ZM Ta152H-0

[tucohoward]

Well I'm back in with Ta152H-0 in 1/32 scale. This is known to be a kit with some serious fit issues and I'm accepting that it may not make it to the finish line. I got the kit for $30 at a show so not too concerned if it goes sideways. I have seen a few finished so it can be done. Threw a bunch of parts together this weekend. The engine assembly will not really be seen so I didn't try to do anything with it although I did paint it just because I'm not totally sure nothing can be seen. The cockpit went together well but none of this stuff is where the problems lie. Not far off from that point so we'll see what happens.

Cheers,
Jay

[kyledehart5]

And once again you’re off to quite an excellent start!! I hope the fit issues don’t bother you and it all goes smoothly.

[stikpusher]

Beautiful work in the cockpit!

[lyle]

Oh wow! Speechless..looks so good.

[deafpanzer]

Looking good Jay!

[handiabled]

Great start to this one! I hope this one cooperates with you my friend. As far as fit with this one I heard the leading edge of the wings being one of them.

[brandonk]

This is gonna be good. Nice pit work!

[Joe Rix]

Good to see you back in it Jay. The cockpit looks absolutely choice. Hoping this one sees it way to completion with little hassle. You got this!

[tucohoward]

Thanks, guys! I finished the IP. ZM recommends decals on the back of a clear IP but I went with their decals on front of the regular part, they give you both, and then Bondic for the glass. I attached the cockpit assembly to the bottom fuselage piece. I wouldn't have been opposed to some locating pins but I think it's ok. Played around with the right fuselage part for a while before committing to glue. This is where I can see things possibly get out of alignment so am being careful. Going to let it sit overnight before trying the left side.

Cheers,
Jay

[eaglecash867]

Looks great so far. Really liking the engine and cockpit!

[Leon]

Looking good Jay!

[buddho]

That cockpit is fab!!! 😲

[406 Silverado]

Man that is looking FABULOUS so far Jay. I've got this kit in 1/48th scale and hope that it goes together even half as good as what I'm seeing here. TONS of detail dude. These ZM kits really are "all that".........AND a whole bag of party mix!

[stikpusher]

That is a really sweet cockpit! I’m looking forward to the next stage on this.

[TJ]

Wow that cockpit looks awesome

[handiabled]

Office looks fantastic!

[tucohoward]

Thanks, guys! Everything has gone well so far but I think I'm getting to the point where things can get misaligned so trying to be careful. I had to toss a ZM 109G-14 last year because I got something misaligned and by the time it showed up in the build process it was not fixable. This was after I had already built one successfully so it pays to be really careful with these kits. This is one of their earlier kits so it goes double for this one.

Cheers,
Jay

[jeaton01]

Good Luck!

[tucohoward]

After working on the wings I realized how big this thing is. The wingspan is almost that of a Bf110. The wings took some work. While these ZM kits are nice and have a lot of detail the fit is certainly not Tamiya level. The wing fillets also needed a little sanding and filing. The tail section fits pretty well although there is a warning in the instructions about alignment. It looks straight to me. The fun really starts with the wings to fuselage joining. I am doing one contact point at a time starting up top. If there's any major bodywork to be done I want it on the bottom. It looks like there might be a gap underneath but enough glue and clamps may bring it together. That will be for tomorrow night. I want to make sure what I have glued tonight is really set. Also I didn't glue the fuselage halves to the firewall/back of IP area. I want as much wiggle room as possible when it comes to installing the front cowling pieces.

Cheers,
Jay

[kyledehart5]

Well. I think it’s looking really great so far. Hopefully no bad surprises.

[handiabled]

Looking from the top down it's looking good so far! I hope the rest of the wing marriage to the fuselage goes smooth.

[406 Silverado]

Jeez Jay. I can see where things could get tricky at the rear part of the lower wing to fuselage fit. You're doing a great job of keeping everything moving and lining up so far bud. I didn't realize how wide the wingspan was on these H models. Which is why I started with a C-0. Details are looking the part in that pit man.

[TJ]

Jay in that pic with the wing laid out, is that 109 in the same scale?

[tucohoward]

Thanks, guys! The 109 in the pic is 1/48 scale as is the Tomcat. Looking at other builds of this kit is interesting. Everyone has fit issues, no question about that, but they can show up in different areas. It's kind of like trying to put 10 lbs. of crap in a 5 lb. bag. It's not going to fit. With this kit I think it depends on how each person deals with each one as it comes along as to where the next one shows up. Definitely a chore to get the engine assembly in place. A friend on LSP just finished one of these so I read through his build thread again and got some good info which made it a little quicker, knowing a couple of things that had to be removed vs. figuring it out. I still ended up removing more locating pins to actually be able to get it in place. I think it's aligned pretty well but we'll see when I try to get the cowlings on.

My real issue at the moment is the area at the backside of the IP. The firewall part sits up too high so the fuselage halves are spread too far apart for the front windscreen to fit correctly. First i cut through the front of the firewall part but really got me nothing. The IP is glued to the firewall plus the cockpit side consoles so it was still pretty firmly in place. Got the Dremel out and ground it above where the IP was glued to the firewall so was able to remove the section I needed to lower. I do need it in there to be able to glue the fuselage halves to, hopefully bringing them close enough together for the windscreen to fit.

Cheers,
Jay

[kyledehart5]

Looking good. That’s some nice corrective surgery there.

[handiabled]

This one is going to go kicking and screaming the entire way isn't it? Looks like you are winning the battle with your mods

[hasenpfeffer]

Whew! I thought from that one pic that you binned this one too. LOL. Ya gotta be part engineer I guess to build these ZM kits.
Dig that Tomcat... my favorite jet of all-time. If I built jets, I'd probably have a dozen.

[tucohoward]

Feb 11, 2024 22:03:58 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

Whew! I thought from that one pic that you binned this one too. LOL. Ya gotta be part engineer I guess to build these ZM kits.
Dig that Tomcat... my favorite jet of all-time. If I built jets, I'd probably have a dozen.

Haha, it does look that way but the trash can is great for holding large planes like this one. I don't think this one will end up there as I'm past the major obstacles, at least I think so. I was able to close up the fuselage. I really needed three hands to do it but somehow managed to hold it and super glue it. No way to clamp it as the sides are sloping. It is under tension so hopefully won't pop open later on. The engine cowlings actually fit pretty well so the only thing to go wrong at this point is the landing gear. ZM uses a weird attachment for gear legs where you have to insert them and then turn them 90 degrees. I've read enough, I think, to be able to pull it off without breaking them. Pics later.

Cheers,
Jay

[406 Silverado]

This is definitely not the first time I've heard of fit issues on these ZM Ta-152 kits. Lots of folks tout how great they are as far as fit and alignment goes but from what I've seen this is a problematic area on these kits. It DOES look like you've got things figured out and are moving forward in good fashion though. I've got the 1/48 scale ZM Ta-152 in the stash......

[tucohoward]

Thanks, guys! The 109G-14 is definitely better but I don't know of anyone who just sailed through this one. May have turned a corner though. The engine cowlings actually fit pretty well, but I did cut off the exhaust stubs from the engine to ease assembly. At least after all the hackery it finally paid off with something that without work. The front whatever that is did require some work to get it to fit flush. I'm ready for a victory lap but I do feel like the major issues are in rear view. Couldn't resist throwing a little paint at it. I figured it would be a lot easier to paint the black area around the exhaust with the cowlings off plus I could then paint the exhaust off of the model. Also easier.

Cheers,
Jay