I mentioned in the above posts that I made some very good progress on the big Shoki today. Please follow along, and I think you will agree.
I started out by applying tape to the immediate area surrounding the plastic filler. I did this to help preserve the surface details of the surrounding areas.
Then I took a small flat file and carefully began removing the highest portions of the plastic filler. You can see where the tape edges have started eroding away.
My QC kitty decided to have a closer look to see if I missed any spots... So far so good, and I got the paw of approval to carry on.
I replaced the tape along the vertical edges and started using 220 grit sandpaper to further smooth out the plastic filler. This was followed up with 400 grit.
Both sides were treated in this fashion.
The tape was then completely removed, and the surface was sanded more using 600 grit sandpaper. By now most of the sanding scratches were gone.
But not so fast... QC kitty had to take another look.
The other side was closely examined, and after some polishing was done to remove all of the small scratches...
Only then did QC kitty give me a paws up to proceed. I had to make sure the plastic was smooth as possible as there will be some bare metal exposed on the final finish.
Next up work started on the wings. I like to attach the upper sections to the fuselage if it's possible. This allows you to get to both sides of the joint, and it makes a nice tight gap free joint most of the time. I glued both upper wing halves to the fuselage. Here you can see the lower wing half is ready to be glued in place... but not so fast.
I had to cut away the elevator from the horizontal stabilizer on the other side. Once I finished this task, I glued the stabilizers in place. The seam joint where it meets the fuselage was perfect.
By now the upper wing joints had dried good enough to where I could glue the lower wing half in position. So I did just that...
Here you can see where I previously drilled out the holes for the flaps to be deployed in the down position. I drilled the last two holes out crooked, so that is not going to happen now. Instead I will modify the kit parts and install the flaps in the "raised" position. This is also obviously more accurate, as I have yet to see a picture of a Ki44 sitting on the ground with the flaps down or extended. These were called "Combat Flaps" and were used to actually increase the wing area during a dogfight. This allowed the plane to make a tighter turn than usual when they were deployed. So now all of this drilling work will be hidden... and the flaps will be closed.
Here are a few pictures showing just how nice the seams are where the wings meet the fuselage. I deviated from the kit instructions and "Did it my way"...
There is not a gap anywhere that needs filling now... and I am very happy !
Last but not least, I temporarily placed the cowling and engine assembly in place and snapped a few pictures to show you all how it looks now that the cowling is finished.
There was a lot accomplished today at the Iron Werks, and I am extremely please with the end results.
Please stay safe, and as always, Comments are encouraged.