eCardmodels He51 (Marek) sorta-kinda "build report"

[Amazyah]

Originally Posted by rmks2000

I think this kit is definitely cursed.

That too is a possibility.
Has this kit been beta built, I wonder?

Marek's designs are usually near flawless though.
He is an excellent designer in my book.

Russell

[Wily]

Here's another question that's vexing me...and if you want to pull your buddies in this, I'd appreciate the consensus.

BUT...when cutting out parts, do you cut around the black outline, leaving a black liner or do you cut just so much that the black line is removed?

I'd appreciate if designers didn't use black lines, btw.

[Wily]

Originally Posted by Amazyah

That too is a possibility.
Has this kit been beta built, I wonder?

Marek's designs are usually near flawless though.
He is an excellent designer in my book.

Russell

I'm not so quick to point a finger at Marek. He's a clever, smart designer.

I also had to resize the kit down 90% to fit on my paper...but I'm reasonably confident I accomplished that task accurately.

One tidbit that can't be stressed enough is using care in cutting out bulkheads and formers...and putting them on appropriate sized stock.

[Amazyah]

"I'm not so quick to point a finger at Marek. He's a clever, smart designer."

I'm not either. I just agreed that the problem may not be with the builder.
One never knows. I have even seen problems in a Halinski kit, although very rarely.

"One tidbit that can't be stressed enough is using care in cutting out bulkheads and formers...and putting them on appropriate sized stock."

Dat's a fact, Jack!
One miscalculation in cutting will compound itself as you progress with your build.
You must even hold that blade at 90 degrees to the paper while cutting. Constantly.
If you cut your former edges at a slight angle, you can get yourself into trouble later on.

I usually cut Marek's designs right on the black line. You might need to sandpaper a little more off the formers but it's easier to subtract a little than to add a little.
He's a very accurate designer.

Russell

[cgutzmer]

Well a couple people have done the he-51 and it does seem to be a bit problematic - mostly I think its because the tolerances are very tight. he is using a newer method to design his models now and I think its resulting in more complex builds that have to be done just right.... let me see if I can dig up the other thread.... or were those emails to me - gotta look!
Chris
Chris

[shrike]

I built this one when it first didn't come out. Not a typo, DeWayne released it and then had to withdraw it due to some mix-up in publishing rights. Any reference to it was supposed to be marked BETA!

Carl (Golden Bear) did a build thread on Zealot (which may, or may not, still be there) at the same time as I built mine. Aside from the cockpit being a bit snug the only problem I had was a little twist I inadvertently built into a wing panel. That was entirely my fault, and the separate control surfaces cover for it.
Otherwise, I don't recall there being this much difficulty. (Ok, the 12 saxophone-shaped exhaust pipes were a b#*^h). Perhaps I was just in a Marek state of mind having just done the D510 , but I thought it went well.
Saying that, I did print it on legal sized cardstock, so as to avoid scaling, and printed the inner cockpit on bondpaper

[Wily]

Originally Posted by Amazyah

You must even hold that blade at 90 degrees to the paper while cutting. Constantly.
usually cut Marek's designs right on the black line. You might need to sandpaper a little more off the formers but it's easier to subtract a little than to add a little.
He's a very accurate designer.

Russell

Thank you - I often "think" of keeping the blade at 90, but in practice, it's moving at all angles, especially radiuses. When sanding or smoothing edges, an imprecise cut is compounded.

As for cutting right ON the line - I'll take your advice. In practice, it's probably the only way as inside or outside the line is a harder standard to hit.

<S>!