weapon and drop tank points are ready for fitting, the canopy's masked, and the drop tanks are pretty close to being finished.  The sidewinders and various tiny antennae are all that's left on the sprue.  The Cougar build got away on me, but this hasn't exactly been sitting on the bench like a 5th wheel, if you know what I mean!  


I drilled out the cannon muzzles, air cooling vents, and carved out the casing ejector chutes.  Please let me know if I got any of this wrong before I prime and paint later this week.

And finally, the Everest of this build... the exhausts!

The AM resin exhausts aren't looking like such a bad idea right now... If any of you have any suggestions on how to sand those tiny little vents, please respond.

Happy modelling!  

[Myke]

Oof, exhusts look like a tough job.

I would recommend some sanding papers. I like Tamiyas! Just take the corners a folded piece and get stuck in there.