After wrapping up my Spitfire XII for the Vancouver Fall show I have got back to this one. I found that my $90 resin kit had a serious issue with fuselage lengh. I had a choice of lining up the cockpit opening or lining up the tail but not both. So, after a few breathing exercises, I cut the fuselage in half ahead of the tail!





After that scary action it went together quite well and I have since glued the fuselage together and added the tail piece. A think chunk of plastic card was used to fill the 1/8" or so gap and then sanded down.



Wings and cockpit are intalled.





More soon and it should start to move quicker now that the basics are assembled.

to a knotty problem! Looking good!

After wrapping up my Spitfire XII for the Vancouver Fall show I have got back to this one. I found that my $90 resin kit had a serious issue with fuselage lengh. I had a choice of lining up the cockpit opening or lining up the tail but not both. So, after a few breathing exercises, I cut the fuselage in half ahead of the tail!





After that scary action it went together quite well and I have since glued the fuselage together and added the tail piece. A think chunk of plastic card was used to fill the 1/8" or so gap and then sanded down.



Wings and cockpit are intalled.





More soon and it should start to move quicker now that the basics are assembled.

I'm not suggesting that this kit is a lemon, but you get the picture....


Great solution. I'm anxious to see the finished result.

John

Not a bad analogy! I like lemonade, though it can make you wince a bit at times.

The kit is actually very nice with a lot of neat features. The problem with resin is that it is not consistent on the final size and fit. I have the La5F from Vector also started and it has the same issue. I put a lot of thought into it and really, frightening as it is, cutting it was the best solution by far. Now that it is fixed I am enjoying the build quite a bit and looking forward to starting on the paint shortly.

Thanks,

Chris

Glad to hear that it's working out. I know I've had similar issues with resin kits. Thankfully, I haven't had to "splice" one, yet. I'm sure my day will come, though. I have a couple Planet Models Ju-388 kits with similar issues.

Hope to see your finished builds, soon!

Regards,

John

I guess I can't talk you into doing those in time for the group build? That is a kit that I have seriously considered finding for myself. Gorgeous bird!

Thanks,

Chris

After wrapping up my Spitfire XII for the Vancouver Fall show I have got back to this one. I found that my $90 resin kit had a serious issue with fuselage lengh. I had a choice of lining up the cockpit opening or lining up the tail but not both. So, after a few breathing exercises, I cut the fuselage in half ahead of the tail!





After that scary action it went together quite well and I have since glued the fuselage together and added the tail piece. A think chunk of plastic card was used to fill the 1/8" or so gap and then sanded down.



Wings and cockpit are intalled.





More soon and it should start to move quicker now that the basics are assembled.

to start out with. You have done a good job making it look good!!!

The only rough part is the unavoidable shrinkinge/distortion that seems to happen with large resin casting sometimes.

I found the fuselage halves to be slightly different lenghs and that required surgery. The rest of the kit is actually very finely done. The landing gear is very nice and includes wire in the legs for strengh and a separate fork and wheel for the tail. I wish Hasegawa would do this! The cockpit is also very nice and overall the kit is quite well done. The main airframe is good in the sense that the details are well rendered. The control separations are beveled on one side as per the original and the surface details are very crisp. It fully lives up to the usual standards of Vector.

I think while dealing with the issue of the fuselage I forgot just how nice the kit is overall. From now on I am tackling the smaller bits and the view will be a bit rosier!

Thanks and stand by for an update shortly,

Chris