Imperial Shuttle

I got the top and bottom together, and there was this huge gap on both sides, but really bad on the one side. So I did what I could to glue it together best I could, then filled it in with putty. Once dry, I have a lot of sanding to do.

fix_2.jpg


I had helped my fiance work on another project before this and got red paint all over my hands that just wouldn't wash off. Got on the side.
fix2.jpg
 
Been so busy, finally got a chance to work on this some more.
Sanded the sides a bunch. Still a bit of rough spots, but I'll just say its battle damage or whatever.
In the small little area between seams, the putty came out while sanding....
So then got it primed up and hope to try and paint tomorrow.




 
What putty did you use? I've never seen putty crumble and fall out while sanding, though it may happen if the joint is bad and the parts are moving against each other. If that's the case try epoxy or CA as a filler, they'll bond the parts at the same time.
 
robn1 said:
What putty did you use? I've never seen putty crumble and fall out while sanding, though it may happen if the joint is bad and the parts are moving against each other. If that's the case try epoxy or CA as a filler, they'll bond the parts at the same time.
Click to expand...

or, some Apoxie Sculpt...
 
It actually was Apoxie Sculpt from Aves. I just called it putty, quicker to type. But yeah, totally came out while sanding. I just didn't feel like putting more, waiting to dry and sanding again. I think the weathering can fix it good enough. Now if this was a super detailed model that I payed a ton for, then I'd probably go and make it as perfect as I could.
So today I painted it the flat white....and I just ran out with it needing one more coat. But its looking good.
 
Hey, try some CA with micro balloons (microscopic glass beads that are inert but act as a matrix for the CA to set in, similarly to baking soda but not reactive at all.) It sets immediately and you can then sand right away. But as noted, the joints are probably 'floating' a bit so you really need a strong structural filler. The gaps were large enough to use plastic sheet to bridge the gaps... bread bag clips are made of styrene and are pretty thick if you don't have access to anything else...or something lying about that is a #6 plastic.

The size of the gaps is surprising. If you could have discovered what was keeping the parts apart & removed the obstruction before gluing, it would have given a better fit. I've never seen a sloppy fit that didn't benefit from some 'fettling' (careful shaping with file and sanding stick.) This sort of thing was much more common in the 'pre-CAD' days when kit patterns were often made by hand at 4x size, then pantographed down by the machinists for the molds. If an interior part didn't properly take in account the actual thickness of the shell, then you get the '5 lbs in a 1 lb sack' situation.

Anyway, good luck!

Regards, Robert
 
What i remember is dat the moveable wings made the parts come apart after some time because of the weight of the wings and the moveable rings inside the hull pressing on the top part of the hull.
I ended up glueing the wings to a fixed "flying"position and filling the gap with apoxie sculpt.
 
Voodoocaster said:
What i remember is dat the moveable wings made the parts come apart after some time because of the weight of the wings and the moveable rings inside the hull pressing on the top part of the hull.
I ended up glueing the wings to a fixed "flying"position and filling the gap with apoxie sculpt.
Click to expand...
Thats what I had to do. Even after glueing, moving the wings popped it apart.
As for figuring out why it wouldn't go together right, well, I just couldn't seem to figure it out. It was one side fit, other side not or visa versa. I had hoped the apoxie would have fixed it better, but guess not. There are other little imperfections as well from the molding process. I think it will just have to be battle damage. I hope someone someday releases a super nice detailed shuttle thats not too over priced, but for now, this will work. Other than showing you guys on here, not really going to do anything with the model other then just sit on the desk, or I might even hang it.
 
Those sides look really bad, dang MPC kits. Why not cover that area with some thin plastic strip? Work it into the design of the model.
 
Seeing how many of you guys are talking about those sides...guess I just need to bite the bullet and try and add some more apoxie and sand it down again. At least get the biggest looking issues out of the way. I need to buy more flat white anyways.
 
I went and just filled in as much with apoxie as I could. Put a bunch in that gap, so it shouldn't break out this time. Now to wait til tomorrow and sand the sucker down and hope it works out this time. Then I'll take pics.
 
The solution is to sand any inner parts that obstruct so both hull sit flush as much as possible and minimize putty work, it does require some work to get it perfect but its possible, I can open/close wing without issues. To be honest the cheaper the kits like the old MPC's the more skilled as a model builder you need to be, the new Bandai and finemolds are super eay to put togheter, I alway appreciate seeing a well built MPC as I know how much work was involved to make it shine.

DSC04561.JPG

GFollano
 
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JediMichael said:
Yeah, you made it look perfect. I'll do much as I can.
Click to expand...

Its a model man. Take your time and forget about anyone trying to put you down. Some are just in love with themselves and get a kick putting down others. It must be a really sad existence! LOL! Im planning on tackling this thing sometime this year.
 
JediMichael said:
Here we go, much much better. Took a while to get it sanded down just enough.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a382/JediMichael/sidefix.jpg
Click to expand...

Great job it looks great!!!

as for Sacrecrow Joe dumb comment, nobody put him down we took the time to read and look at his work and give our opinion and as a result his model looks a ton better won't you agree? so you mean its better to lie! the "its just a model" is not the way of thinking in my book, if everybody thinks like you we would still be stuck in the prehistoric era, always push your limits knowing that you did the best of your abilities.

GFollano
 
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