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CDW

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Everything posted by CDW

  1. CDW
    Thanks for all the suggestions. Dug deep and found a pair in my stash that got the job done. Not interested in trying this again anytime soon.
  2. CDW
    I may need to try and grind or file down a set of tweezers to a much finer tip to see if that might work. Obviously not the set pictured, as they are ceramic-tipped. 😄
  3. CDW
    After taking a couple of days off from modeling, I'm back to take up where I left off on this photo etch chain building dilemma. On the left side of the jig are links I cut from the photo etch fret using a XActo blade. It distorted the shape of the links which Tamiya suggests using "something" (not specific) to pinch the links to tighten them against the roller pins. As you can see from the photos, my precision tweezers are no match for this small work. Got to find something to pinch those links and tighten them. To the right of the cut links are links yet to be cut. I will attempt to do this with a micro cutoff wheel in my dremel. I tried using my Xuron photo etch cutting scissors but those mangle the links as well. I am definitely open to suggestions if you have one.
  4. CDW
    Must be raining over the entire continent. Raining here in Florida today too. Glad I found your build and will follow.
  5. CDW
    Awesome videos. Could not believe how quick that 2 cylinder 50cc bike ran. Never knew there was such a thing. Who was the test rider?
  6. CDW
    It's odd seeing a racing engine like that in the first photo just lying in the grass. Would that be a maintenance photo taken during the course of a race? Great photos! Would have loved hearing that 5 cylinder 125cc engine rev up.
  7. CDW
    Next steps with the chain construction involve cutting the links from the photo etch fret. Since the fret is stainless steel rather than brass, it's harder to cut. I typically use a scalpel blade for this but I found it takes too much pressure to cut through, therefore bending (slightly) the links out of shape. As the fit between the links and the pins is so precise and small, Tamiya recommends "pinching" each "c" clip together to tighten-retighten the fit to pin after cutting. I found this to be beyond my capability with the tools I have, much too small for any forceps I own. Next I am going to try cutting the links from the fret using a micro abrasion wheel on my dremel. Hopefully this will prevent the distortion of the c clips and negate the need to pinch them. If that doesn't work, I'm going to need to find a much smaller set of forceps to maybe even tweezers. I could see this task ruining a set of precision tweezers in the process as the tips of tweezers are not generally used as a pinching type of tool.
  8. CDW
    You are right, those stock seats look great. I wonder what other aircraft might have used the same seats? I’ve saved my stock ones since I used aftermarket seats in my model. In retrospect, coulda’ shoulda’ saved the money and went stock.
  9. CDW
    Cockpit looks awesome Andrew. About those tanks, is the fit issue where they join the wings or just with the tank halves themselves? Using aftermarket seats in my cockpit, I had a small amount of difficulty getting the front seat mounted to the floor with the rear instrument panel attached to it, but you probably will have no issues using the stock seats (which look very good by the way).
  10. CDW
    After seeing the way Tamiya engineers designed the tools to assemble this small delicate chain, you and I both will agree they are genius. A photo etch plate of links are placed over the roller pins exposed in the preceding steps. Additional smaller sections of chain links are provided, shaped like “c” clips to snap in place over the links and pins that lock it all together. Two plastic tools are provided to hold these small sections in place while they are pulled down, locking them into position. Very ingenious and well engineered.
  11. CDW
    Next up the pins are placed inside each roller. You will note the pins have a specific shape on each end and can only slide into the rollers in one direction. A head on the end of each pin holds each link in place. After all pins are in place, a plastic molded cap is put in place that hold the pins in position. The jig is then flipped over so the bottom cap of the jig can be removed, exposing the opposite side of the roller pins.
  12. CDW
    I noticed the chain kit comes with two different sizes of rear sprockets. I'm guessing maybe there were different size sprockets used on the real bike depending on the particular race event/track.
  13. CDW
    Break out the optivisor, it’s time to build the chain! The chain kit provides a plastic assembly jig. and a whole bunch of 1mm rollers the rollers are placed in each of the holes of the assembly jig then two sets of photo etched links are laid down more to come….
  14. CDW
    My thought was to improvise a ferule that would look like a spark plug boot where they attach to each plug and coil. And yes, micro drill will be perfect for the attachment of clutch, brake and throttle cables. My ignition wires are painted .5mm lead wire. They are hard to see but are attached to the number 1 and 6 cylinders now which are energized by the forward coil.
  15. CDW
    Agree 100% What makes the tubing useful is to snip off all but about 2mm at each connection point and use that short section as a connection (like a ferrule) for lead wire or other more scale diameter wire. I have a large selection of lead wire in .1mm graduated diameters to use for detailing. That's my intent here. As you said, old telephone wire often has a more scale appearance as well.
  16. CDW
    How did the pilot see anything looking forward while inside the cockpit? Must have been quite a task on landing and takeoff and flying around the pylons for that matter though I guess when rolled to one side the pilot would gain some forward vision that way.
  17. CDW
    Tamiya recommends mixing 4 parts Titanium Gold with 1 part Flat Red Brown to achieve the engine color see in the reference photos., Carbs, various engine covers and plates. Looks like a good match to me.
  18. CDW
    Great start. I love those slipper tanks seen on the version you’re doing. A distinct feature of the Buc.
  19. CDW
    It's going to be interesting and tedious building the chain, link by link. Those pins are even smaller than the wheel parts. I hope the count is right.
  20. CDW
    With the front wheel finished, will next move on to other challenges. By the way, as it turns out there was no extra nipple. Tamiya supplied the exact number needed with no spares whatsoever. So if you take on this build for yourself, be forewarned. If you lose one it’s going to be a problem.
  21. CDW
    The custom wire wheel detail set is sold separately by Tamiya at a cost I cannot recall. At the present time, everywhere I've checked are out of stock for this set. Now that I've arrived at the end of my wheel set construction, it was fortunate that I did not lose any of the small pieces such as the nipple parts pictured here. Each wheel has 36 spokes and each spoke requires a nipple, a total of 72 of these almost microscopic pieces needed to complete the assembly. After I got all the way to the end, I found that Tamiya included 1 extra nipple part either by accident or as an extra in case of loss. Loss is highly likely as a part can go flying off the tips of your tweezers like you were playing tiddly winks. If you had carpet flooring, forget about it. You'll never find it. My beef is that even though we pay a premium price for sets like this, they can't even supply an extra half dozen or so in case of loss. It's almost shameful IMO.
  22. CDW
    I noticed that they make aftermarket engines, metal landing gear and wheel well doors for the model. Seems I recall having to add weight to the nose that caused my landing gear to be fragile. Also there was something weird about the engines. Probably needs better decals and interior help, too. Still it’s the only game in town for this model in 1:48. surprised a mainstream company hasn’t done a new one.
  23. CDW
    2nd time’s a charm Mea Culpa The alignment jig has a specific mark (highlighted with black marker). The rim has a hole for the valve stem that must align with the jig mark. Same is true for the hub. Somehow my rim moved off the mark which resulted in failure at the end. Lacing the front wheel should go smoothly I hope.
  24. CDW
    I spent several hours today assembling the spokes and nipples to the rim only to realize I misaligned the spokes to the rim some way, some how. I have no other choice now but to soak the parts I assembled in acetone to help release the ca glue I used to bond it all together. After cleaning up all the parts, need to start all over again. I think I know where I went wrong and will spend more care to be sure I start in the correct hole. It looked correct for the first half of the build but all turned to cow flop the second half.
  25. CDW
    Glad to have you here, Ras. I've been enjoying your build very much.

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