CANicoll

Rob and Hubert, Thanks for the suggestions, I very much appreciate it. I'm not sure of the cause. These were from the stencil sheet, not Tamiya's decals but it was the only one that reacted that way - strange... Rob - the bubbles are definitely air, likely from when I was spraying the clear coat. Still, very strange! I thought I would try something before removing the old decal and trying a new one: I used a very sharp knife to cut a few slits into the decal, then used a wide flat brush to apply some MicroSol over the entire decal, being careful to try and press out the bubbles. It took a couple of goes, but so far, I'm about 95% happy with the result. The hard part is just letting the MicroSol work and not playing with it. I just did one more go, popping a couple of smaller residual bubbles so will check it out later and hoping for the best. Thanks again for the suggestions!

Wow, very cool. Actually, those rocker covers look like very old covers that have been though a lot of years. Not the effect you were looking for, but a cool one.

It's always something! I'm finding that while the stencils are pretty thin and easy to apply, they also seem to not adhere well to the plane. I've had two come off just by touching them, and now a national insignia bubbles up while applying the clear coat. Ugh. I've used MicroSet or MicroSOL over every decal/stencil I put on, and let everything dry for at least 24 hours. The insignia was a surprise... as you can see here, there are significant bubbles on the top of the star in the blue (not there before I started spraying) but those came from something you can't see, which is the bottom of the blue roundel is simply sitting there - it raised off the surface when I was spraying the clear coat. Never had that happen before. The insignias are from the stencil sheet, not the kit or the Zotz sheets. The two insignias on the fuselage seem to be ok. Once the clear coat is dry, I'll see about popping the bubbles, or maybe lifting the entire decal and applying another one. Here is what is left of the stencil sheet... Off to work on the Sidewinders!

I moved mom last Tuesday when it was 99. Hired a young man and his two buddies but of course had to 'help out'. God, I was exhausted. And yes, felt a bit dizzy but like you was smart enough to get inside, get some cold water and sit for a bit. Whew. getting old sucks, but the alternative is not attractive, either! Just sprayed the Phantom with clear to seal the decals, more on that in my thread shortly... Nice to be indoors!!!

Oh wow.. Nice work on the piping, but definitely take care of yourself. This heat is unprecedented and can be a killer - actually! Supposed to be 100 here in Northern Va today. Unbelievable.

Looking forward to seeing this beauty continue to develop. There is always the challenge of how much detail to add, versus how much will actually be seen, versus us knowing what work we've put into the build. These build threads are a wonderful way to capture so much of that 'inside' work that won't really be seen, but still adds to our satisfaction of the build. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for all your help, Carl! Would never have gotten this far without it.

Got mom moved and had to deal with some last-minute issues but seems like she's getting settled in. Whew. In the meantime, been making progress. Declaring the Stencils done unless I find a few more to add along the way. Still need to choose the individual aircraft markings. Lots of bits to complete including the Sparrow missiles, touch-up on the nosecone and add the metal probe, add the various landing gear doors. But first is a sealing coat over the decals - tomorrow. I used part of computer interface pin as the metal axle for the nose wheels. Just happened to be the right diameter. The main gear went together easily, using the same drill bit which matched the size of the screws to drill the hole into the resin wheels. SLOWLY screwed in the screw to tap the hole. The nose gear is attached with CA, the main wheels are simply screwed in, for now. Now she does sit on the wheels. Also attached the wing tips, and got them to about the 12 degree angle. In the pictures they look more acute. I used a piece of cardboard and marked the 12 degree angle - these are pretty close. The gap on top is tight, underneath, not so much. Slow, but steady progress!

Great looking ship and its fantastic that you got someone wanting to buy it! Awesome!!!

Rob, this is going to be a stunning build. I can't believe the number of parts you have to deal with, and no sprues!!! Wow. This is my favorite Cobra body style, and that blue is just gorgeous. Can't wait to watch your build.

Added 21 more this evening - working my way nose to tail... Finding that not all of the stencils have black and white options, however the placement is very clear so not really an option other than not use. Thus, there are some stencils 'misplaced'. Babies aren't dying so not going to stress over it!

John, VERY helpful!!! That diagram with your paint is brilliant. The plane is beautiful - great paint scheme and nice job on the decals - they look terrific. IT is an eye-catching scheme that I have not seen before.

Took advantage of some open time this evening to make a bit more progress on the nose stencils on the right side of the fuselage. Other than the Sidewinders, I think I have about 60 stencils still to do.

Said a VERY wise man!!!

Ahhh! Gotcha. I've gotten away from the Dawn wash 'out of the box' lately, but sometimes I see where I do need to wash parts so I may just go back to it.

Peter, do you completely sand the entire aircraft during assembly? I see the white coating and I keep meaning to ask where does that come from.

Carl and Peter, One thing this pause has enabled me to do is sit and think about the approach, and give you all time to weigh in with suggestions that I had not thought of, so this is very helpful, thanks. Carl - First, I'm laughing over the masterpiece comment. Thank you!! I think your suggestions are exactly what I'm going to do. The nice thing is I have a set of digital calipers so I can get a pretty accurate read on the size of the brass rod I need. I have a bit more confidence in drilling and using a screw on the resin wheels supported by some thick CA.

Nice aircraft!!

Carl, having built a number of 1/48 B-17s and going crazy on the interior detail, only to then close it up so nobody ever would see it - I feel your pain. I do wonder about our tendency to do all of that detail work, then close it up!

I'm looking forward to the paint scheme!

Sorry to miss you all this year, but next year in VA!!!....

Hmmm.. Slide fit would be interesting. Nice idea Rob, thanks. The white metal LG should take the screw but you just reminded me I need to check the diameter of the holes. On the main gear the screws hold the tire/wheel to the leg, on the nose gear the screw seems to just hold the two nose wheels together onto the leg. Will check out the Albion option - thanks!

Is that her general opinion of things??

Rob, Several of us seem to have been hitting roadblocks on our builds lately which is a shame. Your work is too good to be wasted on projects that are not well enough engineered from the manufacturer.

John, Sometimes you get a build that just fights you every step of the way. Fully understand the desire to bin it.