I’m currently working on Hasegawa’s P-40N. On both sides of the fuselage is a large hole that according to the instructions is supposed to be filled with a clear part & then levelled. Weird. I was going to level it with the surface, then fill it with some putty. However, I don’t know the best way to approach this.
Have any of you had to level something like this? What is the best way to attempt something like this without damaging the surface? I was thinking of surrounding that protruding circle with dymo tape & then trying to shave it off with a round xacto blade. Once it has been shaved, I would try to sand it, then fill the divot with putty. Its a shame that this hole is in such a visible area on the aircraft. It is screaming: “mess me up!”
Anyone have any suggestions? Help is greatly appreciated! [:)]
I recommend stretching some clear sprue (or whatever color) and pulling it to a point, cutting it off at the small end, then shoving the small end into the hole like a plug or barrel bung, then trim the large end and sand flush…
That’s what I would do too. A lot easier to cut a ridge like that off, rather than sand it down. Just kind of roll the blade carefully, taking a little off at a time. You have to fill the hole with putty anyway so even if you aren’t as neat as you’d like with the blade, it’s not a huge loss.
When the putty time comes, I’d use one of the techniques to wipe it smooth (depends on the putty you use), rather than sanding.
But, you know, there’s 101 ways to skin a cat, or so I hear. [:)]
Thanks for the suggestions. I don’t know why I was being so timid. Guess I was worried about defacing what so far has been a good build for me.
The pic I posted makes that hole look alot bigger than it really is. I broke out the dremel, put on a sanding wheel & sanded it to nothing in just a few soft strokes. Afterwards, I filled it with some squadron putty & ran a q-tip soaked in acetone nail polish remover to smooth it out. When it hardened, I wet sanded it. It looks level now. I’ll see how it looks after its painted.
Thanks again for the assistance, I’m new at this & just needed a kick in the pants.
