WM #62 F7A from Highliners Kit- Construction Page 1
General Construction Notes
1) Clean gates and flashing from each piece before dry-fitting
2) Dry fit each piece before gluing. This is extremely important with this
kit.
3) Use only as much glue as necessary for a good, strong bond. If you get
glue on the shell, wipe it off with a lint-free rag (old t-shirt works well)
before it attacks the plastic. The shell is slick enough that you have a
couple seconds when you can do this.
These are the steps I went through to build up the FA kit. The order is
only a suggestion, because it worked well for me..
Pick a Prototype
Before you start working on the kit, get enough prototype information together
so you know exactly what you are modeling. The instructions are really
good in giving you the norms per phase, but some details vary by prototype.
(for example, window height on the WM was normal in phase Ia F7s even though it
was high in other Ia F7s)
The prototype I am building here is the 1950 as-delivered F7A #62.
Protect the Drop Steps
The drop steps look delicate. I'd hate to see them get damaged. To
protect them, a piece of tape folded over across the bottom length of the body
seems to do the trick. Here is a photo that shows how I protected the
steps (this is a photo of the glue-up of the front door, holding the door in is
the purpose of the tape across the front)
Clean the Parting Lines
The first step is to clean any parting lines. The most prominent ones are
on the front sides of the unit (diagonal parting lines), a thin line above the
windows, and two parting lines on the sides of the pilot. I used 1000 and
1500 grit automotive sandpaper to remove the parting lines. Be sure to
use tape to mask the nearby details before you start sanding.
Ream out the Exhaust Fan Hole
The second step is to clean out the exhaust fan hole where the mold gate was
removed. Make this hole as round as you can. Keep in mind, however,
that it will not really be visible, so "close enough" is typically good enough.
Fill Horn Locator Holes
This should be done as part of the clean-up step. However, I ended up
doing it at a later stage. Use your favorite method to fill the holes on
the roof (stretch sprue, body filler etc). The Nathan M5 horns have only
one support, not two.
Next Step Fans
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Thanks!
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