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Old 02-26-2009, 11:08 AM
member_3 member_3 is offline
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OTDAEABT 2 - Maly Modelarz A-10 Thunderbolt II MM 5-6/94

First, some "honesty in build thread" confessions:

1. While waiting for my E.E. Lightning to arrive I started the Hawker Typhoon (MM 6-93) but I screwed up the build when the Aleene's Silver lived up to its "quick grab" label and grabbed the left wing before I got it fully seated. It wouldn't go in, wouldn't come out and I resorted to expunging my ineptitude through the use of violence. The sad part is that the fit of every part had been perfect, first cut, no trimming! I'm going to get this one again just for the sweet build it promised to be.

2. The English Electric P1B Lightning II (MM 1-74) arrived and I started that and was almost immediately brought up short by the terrible color registration, poor paper quality and fuselage ring fit problems that defied resolution. I cannot recommend this one (unless you are into pain.)

3. That disaster was followed immediately by an even greater calamity - the Breguet XIX.B2 (MM 4/87.) This one had worse paper than the Lightning and exceeded my frustration level almost instantly.

It was at this point that I was rummaging through my boxes of models and found the A-10. Since the previous builds has gone so well I determined not to post any photos until I felt I would be able to complete the model. the build was started on 18 February and it looks like it might actually make it to completion. And that, gentle reader, that is how we arrived at this place and time.....

Last edited by member_3; 02-26-2009 at 11:23 AM. Reason: Spelling and grammar cleanup
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Old 02-26-2009, 11:18 AM
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Let's get the boring stuff out of the way first...



Designer: Jacek Słowik
Instructions and diagrams: 9 pages
Parts: 6 card pages, 2 paper pages
Part Count: 140 numbered parts with many having left (L) and right (P) versions as well as many sub-assemblies (e.g., part 65, 65a, 65b.) I estimate the total part count to be in the 250-300 range.
Color Registration: Good - minor misalignment of the greens (about .5 mm)
Paper Quality: Better than expected. The card seems stiff but takes and holds a rolled curve nicely
Parts Fit: More about that as we go along.

Last edited by member_3; 02-26-2009 at 11:28 AM. Reason: Missing image - found image - operator error
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Old 02-26-2009, 11:18 AM
GreMir GreMir is offline
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Ron,
A-10 is an excellent choice, but you already knew that :D
One word of advice if I might... Laminate the big segments with additional layer fo card - that applies to fuselage and the wings. I didn't do that and it doomed my build
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Old 02-26-2009, 11:19 AM
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High marks for full disclosure, Ron. I enjoyed reading your saga and I now plan to try to obtain that well-tempered Typhoon.

I await the appearance of the A-10 photos with eager anticipation.

Don
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Old 02-26-2009, 11:27 AM
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The original T in ODAEABT sets sail for MM adventure yet again!
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Old 02-26-2009, 12:20 PM
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18 FEB Parts 1 through 12 - With not much hope for success, I started laminating and cutting. Too early to heed your advice of 26 FEB, Mike. I actually used a little thinner stock for the lamination, resulting in a final thickness of about 0.8 mm. The number 1 ring and bulkheads fit perfectly with no adjustments! I had decided to cut to remove the line and that seemed to be working. When I test fitted piece 2 (a shelf extending from the forward to aft bulkhead) I discovered a problem with my reduced thickness bulkheads - the total bulkhead to bulkhead dimension was slightly less than the skin length. This was easily corrected with an extra layer or two added to the bulkheads but I filed this away in case similar situations arose later. The remaining fuselage sections were also perfect fits without adjustment; this is all to good to be true! I charged on to the wing stubs and was treated to the extreme airfoil that gives the T-bolt its superb low-level, low-speed performance. The airfoil has a strong undercamber toward the rear of the airfoil. My eventual solution to assembling this was to pre-shape the skin to the final shape and then glued the skin to the upper surface of the ribs and spar. Once that was dry I glued the skin to the bottom surfaces, insuring the trailing edge was aligned. The left wing stub was relatively painless and, with great confidence, I dashed on to the right stub. I was not as careful here (overconfidence, I think) and managed to get a slight twist in the assembly that was not noticed until other fuselage parts were added later.


Last edited by member_3; 02-26-2009 at 12:22 PM.
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Old 02-26-2009, 12:28 PM
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18 FEB Parts 13 through 17 - Flushed with the success of the initial construction, I charged on to the rear fuselage. Once again, things fit just fine as they were initially cut. I will mention here that my initial lack of confidence about finishing the bird caused me to forego any edge coloring (thinking it would be a wasted effort when I got frustrated down the line.)

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Old 02-26-2009, 12:32 PM
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If I remember right, I read on the Patton design thread that you can rub pastels into the cracks for edge coloring too.

This is turning out really good so far!
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Old 02-26-2009, 12:39 PM
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19 FEB Parts 18 through 29 - Still full of enthusiasm, I started the next day's building with anticipation. The cockpit presented another internal shelf/bulkhead problem (as with parts 1 and 2) but I anticipated it this time and made the cockpit floor a tad oversize in length to compensate for the thinner bulkheads. Again, my lack of confidence prompted me to skip things and I did not put any ballast in the nose. I have since determined that I can still do that by making a couple panel line cuts, dumping in the ballast/glue and sealing things back up. I also encountered my first bulkhead fit problem between section 18 (aft of the cockpit) and section 19 (cockpit.) This was apparently self-induced because I had not been checking front bulkhead profiles against the rear bulkhead of the next section. Had I been performing this most basic step of double bulkhead construction I would have noticed my errant knife work. The problem was mostly resolved and I'll just avoid photos of that area.


Last edited by member_3; 02-26-2009 at 12:42 PM.
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Old 02-26-2009, 12:46 PM
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19 FEB Parts 30 through 34 - On to the engine pods. These are a straightforward build with fit still excellent (and with me checking bulkhead pairs now.) This shows the central portion of the pods dry fitted in place.

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