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Hi Nigel, I too have been following your YouTube channel. I particularly enjoyed your solution for the OV10 Bronco wing assembly and your demonstration of how to correct the HK Lancaster tailplane pins. And, of course, now following your build of the Airfix Hellcat - which I'm trying desperately not to buy. Keep up the good work Paul

Hi Cees, Thanks for the encouragement - it's not a quick project and I really want to make sure there are no fit issues before I start glueing and painting. Love your photos of the Cat flight. I flew a Tiger Moth last year while on holiday in the UK. It was a little different from what I normally fly and I enjoyed every minute of it. All the best Paul

Hi Tom, Fantastic work - really inspirational. Paul

Hi all, Progress continues to be made, albeit slowly. As said previously my priority has been to ensure the fit of the fuselage halves and the external/internal structure. Continuing externally I've trimmed the pylon and sanded the wing/pylon plug to fit nicely. This wasn't difficult, though I did run tape along the point I wanted to sand to on the pylon so as not to remove too much material. And with the wing sitting in place. (As a break from working on the fuselage I'm tempted to work on the wings just to see how they look on the fuselage when fully assembled.) My aim is to get all the structure/equipment test fitted before moving on to the internal structure, especially the fuselage frames and nose wheel well. However, the next challenge is very much along the lines of fitting a square peg in a round hole as shown below. I'm in the process of fitting the nose turret, which is not wanting to co-operate. The turret itself is OK but the structure surrounding the turret is too wide at the base. You'll possibly notice too, that in an effort to aid fitment, I've inserted plastic strip between the fuselage halves fore and aft of the turret. This has also been done with HPH's model and is clearly visible in the instructions. Doing this has helped somewhat but the surrounding turret structure is still too big at the base. I'm going to examine some actual pictures of the area but I suspect that I'll be doing some scratch building to get everything fitting nicely. Once I'm satisfied with the turret my aim is to refine all the window cutouts and temporarily fit the windows, including the gunner's blisters, which could provide some challenges. Paul

Thanks for the reply nichenson, I was inclined to cut the fuselage back to match the steps but I like your idea much better, which has a lot less potential for major damage. I've got some days off coming up and am planning to spend some time in the workshop. Paul

Hi all, Finally, I've had a chance to post an update. I've been trying to do just a little bit each day and I'm slowly making progress. The picture below shows the result of sanding both fuselage halves on a flat plate. Although it took quite some time, the result is well worth the effort, especially when compared to the fuselage join pictures in the previous post. From my experience so far I'd make it a priority for anyone building a resin kit to ensure that all major components fit well before commencing fitting the internal components/structures. There is still a gap in the keel, which extends beyond what I could sand off without taking off fuselage material. I'm quite confident this can be filled and sanded when the time comes. In addition to sanding the fuselage halves to improve the join it is also essential to thin down the tail section so that it fairs with the rudder. Initially, the tail section was too thick for the rudder. This was sanded on the flat plate and now fairs nicely with the rudder. The rudder also requires some careful work at the rudder hinge point if it is desired to have it positioned in anything but a central position. (More photos to come once I've completed that little project.) It may not be too clear in this picture but the right hand side of the rudder fairing is slightly lower than the left. I built this up with plastic strip and sanded it carefully to match the left. As a result the fairings leave a minimal gap with the lower rudder surface. I've also tried a trial fit of the vertical stabiliser structure. Most of this won't be seen unless, perhaps. the rudder is positioned offset from centre. Another picture showing the mismatch between the halves of the tail fairings. The next issue to overcome is internal. As can be seen, there is a mis-match between the step. I'm leaning towards correcting this as I don't know how much will be hidden once all the equipment and internal structure is installed. I'm thinking about trimming down the right hand fuselage step and re-scribing the panel lines as required. Not a small job but I want to make sure the bulk of the work is done on the airframe so that I can be certain of a good fit when it comes to joining the fuselage halves further down the track. Work will continue on the fuselage by trimming all the cutouts and trial fitting the windows before moving on to test fitting the internal frames and structure. My aim is to get everything temporarily fitted before disassembly for painting. But that is some way off yet. Paul

Hi youngtiger1, Yes, you've found out my dirty little secret. I moonlight as a washing super hero, hence the lack of progress at the workbench. However, I'm on annual leave at the moment (Even super heroes need a break.) and I've spent some fun times sanding the fuselage halves on a flat tile. It's almost as much fun as washing. Having said that I can't progress until the fuselage halves are matching nicely. I've taken some pictures that I'll post soon, which will hopefully show what I need to overcome. Paul

Hi Cees, What a fantastic project. I've read through all your posts and there's plenty of inspiration to continue my own Catalina build. All the best Paul

Hi Pardelhas, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply. Unfortunately I haven't had anything new to report. I really need to get the two fuselage halves sanded and matched before I can continue fitting the interior frames and components. However, I've been wanting to get through this next stage so I just need to make some time (Sometimes easier said than done with a young family) and get into it. There's no shortage of inspiration on this site. Paul

