1/48 Kitty Hawk F2H-2P Banshee with Rieth Creations correction set.

Started by John Healy · 49 · 5 years ago
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    Tom Cleaver said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    You're doing really good here, John. Gonna be interested in how you go on fitting the center section. I had to change to the way I described in my article, due to the molding problem you can't see till you're fitting things.

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    Michael E Rieth said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    John and anyone else using my Rieth Creations Banshee Resin Correction Set, I recommend following the Assembly Instructions on my website, https://www.riethcreations.com/blog. Over the 9 months or so of designing, making masters, molds and casting, I have built 3 Banshees trying different build sequences. I believe the build sequence on my blog is the best way to prevent having any problems.

    The Intakes I designed were made from McDonnell factory drawings. They have a very different shape than the Kitty Hawk intakes. I used the KH lower wing for my master that I modified for the angled intakes, jet engine bulges, smaller wheel wells and unstaggered wing racks. My intakes are slightly bigger to allow for adjustment when gluing. Filler may be needed on the lower wing leading edge and since the intakes are solid resin, they can be sanded down.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    More progress today. I built up the nose gear bay, installed the cannons after cutting off their breeches. I did this to create a smooth surface to attach nose weights in this area. It’s going to be finished with a buttoned up nose. Last but not least, I removed the kit’s empennage following the instructions on Michael’s blog. After scoring the panel line, I made the cut with the fine razor saw you see in the photo. This is really an excellent tool for this kind of work. The resin replacement tail lines up and fits very well.

    8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    A few more steps forward. I’ve been busy with work and home renovations this week, but have managed a little progress. If you’re building the fighter version with the nose closed, it’s possible to get a perfect fit on the doors with some slight trimming. Simply slice a tiny bit of material off of the inner lip on both nose panels and the doors will fall into place. I also cut up the engines per Michael’s blog instructions. I hope to have these painted and assembled by this evening.

    6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    I also did a little test fitting of some of the resin parts today. Careful trimming of the KH parts is essential when building this kit. Removal of minute amounts of flash make this pretty straightforward.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    Finally for today, I thought I’d share a few photos I took of the restored -2P at Pensacola. These were taken in 2017 when the plane was still on the main floor of the museum. They’ve since hung it from the ceiling. I get to the museum at least once a year and will take more pics in June.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    I’m making real progress today. Following the instructions on Michael’s blog, I hope to have the wing center section fully assembled by tommorow . I’ve attached photos of the relevant sub assemblies. Next step is to spray some glossy sea blue on the intake mouths.

    5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    I assembled the center section today following Michael’s blog instructions. All went together great with a new bottle of “The Last Glue” an incredibly strong German super glue.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Greg Kittinger said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    coming along nicely!

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    Thanks Greg. This is an interesting project. I got myself into a little trouble by attaching those rear engine sections too early. I’ve since removed them and will recreate them with tubing.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    I have the center section assembled and the intakes are mostly done too. I installed the rear of the engines too early and have since removed them. More test fitting is showing pretty decent fit.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Michael E Rieth said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    Looking good. Are you going to go flaps up or down?

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    Up, Michael. . I already tested one side and they fit perfectly.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    Prepped the fuselage halves, assembled the intakes, and fixed the exhausts today. I also started painting the cockpit. I hope to have the fuselage and wing center section attached to each other in the next couple of days.

    6 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 7 months ago:

    I assembled the main sections today. I got a great fit with the tail section. I have a couple large gaps to deal with at the fuselage/center section join. This was my fault. Superglue set instantly before I could position it exactly. All in all, they won’t be hard to fill and this project is progressing nicely.

    3 attached images. Click to enlarge.