Need help filling in gaps and seams!

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Techniques
1

Guys,

I have a O-2A Skymaster by Testors on the bench atm. There are huge gaps between the assembly between the fuselage and the wing component. I have tried squadron green putty and Zap-a-gap with unsatisfying results.

Method thus far:

  • model washed, fuselage assembled, sanded

  • attached wing portion to fuselage. Gaps puttied , waited , sanded. Made a mess with putty a little , and losing some surface detail. The details on this particular model are raised, not the other way round.

The green putty seems to have small “perforations” in the putty after its dried. This is totally noticeable after priming. These little “microgaps” make me wanna throw this model into the ocean. And I live by one so it would be easy. Further, there is a large step-off between the leading edge of the wing component and the top of cockpit.

Any help?

Thanks.

2

Well. You could allways try and use some sheet styrene and fill the gap with that and then what ever small gaps you had after that the putty would be better. I use squadrons white putty and it works great for me. I usually let it set up over night before sanding it though and sometimes requires more then one application but not allways. I bought a package of evergreen’s odds and ends and hit has a hole bunch of stuff to use, here’s a link to it http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXF884&P=ML

Also for the raised panel lines ive experimented with putting pasking tape over the datails this works pretty good. I usually put two layers of tape over the datial just incase not sure if two layers is needed or not.

3

Actually , after more research the leading edge of the wing to the fuselage is supposed to have a bit of a stepoff as I can see. I can probably deal with the rest. Thank you Goodness for your suggesstion. Odds and ends is soon to be on order.

Anyone have experience with microbubble fillers?

4

Read through this article

Perfect Seams

5

Gerry,

your article is indispensable. I am going to try to find these solvents soon and a TnF. this may be basic, but I have constructed using the pin holes for alignment and crazy glue and have been so disappointed with the results. i think with practice, that this is one of these things that takes a modeller to the next level.

Do you use crazy glue at all?

Thanks,

David

6

I rarely use CA, when I do its usually to affix an antenna or something on that order.

7

While I also use sheet styrene in large gaps to reduce the gaps for the putty, I don’t think that is your problem- those micro holes can occur even in smaller gaps. If I have that problem with putty, I use primer to fill the holes. I use Krylon primer, which has a lot of body and fills pretty good itself.

8

I am wondering as I am new ot this,if a person ecould use,painters putty from DAP,I use it at work and can’t think why it wouldn’t work on a surface that is going to be painted.Where I live most things suggested on here have to be ordered in.

9

One the thing that works well is fill the seam with baking soda, then using a fine tip run THIN C/A glue along the seam. The baking soda soaks up the C/A and hardens almost immediately and sands nice.

I trowel the baking soda into the seam with a putty blade then carefully run the C/A in. It makes a nice smooth surface.

Mark

10

You’d find that it shrinks, doesn’t feather well (for plastic models) and may react with some paints and thinners. Its fine for its intended use, just not some of the others such as plastic scale modeling.