Hi Cees, Nice to hear from you. Yes and no is probably the best answer. I'm in the process of sanding the two halves of the airframe. To do this I'm using a flat surface with 200 grit sandpaper. I've blacked the edges of the fuselage and now it's a matter of sanding and checking the fit/alignment on a regular basis. One problem that has to be addressed is alignment of the rudder with the surrounding tail fairing. At the moment the tail fairing is too wide and needs to be sanded down to match the rudder profile. Imagine, if you will, sand - check - sand - check repeated ad-nausium. However, this was never going to be a five minute build. Hopefully I'll have some more progress in the not too distant future. Paul

Hi Jeroen, I have considered your suggestion. The fuselage is fibre glass so it would take quite a while. (Think acolytes of the middle ages copying religious texts.) I think you'd need a flat glass plate and a whole lot of patience while carefully sanding each fuselage edge. From what I can see of the fit so far of the internal fuselage frames, I'm going to need as much internal space as possible to allow them to fit. I may have to experiment with fit a bit more before I decide on the best course of action. It's not the building issues that I find intimidating as I quite enjoy the challenge, it's the thought of all that I need to learn and practice when it comes to painting and weathering. One step at a time... Paul

Hi all, Anthony, thanks for the encouragement. It's a great kit and well worth getting. In my last post I was in the process of fitting the fuselage frames. However, it became apparent that I needed to take a step back from that and get the fuselage halves fitting correctly together first. Part of that process has involved preparing the horizontal stabilisers for mounting, which the following photos should help explain. The instructions suggest reinforcing the horizontal stabiliser mounts with a suitable gauge wire. However, to do that mounting holes need to be back drilled in the fuselage mount points. Each stabiliser has mount guide holes cast in the mounting face and these need to be transferred to the fuselage mount points. I used clear acetate to mark the hole position, which was then transferred to the fuselage mounting face. The next few steps involve a few assumptions about the overall accuracy and finish of the edge of each fuselage half. (In other words finish of the fuselage join lines.) Despite needing finishing each half does seem to be flat and level. This allowed me to drill each mount hole accurately using a drill press. The next stage was to temporarily mount each horizontal stabiliser so I could back drill into the stabiliser itself. (The initial cast holes were only shallow and not finished for mounting.) And to do that I had to ensure each stabiliser was mounted perpendicular to the fuselage centre line. The picture below shows a simple balsa jig I made to achieve this. Here are the fuselage halves taped together and both stabilisers spot glued in place. I must complement HPH on the accuracy of their molding as each stabiliser sat nicely in place with minimal adjustment. I'd like to prepare the fuselage for joining prior to fitting the interior and I'd like some suggestions as to how I could fill the gap below without actually gluing the halves together. The rest of the joins are quite good but the spine is going to need some work. I have thought of temporarily mounting each half on a flat sheet and filling with a suitable material. (CA mixed with talcum powder, epoxy, or putty - suggestions welcome.) This process is a bit of a mission but I think it's much easier to get right now rather than once the interior is assembled. Till next time. Paul

Gidday Dave, Glad to be of service. There's been the odd time I've asked myself why I didn't I build a Wingnut Wings AEG or Gotha? (Yes, I do have those kits in my stash.) The question is though, when are you going to join me? As that line from an old kiwi commercial went, "Come on in Dad, the water's boiling!" Cheers Paul

Hi Cees, Thank you for your reply. I'm going to have to think on this issue. As far as I'm aware the interior step wasn't staggered fore and aft on the full size aircraft. The odd thing is that on model all the other transverse structure lines up quite nicely. Before I do anything else I want to finish installing alignment spigots in the fuselage halves, then I'll at least have a consistent datum to work from. Yes, this build is becoming a bit epic but I am really enjoying it. Paul

Hello, Not too many pictures in this one but some major construction considerations to highlight. First off, let's have some pictures to show what I'll be discussing: As you can see from the above picture I've been considering joining of the fuselage halves. This stemmed from beginning to prepare the frames for installation. Each frame needs to be individually fitted, not only with respect to the fuselage but also the interior fittings and equipment. For example, there is a frame at each end of the nose wheel structure that needs to fit both the wheel well structure and the fuselage contour. During this process it struck me that it's no good getting each frame to fit in the fuselage if the halves don't fit consistently together. So my focus changed from fitting frames to matching and pre-drilling holes in the joining edges. This allowed me to epoxy a wire spigot in each hole in the left hand half. There are no pictures as I'm waiting for the epoxy to thoroughly cure before splitting the halves. (Hopefully I haven't welded the fuselage halves together.) I couldn't resist: Below is the central mainplane sitting on the fuselage - this is a really big model! (Though not anywhere near as large as the proposed HPH Me 323 Gigant.) Another problem is highlighted below: While the external fuselage halves match nicely the step on the interior (As viewed through the left hand main wheel well.) leaves something to be desired. I'm left with considering whether this will be covered by walkways and equipment or doing some surgical work to correct the fault. I suspect I know what I'll end up doing.... Finally, here is a sample of the many parts that need to be individually prepared prior to assembly.....there are many more to go. Cheers Paul