FGMM AC-47 repaint and tweaks

[Paperwarrior]

Yogi, this is looking real good thus far. ...and what a great subject!!!

Ever since I saw your tire tip for the first time I've used it for all my aircraft (and jeeps, and ....). It works so much easier and makes a strong tire. Thanks for the tip.

I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[Retired_for_now]

Thanks all. C-47/DC-3 is a classic - just a great looking airframe.

Well, eventually you gotta cut some holes in that nice fuselage. A good, sharp blade (this is an unsupported cut) opens up a space for the wing and it slips right in. Again, no trimming required this time with the rounded leading edge.





The wing root fairing is a key piece for the model, and a critical part of its overall look. The FG part is well designed, but needs a lot of careful pre-shaping. The aft half of the fairing needs to be tightly curved before installation. The curve needs to transition to flat for the forward portion, since this will have to wrap around the leading edge. The part also fits best when the outboard edge is lined up with the wing-walk area and not the inner edge of the graphics where it goes light colored. Still bending the fairings in - probably glue them later today.



And, eventually I'll attach the motor nacelles, but not yet. Might need a bit of touch up once I see what's visible in the final display.



Yogi

[hawkman67]

Hi Yogi;
Moving right along there! is look pretty danged good! nice fits, love your wheels method, will try on my next ones, don't really like the stacked disc way.
Jeff

[Retired_for_now]

Thanks, Jeff. Stacked disks are better if you're going to spin/sand them down to a rounded profile. You can do some shaping with my technique - depending on the thickness of the "tread" wraps - but you don't have a solid enough center to spin it on a Dremel. Makes quick, round flat surface tires.
Yogi

[hawkman67]

Welcome yogi; You are right there n the stacked wheel method, i have not done the spin/sand thing yet.... usually done the wheels that are like yours, flat treads and sidewalls.. so far any ways..
Jeff

[Nh3ave2009]

I like the Circle Templete Idea Very creative

[Retired_for_now]

Thanks, Dennie.

So, it's time to be fair (and square). As noted earlier, the wing root fairings are well designed, but need shaping. With the curves rolled in (lots of bending, then rubbing in the palm with various sized round things and points) I selected the back edge as the baseline - based on my trial fittings. Glue down the back edge starting on the wing and ending at the fuselage.



I did it in two steps, first the initial flat section (about half), then the curve along the lower wing surface extensions to the point where it meets the fuselage. This is where I "burnished" the edge - apply a very thin line of glue to the wing, then use a pointed rod to gently roll the fairing edge into place. It should only touch at the edge where the glue line is.



With the back edge secure, I pulled the fairing tight (this is where your pre-shaping pays off, it won't fit otherwise) and wrapped it around the leading edge. Only the aft third or so is curved fore-and-aft, the rest must be flat to allow it to twist to follow the wing without creasing (like on my previous C-47 build). Only the front and back of the fairing are glued down, allowing the rest to float along the wing's contour.



You can see a few over-rolled spots along the top aft of the fairing. These will be fixed by rolling the point of my rod (OK, it's really a piece of coathanger wire) along the raised edge to push (burnish) it down. Stubborn spots might need a tiny bit of glue - but just a dab.



With the fairings in place, the tailfeathers go on - left until now to make it easier to handle the fuselage while getting the fairing in place. As always, lots of fitting, sighting, refitting, re-sighting, etc. to make sure they go on square. Engines are in place for test fit only, just to make sure no adjustment needed.



Yogi

[Retired_for_now]

Of course, it's the guns that make this plane. Apologies to the talented designer, but I haven't built the detailed interior and gun pods (yet). All will become clear as to why (I hope). The gun barrels were cut out with about an inch of extra card left on the back and rolled around a stiff wire. This extra length allowed me to drill through the window and use the extra length as a beam - glued to the far side of the fuselage as well as the window rim. I also elected to go with a late model Spooky - instead of mounting gun 3 in the open door, an extra window was cut just in front of the door frame.





At this scale - the mini-guns are too big, but that's what it takes to house the wire ...

Yogi

[Ashrunner]

Originally Posted by Retired_for_now

At this scale - the mini-guns are too big, but that's what it takes to house the wire ...

Yogi

Red wire by any chance?

[Retired_for_now]

OK, yah got me. Since this one is in flight ('cause a gunship on the ground is just another funny lookin' airlifter) it needs some action.





The extra-long gun barrels have their bases glued to the inside of the stb fuselage and are also glued where they run out the port windows. With a light card model and three support points this shouldn't sag. However, the need for a relatively long support arm (in this case, 12in/25cm for this half scaled model) dictated the wire size. Smaller brass wire is just too flexible. Then again, just a little bend (trajectory) in some piano wire might have been better - but no piano wire in the shop right now.

As usual, I'm not too happy with my paint job. A larger, clear red rod for each might look better (you could light it, too). We'll see if my piddling around meter gets to that. Of course, if I'd built this the regular size in the first place some stiff coat hanger wire would likely be just the right size.

Yogi (not sure if this is finished or not ...