The seventh week has the YF-23 fuselage together. To start off I should note that the instructions state to install the cockpit assembly to the lower half. Due to the modifications to the cockpit tub it was a lot easier to align and install the cockpit tub to the top half. I then assembled the two halves together. There are a lot of small gaps along the edges especially large were the underside of the tail. The nose had some minor gaps as well. The intake and exhaust was very good and lined up well.
I used Tamiya fine white putty to fill these gaps. Once dry I wet sanded the areas with 600 grit sandpaper. While the putty was drying I assembled the wings and tail. The wings also had a large gap on the underside as well. More putty and sanding. The tails had no fit issues. The tails just press into the fuselage without glue and they fit just fine. The tail pivot points are very good. There is no slop in the fit so they can move without any wobbling.
Next I installed the wings to the fuselage. The topside fit was good with only some minor putty. The port side on the bottom was not bad as well. However the starboard side had a gap along the entire edge. I the re-scribed the panel lines and scribed the lines for the moveable surfaces (flaps, slats, ailerons, etc.) a little deeper to define them better.
I am now adding the finer details onto the fuselage like pitot tubes and antenna’s. I then need to mask off the cockpit, landing gear bays, intake, and exhaust areas to start painting. The scheme for PAV2 is light ghost grey with dark ghost grey camouflage. I need to also make a couple of masks for the exhaust area. The exhaust area has a lot of small panels and the reference photos show many panels vary in color. Should have all the painting completed over the next week and possibly starting the decals.
You can see all the photos and detail of this start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-yf-23-atf-black-widow-ii/
10 attached images. Click to enlarge.
