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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 2, 2017 0:26:20 GMT -5
Finally got some time to work on the 88. I have to say this has been the most complicated build I've ever done. I have tried to add detail to the base model by adding the missing wiring, modifying the battery box to accept said wiring and adding some missing connection ports. Overall I'm happy with how it's turned out, but I am kinda bummed out about the two PE dial faces on the side of the gun, one of them ended up a bit of kilter and the other just doesn't look lined up quite right. The CA set before I could fix them. I have been a bit unhappy with the quality of the kit itself. There are mold lines everywhere and my bad eyesight combined with big klutzy fingers made cleaning the lines off of very tiny parts an exercise in frustration. I'm lucky I didn't lose any parts to the carpet monster because I dropped them all about 6 times each trying to clean them. If anyone has advice on how to do this, I'd love to hear it. I still have a bit more detail to do, the gun mount needs some rivets that are missing and the PE handles on the fuse setter and one of the control boxes need horizontal handles added. The front shield, seating and final clean up is next on the To Do List. Pictures: Detail...notice the askew PE Some of the additional detail, hard to get pictures of it.
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Post by panzerjager2 on Jan 2, 2017 5:02:07 GMT -5
Looking good.... I really like the chain and the Fuse Setting mechanism.......
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Post by Leon on Jan 2, 2017 5:47:52 GMT -5
Your doing an awesome job on the details CD!
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joelsmith
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Post by joelsmith on Jan 2, 2017 7:24:51 GMT -5
CD, what you might try is fingernail polish remover. The acetone soften/dissolves the ca glue. Try it on a scrap piece to see if the acetone attacks the plastic! As for the "dropsies", I have a apron that I have glued Velcro on to the bottom hem, and the edge of my workbench. It serves as a catch basin for the small parts that I drop. Hope this helps, Joel. PS, the 88 is looking mighty fine!
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Post by Leon on Jan 2, 2017 9:30:30 GMT -5
Great tip on the appron Joel!
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Post by deafpanzer on Jan 2, 2017 12:52:22 GMT -5
Your 88 is looking lovely already and it is not even painted yet.
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 2, 2017 14:03:49 GMT -5
CD, what you might try is fingernail polish remover. The acetone soften/dissolves the ca glue. Try it on a scrap piece to see if the acetone attacks the plastic! As for the "dropsies", I have a apron that I have glued Velcro on to the bottom hem, and the edge of my workbench. It serves as a catch basin for the small parts that I drop. Hope this helps, Joel. PS, the 88 is looking mighty fine! Would straight acetone work just as well or is it more harsh than fingernail polish remover?
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joelsmith
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Post by joelsmith on Jan 2, 2017 15:15:51 GMT -5
I think fingernail polish remover is the "weaker" of the two. However in my experience the plastic is the main concern. Some kit plastic will soften and deform when acetone/acetone based solutions are used. I would glue a piece of scrap PE or a chunk of the frame to a spare piece of plastic, let it sit for a hour or so, then try to remove/adjust the PE on the plastic and check if there is any damage. Talk more soon, Joel.
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mrversatile
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Jan 20, 2013 10:52:24 GMT -5
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Post by mrversatile on Jan 3, 2017 10:42:14 GMT -5
Cd, you have conquered most of what you set out to do. Much of what you see as mistakes will be hidden by the general "busyness" of the piece, not to mention the finishing process. Keep plugging.
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 5, 2017 23:24:54 GMT -5
Well I soldered my first PE ever tonight. All in all it came out ok for a 1st timer, not all the parts are exactly straight, but once painted and positioned in the scene I doubt anyone will ever notice. I haven't figured out how to keep the little bitty part I'm trying to solder onto a bigger part from moving when I touch the Soldering iron close. I tried using the Solder It paste that Joel mentioned earlier in the thread. I had a tube that is about 4 years old. I guess it must have settled because all i ever got to come out the end was an amber looking gel without any solder in it. I ended up using some Solder Paste I had purchased off of Ebay. Solder Paste SG-50 I applied it with a needle and then set the PE into it. The very first one I did I managed to spread the solder all over the place. The subsequent ones got better every try. These are pretty close in macro shots so you can see the work. First Attempt...Got solder everywhere!!! Mid session attempts Final attempts I have no idea how to clean up the excess solder...how do you do that? PS: Based on joelsmith advice, i was able to use acetone to detach the crooked dial faceplate from the model and re-attach it correctly. Big thank you to Joel for that tip.
