I Canny Do It Cap'n, The Engines Are Just Droopy!

[smusno]

Have any of you lot ever built the refit 22" AMT/Ertl Enterprise.

Im just doing the basics on my second one, but the engines sag something rotten!

Is there a good way to fix it? There's not much room inside the pylons for reinforcement, though I have bought some thin steel rod to try. And I have some 2 part epoxy to glue them in. But is there a "fix"?

It must be a common problem?

 

[Ziz]

I did one once with flat brass strip, about 1/16" x 1/4". Run it down through the secondary so it butts up against the inside of the hull on the opposite side (right pylon braced against hull left inside, left against right.)

 

[Quaralane]

Another way to avoid some of the droop is NOT to follow the instructions.

Glue the whole secondary hull assembly together, adding the struts then.
Once the struts have fully set into place, THEN add the nacelles to them.
Trust me, it DOES help.

Been doing them that way for, oh, about twenty years.

 

[smusno]

Another way to avoid some of the droop is NOT to follow the instructions.

Glue the whole secondary hull assembly together, adding the struts then.
Once the struts have fully set into place, THEN add the nacelles to them.
Trust me, it DOES help.

Been doing them that way for, oh, about twenty years.

dude, having the nacelles attached to the pylons, even just for paintings sake, IS MADNESS!!!


Tonight i sit with a hack saw, and some 1mm steel rod

 

[Igard]

I seem to remember a Modelmantom vid where he used wooden ice lolly sticks to reinforce the pylons. I'm not sure if it was the 22" model though...

The steel rod should do nicely I would think.

 

[Grendels]

What you need is one of these:



It was made specifically for the 1/350 refit. I don't remember where I got it, but it was designed to prevent nacelle droop, and premature saucer separation......

 

[smusno]

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum

wow

 

[smusno]

chop and place steel rods..................

put crappy Revell putty over it all to hold it in place

then have strange alien baby thing through flimsy plastic ;D

Allow to set for a few hours, and bob's your uncle 8)

 

[smusno]

ps..........

I used cellophane (seramwram your you yanks) so i could lift the top off the pylon for some plastic cement later. PUTTY EATS THE CELLOPHANE :-X

 

[smusno]

Lovely and straight, and is staying that way!

 

[Grendels]

That was a good fix!

 

[Quaralane]

--shakes head--
Actually, you may have made the problem worse with that fix.

The biggest "nacelle droop" issue with this comes from the weak join to the secondary hull. Not from any twisting of the struts themselves.
Unless you've added something actually going into the secondary, you may have actually added more stress to the joint, rather than strengthening it

 

[smusno]

 

[Igard]

All hands, brace for impact!!!!!

 

[smusno]

Ya know what, screw it!

Im in practice mode anyway ;D

Its still going to be good practice painting big, flat surfaces.




See, posativity

 

[Quaralane]

That's the way to do it, smusno.
Look at this as a "learning experience" and move on