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GWH 1/48 Devastator – FINISHED

Started by Eric Berg · 173 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago · devastator, dive bomber, Douglas, Great Wall Hobby, GWH TBD-1 devastator, Lt. John C. Waldron, Midway, T-16, TBD-1, TBD-1 Devastator, torpedo, torpedo bomber, VT-8

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Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Thanks Spiros, John and Erik for your comments. The worst thing about working with PE is when a tiny part goes "boing" and flies out of the tweezers never to be seen again.

Meanwhile...
Center upper wings on and stabilizers now attached in place. The fit was superb by the way.

Then I flipped it over and painted the visible openings in the wheel wheels and behind the torpedo faring which I just installed. There's absolutely no detail inside. Now it's time for cleanup and deciding what to do with the flaps. Not much detail here either and I gather they were kept in the closed position when the plane was parked, judging by the photos I've been looking at. Also I have decided to go with wings folded.
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Nice progress, Eric.
I do like the idea to have the wings folded.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Coming along really great, Eric @eb801!
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:
Thanks John for saying you like the idea of the folded wings. That's all I needed to make the decision of wings up or down. Anyway this kit leans towards folded wings by the nature of its design.

Speaking of folded wings, here's the scoop on them:
1. this is a real problem trying to get rid of this visible seam on the leading edge
Just try to sand down that seam on the leading edge! I say forget it. I did go in there and try to scrape it off with an X-acto blade but one has to be extremely careful and it's very tedious. Too easy to wipe out that wrap around corrugated ribbing on the leading edge so I opted to leave it alone for the time being.
1. PE goes here

2. and here
Now it's time for the installation of the flaps and gluing of 4 tiny triangular rib pieces per wing. Out came my trusty "hold and fold" gizmo and they were ready in a few minutes. The very first piece went "boing" and flew off into outer space, but low and behold, I found it later. Must be my lucky day.

Next up: getting ready for paint and finishing up the PR wiring harness on the engine. And oh yeah, masking the canopy pieces.

Stay tuned.
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Step by step getting there, Eric!
You did find that PE!
Yep, miracles happen!
Looking nice!
Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Spooky - part of your plane has been out there. . .
A bit late to say so, but please do show us those wings folded Eric (@eb801)
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Indeed a nasty seam.
My first thoughts would also be to try and scrape it with a knife.
Maybe a roundshape file might be helpful.
That PE looks awesome, Eric.
Rick Wilkes said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Eric, cut strips of 400 grit wet/dry sand paper that will fit between the ribs and sand the joint using a back and forth motion, like us old gezzers used a buffing rag when we polished our shoes.
Does anyone even polish shoes anymore... sorry for the senior moment there.
Anyway using wet 400 grit will get the job done quick and a squirt of primer will blend any scratches.
Your TBD is looking great!
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Rick - that's a great idea that's already crossed my mind. I read a review somewhere where a guy made thin metal bars that fit between the ribbings and stuck self adhesive sandpaper on them, making a custom micro file and that worked. But one mistake here and there goes the nice detail. Maybe I will try sandpaper on a toothpick. Glad you like my TBD progress.

By the way, whatever became of shoe shines?
Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Eric @eb801, let me suggest an idea for taking away that nasty seam:

Step 1: Take your modeling knife and VERY CAREFULLY scrap away the extra seam from corrugation to corrugation.

Step2: Cut a stripe of #400 wet/dry sandpaper, about 4 x 2.5 inch. Fold it twice at the long edge, in order to become "solid" (maybe wetting it will make folding easier - it will not crack at the edges). So you will have a strong sanding "stick" with a sharp 2.5 inch edge.

Step 3: Carefully sand all remains with the above custom made sanding stick. I f the edges of the wings show signs of roughness, repeat the same procedure with #800 or #1000-1500 grit.
John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 5 months ago:

@eb801
Recently I used sanding needles.
They have a very fine tip and do their work pretty nicely.
Available in different coarseness.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Thanks John and Spiros for the sanding suggestions. I did do one wing using the scraping technique but I’m not happy with the results. I’m going to try the folded sand paper idea and next time I order some paint, I’ll get some of those sanding needles.
Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Eric (@eb801), I have never used one (or seen it in the flesh), but I think Flex-i-file / Albion Alloys has a sanding bow (bent tube) and some sanding paper strips that can be strung in the bow. Perhaps a length of that sandpaper could be thinned and used for this purpose? I know it is a bit expensive to buy such a tool and modifying it just for this purpose, but perhaps it could be handy? No matter what you choose it is gonna be a lot of work to sand between all those ridges. There are some sanding sticks that are thin on the market too - like Ultimate Modellings thinny sticks.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

Thanks Erik. I will look into to those thinny sticks.
Eric Berg said 3 years, 5 months ago:

I finished the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp although the PE wiring harness gave me a bit of grief with a few wires snapping off. As it turns out most of the engine will not be visible especially the rear bank and mounts. I considered my results passable at best. Difficult to take a decent photo of this.

Now I'm back to sanding the leading edges of the wings. This will take a while. Back later.

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Work in Progress – Aircraft

GWH 1/48 Devastator – FINISHED