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Post by Tobi on Jan 6, 2017 4:24:42 GMT -5
Splendid work for your first soldering try!
Clean up only via sanding, I'm afraid.
It would seem to me that in some places the parts were soldered cold. There the bond will not be strong. This happens especially when two parts of extremely different size are brought together, because the heat up time is not the same. You can either heat the larger part up at an independent heat source or simply apply extensively more heat. I keep a small Crème Brulée gas torch ready in my tool box for these cases.
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Post by Leon on Jan 6, 2017 5:26:43 GMT -5
CD for your first try at soldering,you did pretty darn good! I still have'nt gotten the nerve to try it yet.
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Post by dierk on Jan 6, 2017 7:03:46 GMT -5
Soldering is one of the many things I've yet to get the hang of, so well done! There are glass fibre pens available for cleaning up solder, but the fibre splinters/fragments get everywhere and are highly irritating. The apron is a great idea! Being blessed with short arms and deep pockets I just use an old T-shirt spread across my lap/thighs.
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joelsmith
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Post by joelsmith on Jan 6, 2017 8:18:58 GMT -5
Great first attempt CD, the more you solder the better you will get, like ant modeling skill, practice, practice, practice. The glass fibre pen mentioned by dierk is a good tool, but, you really need to wear a faceshield, long sleeves, and, gloves to use it safely. The broken fibres stick every where. It is like installing fiberglass insulation without gloves. Talk more soon, Joel. PS, glad the acetone tip worked for you.
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 10:23:27 GMT -5
It would seem to me that in some places the parts were soldered cold. There the bond will not be strong. This happens especially when two parts of extremely different size are brought together, because the heat up time is not the same. You can either heat the larger part up at an independent heat source or simply apply extensively more heat. I keep a small Crème Brulée gas torch ready in my tool box for these cases. I Googled Cold Solder Joint to understand what you were talking about. Since I've never done this before I didn't even know such a thing existed. Thank you for bringing this to my attention! From what I've read in my Googling, I should be able to heat up the area and get the solder to flow cleanly. Any advice on how to do that while keeping the part from moving?
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joelsmith
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Post by joelsmith on Jan 6, 2017 11:59:42 GMT -5
CD, if you have some modeling clay, that could be used to hold the parts still while you reheat them. Talk more soon, Joel.
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Post by Tobi on Jan 6, 2017 13:23:00 GMT -5
It would seem to me that in some places the parts were soldered cold. There the bond will not be strong. This happens especially when two parts of extremely different size are brought together, because the heat up time is not the same. You can either heat the larger part up at an independent heat source or simply apply extensively more heat. I keep a small Crème Brulée gas torch ready in my tool box for these cases. I Googled Cold Solder Joint to understand what you were talking about. Since I've never done this before I didn't even know such a thing existed. Thank you for bringing this to my attention! From what I've read in my Googling, I should be able to heat up the area and get the solder to flow cleanly. Any advice on how to do that while keeping the part from moving? Phew, difficult question. That is the tricky part where all kinds of tweezers, clamps and jigs come into play. This makes soldering an art. Plan your steps, find the correct sequence, improvise a jig to fix the parts... Always use soldering flux. As I wrote, a little gas torch sometimes works better than a solder iron. You can also try to apply the heat from the backside. For example on your gun shield from the outside, then the small little parts inside are untouched. Crocodile clamps can work to draw away the heat from already soldered areas so the joints don't become loose again there, and so on. It's mostly practice and experience. Personally I use a 25W solder iron with fine tip, 0.3mm silver solder wire (has the lowest melting temperature) and soldering water instead of paste, because it allows for better flowing. I solder only supporting structures and super glue the accompanying details.
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Post by deafpanzer on Jan 6, 2017 13:34:34 GMT -5
I use PE a lot but I haven't tried the soldering method yet and I want to try one day. You had the courage to make the jump... now I need to do the same for my next build. You did very well!
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 13:35:28 GMT -5
I solder only supporting structures and super glue the accompanying details. So this raises a question. Are you better off to glue the small details like the little PE fake hinges that line both sides of the shield at the fold? It's much easier to put a small drop of CA in place than try to solder them.
