Spindrift from Land of the Giants by Polar Lights

[trekriffic]

The new nose profile. This closely matches the angle of the nose as seen in photos and some blueprints:

New Profile by trekriffic, on Flickr

AVES was also used to bridge the gap between the upper hull halves. The channel the fin slides into had to be bridged by sculpting the putty to match the channel:

Scupting the Tail by trekriffic, on Flickr

That's it for now. Just spending time sanding before applying some primer, then a coat of black for light blocking, maybe a shot of white primer then a shot of yellow before applying finishing orange coats.

Stay tuned!

[Tesral]

It's call All Sanding Trek for a reason.

Sorry to hear about the setback. Sadly happens to all of us.

[trekriffic]

Decided to unmask the bow window ports in case any of the tape had come unsealed along the edges. Was planning a quick re-masking with fresh tape before priming when I noticed one of my worst fears.... Both windows had a tiny bit of "crap" on the inside surface??? It was quite clearly visible; and the model was now most truly and assuredly sealed up.
No way to remove it.

[MSgtUSAFRet]

Decided to unmask the bow window ports in case any of the tape had come unsealed along the edges. Was planning a quick re-masking with fresh tape before priming when I noticed one of my worst fears.... Both windows had a tiny bit of "crap" on the inside surface??? It was quite clearly visible; and the model was now most truly and assuredly sealed up.
No way to remove it.

Well........

Poop.

[MEATLOAFr]

Well........

Poop.

not the 4-letter work I would have said

[trekriffic]

Soooooo.... anyway, here's a photo of the funk on the windows:

Junk by trekriffic, on Flickr

I was not going to stand for that so...

I removed the clear window plastic using a scribing tool and Tamiya mini-photo-etch saws:

Window Removal by trekriffic, on Flickr

With the windows out I decided to take some photos of the cabin with the lights on:

Pilot's cabin roof by trekriffic, on Flickr

Pilot's Cabin Lit without Windows by trekriffic, on Flickr

Making replacement windows using Evergreen .015 clear styrene sheet. Have to be careful not to scratch them during installation:

Making New Windows by trekriffic, on Flickr

Stay tuned!

[trekriffic]

Update for today...

I used this technique in my Apollo 11 Eagle build to separate the two glass (?) panels in the upper docking window port of the LEM. Only that time I used red adhesive backed vinyl strips. I cut thin strips of black sticky backed vinyl thin enough to fit along the back edge of the bow window rims, leaving enough room for the clear styrene window plastic to fit inside the rim up against the vinyl gasket:

Adhesive Backed Vinyl Paper Makes Gaskets by trekriffic, on Flickr

Starboard window install...

The inside of the frame was coated with Elmer's clear craft glue. Then I removed the tape on the backside of the clear plastic pane and cleaned it with alcohol and a clean cotton shirt. I left the masking tape in place on the outside of the window to protect during installation:

Starboard Window Installed by trekriffic, on Flickr

Satisfied it was clean I gently placed the window pane into the frame; then over a few minutes I adjusted its position inside the rim. I also gently held down the edges as the glue dried:

Starboard Window In Place by trekriffic, on Flickr

Both bow windows glued in place:

Both Bow Windows Glued In Place by trekriffic, on Flickr

Masks removed...

I'll lay in some more of the clear craft glue. That stuff is great for windows being water based and clear:

Mask Removal by trekriffic, on Flickr

Need to remask the bow windows after the putty dries around the frames then she'll get a shot of black to hide any remaining light leaks., then grey primer, followed by white primer, followed by yellow, followed by orange. Think I'll airbrush all of these layers to avoid many thick layers from a rattle can:

Spindrift So Far by trekriffic, on Flickr

Dorsal fin detail...

I was happy with how this turned out; extending the sidewalls of the channel the fin slides into so it continues on in a smooth line where the hull breaks:

Dorsal Fin Detail by trekriffic, on Flickr

One more gratuitous profile shot...

Spindrift So Far by trekriffic, on Flickr

Oh God... I still, need to finish the stand...

[trekriffic]

Well almost two months since my last post and not much progress to report.
Most of my time has been devoted to coordinating improvements to my house.
So dealing with a lot of upheaval with new flooring, new countertops in the kitchen and baths,
and new interior wall paint.
Thankfully we're in the home stretch so hope to see a return to normalcy in the near future.

In the meantime here are the last set of pics showing the Spindrift in various stages of priming,
puttying and sanding, more priming, and more sanding, she's got a coat of white primer on her now.
Anyway, here goes...

I masked the windows with Tamiya masking tape and brushed on some Future to seal around
the edges to keep paint from bleeding under the tape:


Bow Windows by trekriffic, on Flickr

I brushed on some liquid Tamiya grey primer then sanded smooth again:


More Primer by trekriffic, on Flickr

The grills and window frames got another brushing with Tamiya primer after puttying:


Brush Primed Windows by trekriffic, on Flickr

She got a shot of flat black Testors enamel for light blocking:


Black Spindrift by trekriffic, on Flickr

Testors silver points out any remaining flaws that need to be addressed:


Silver Spindrift by trekriffic, on Flickr

Here she is just after spraying with Testors matte white enamel.
After this she gets a coat of yellow followed by Italian red:


White Spindrift by trekriffic, on Flickr


Closeup of Bow by trekriffic, on Flickr

More to come... soon I hope...

[MEATLOAFr]

it's the real deal,
at this point, if you pulled a Mr Burns "Hop in!"
(with the popsicle plane hehe)
I'd believe it, look at it go hehe

[Tesral]

1/1 house model. I get that.