Dear all
So the last month has been very up and down for me, mostly down. However have managed to inch forward on progress of the model. So last time I had completed all the fingers and thumbs
So Buzz's left hand digits were selected
Then I started to join the fingers to each other. In each case deciding which joining tabs to remove between the fingers
The joins were too weak and needed strengthening straight away. Then came attaching the fingers to the mit.
Gluegate! The fingers were too striff near their base and would not flex into the right position to fit into the mit. Ended up tearing and bodging the join near the base of the pinky
I then needed to get some strengthening layers around the joins to stop the whole thing tearing every time I touched it. This was slow (surprisingly delicate) work
Eventually got the hand stable
So now the thumb needed to be attached
I now knew these hands are going to need a lot of careful multi layered strengthening. At least 3 layers but possibly up to 6 layers in places. And so began the very slow process of doing that. Because of the curvature and very tight angles the strips could not be very big and each one (it seemed) required several dry fits and trimmings before it could be glued.
I "discovered" (what everyone has probably known for years) that a dry glue spreader makes a good pressure rubbing stick
But slowly and surely strengthened the mit and fingers
until it was finished!
There was a totally unforeseen surprise, in that the "wrinkling" effect of the glue made the mit and fingers look leathery, as is really made from a cloth like material. I now need to do the other 3 hands . I am not sure if they will have their own "gluegate" issues but at least I know it should be manageable.
Regards
Kevin