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 13:37:57 GMT -5
I use PE a lot but I haven't tried the soldering method yet and I want to try one day. You had the courage to make the jump... now I need to do the same for my next build. You did very well! Not sure I'd call it courage...more like naivety. Kinda a "Hey ya'll watch this" moment we southern boys are known for. This guy has to be in my family tree somewhere
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Post by deafpanzer on Jan 6, 2017 14:04:12 GMT -5
LOL! For a minute I thought that guy was YOU?!?!? Kidding... I enjoy all of your humor GIFs. Keep them coming!
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jsteinman
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Post by jsteinman on Jan 6, 2017 14:06:57 GMT -5
You may want to use a heat sink, to protect existing solder joints ,as you fix your cold joints.
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joelsmith
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Post by joelsmith on Jan 6, 2017 15:17:49 GMT -5
The guy doing the face plant couldn't be CD, he has hair! ;<)
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 15:53:12 GMT -5
The guy doing the face plant couldn't be CD, he has hair! ;<) Hey, I have hair(s)...they are all wild and in a place you can't see.
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fhvn4d
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Post by fhvn4d on Jan 6, 2017 17:32:48 GMT -5
CD, I am ONE KIT ahead of you in the PE realm so I feel your excitement and anxieties with glue and solder. I have found a couple things that I can offer for ideas.... first and foremost, get the hell away from superglue for MOST parts....I have found that gorilla glue, gator glue, and most stronger white type glues work almost as well as long as you can set the part in right. The other glue I have found works, if you dont mind alot of waste and stink, is 5 minute epoxy. Its thickness helps the parts stay where you want them to, and the bonding strength is IMO better than superglue!!! As for the soldering... there is a fantastic how to video on youtube somewhere that offered me two particularly useful tips... the first was to NOT use the solder in its wire form. Either cut small "pepperoni pieces" or mash the solder wire flat and cut it off and put them close to your work with very well placed dabs of flux (the goey stuff that cleans the metal just before the solder melts}, and second is use the flux where you want the solder to go, and make sure its NOT where you DONT want the solder to go..... by using the tiny wedges or chips of solder, you will alleviate the extra solder and sanding, and by fluxing where you want the solder to go and getting the parts hot enough (hotter makes the solder flow like paint), alot of the need to clean up is gone entirely and all you need do is wipe it down with alcohol or someting to clean the solder off!!! For my searches, this was the most comprehensive tutorial I found and used most of the tips in it! ..... youtu.be/iBji-Oz3J7E
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Post by Tobi on Jan 6, 2017 17:48:59 GMT -5
I solder only supporting structures and super glue the accompanying details. So this raises a question. Are you better off to glue the small details like the little PE fake hinges that line both sides of the shield at the fold? It's much easier to put a small drop of CA in place than try to solder them. From what I can see in your pics, yes, that's probably what I would do. Solder the front and the side shields together and than superglue the small brackets. If they have no other use than "being just there", then glue is quicker and the fixation is strong enough. The supports holding the "Y" struts instead I would solder again. But before you get to gluing you have to wash off all remnants of grease and solder flux first, and the solder work has to be complete. If the glue joints get hot from continued soldering, bye bye...
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Post by panzerjager2 on Jan 6, 2017 17:55:08 GMT -5
CD, LOOKING good, keep up the good work
Joelsmith.... AWESOME tip you shared
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 20:54:54 GMT -5
Personally I use a 25W solder iron with fine tip, 0.3mm silver solder wire (has the lowest melting temperature) and soldering water instead of paste, because it allows for better flowing. I solder only supporting structures and super glue the accompanying details. What is soldering water? I googled it and didn't come up with anything other than a bunch of links to plumbers soldering water pipe.
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Post by panzerjager2 on Jan 6, 2017 21:26:28 GMT -5
don't hold me to it CD BUTTTTTTTTTTTT I think it's the liquid flux that some people use
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Post by chromdome35 on Jan 6, 2017 23:24:24 GMT -5
don't hold me to it CD BUTTTTTTTTTTTT I think it's the liquid flux that some people use That would make sense, hopefully Tobi will be around over the weekend to confirm.
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