Built and added the head restraint. You can also see in the pics that I am enhancing the weathering a bit by adding some carbon streaking from the engine exhausts and machine guns.
KI-84 Hayate/Halinski
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I decided to go ahead and complete the engine cowling by constructing the air intake scoop and attaching it to the cowling. This was not the most difficult part of the build, but did require some very careful cutting and shaping due to its small size.
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More images with air intake attached to engine cowling...
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So I figured I would go ahead and begin building the radial engine. There are MANY very small and repetitive parts, so I anticipate taking breaks and working on some other assemblies while the engine is in progress. Here are some shots of instruction diagrams and uncut parts.
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Here are some shots of the engine assembly - started and in progress. stay tuned...
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Great work, g force!!! A real joy to follow 8o. If Im not mistaken, you made the engine cowling detachable. Is that part of the kit or is it an extra?
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Originally posted by Ricleite
Great work, g force!!! A real joy to follow 8o. If Im not mistaken, you made the engine cowling detachable. Is that part of the kit or is it an extra?To be honest, it is not clear whether or not the cowling is intended to be detachable in the kit's instructions. My guess is that it needs to be glued in place, however I am trying to figure a way to make it removable (unless my construction of the engine results in something flawed - in which case I will permanently affix the cowling). Part 41 is meant to have the radial engine crankcase glued to it, and then the cowling slips over this (such that the white ring inside the cowling aligns with the edges of part 41).
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It looks very promising If the part 41 slips with a bit of pressure, it may well hold the cowling in place quite neatly. It is 'just' a matter of testing
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While construction of the engine will be ongoing, I decided to build the tail rudder. I love the Japanese writing on this part, and it gives me joy to see it come together - it gives the aircraft a unique character.
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More photos of the tail rudder construction. After the internal frame was assembled, I formed and glued in place the upper section. The lower section was far more difficult to shape, but with a little patience it came out pretty satisfactory. This element had another "cut out after glueing" portion, which really helped to hold the shape before and after cutting.
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Here are some images of the completed tail rudder on the aircraft.
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I have continued with construction of the control surfaces, moving on to the wings. This part was not too difficult, except for the very tiny elements that make up the control mechanism - and its tiny curved coverings.
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Here are some photos of the control surface assembly attached to the wing.
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I figured it was about time to start working on the landing gear so the Hayate can stand on its own legs. I begin here with the landing gear covering elements.
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After preparing and cutting out the main landing gear coverings, I decided to go ahead and build the rear landing gear assembly in its entirety. There were a few small parts to cut, shape and glue -but surprisingly, the most challenging part was sanding and shaping the rear wheel itself. These little bits of detail on the exterior are what start to really bring the aircraft to life.
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Ok, back to the main landing gear. I made the wheel/tire assemblies in the following steps:
1. cut the disc shaped elements from the laser cut frame sheet.
2. laminate them together in the proper order
3. I then mounted the wheels to a dremel tool and spun them while sanding, to remove the "stepped" look.
4. I then coated the sanded wheels with CA glue and let it dry to harden them and eliminate the "fuzzies" from the sanding process.
5. I followed up with a final sanding with fine grit sandpaper.
6. then, 2 coats of matte black acrylic paint.
7. the wheel covers themselves were then glued into the tire elements.
8. a light coat of clear acrylic spray was applied. -
And now to complete the landing gear...
I formed the shape of the undercarriage legs (following the provided template in the kit) out of .8 mm brass wire. I then tightly rolled the paper leg parts around the brass wire to form their cylindrical shape, glueing as I went.
The shock absorber links were the most difficult part of this assembly, because they were tiny parts made up of more even tinier parts. My eyes hurt afterwards, but they are done.
I painted the internal shaft of the shocks with a chrome paint to give an illusion of stainless steel, and finally glued the wheels and landing gear coverings in place.
Now, to give the bird its newly constructed legs...
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And the landing gear is complete - attached to the aircraft. The Hayate can now stand up on legs!
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Well, I just felt like building the machine guns - so I started with the starboard 20mm cannon on the wing. It's a very small thing tightly wrapped around a brass wire. Not the easiest, but quite satisfying!
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Here is more progress on some of the exterior detail.
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Well...after a LONG hiatus from this build - it is back alive, and I hope to be finishing it soon. I was a bit rusty with my modeling skills, but it came back in no time. I had forgotten how much fun I was having with this one. So, I decided it was time to put together the propellors/airscrew assembly.
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a couple more photos...
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More progress...this time beginning the cockpit canopy assembly. This is very difficult and precise work. I have done a few, but each time I try a slightly different technique to see what works best. For this one, I decided to cut out and glue on the exterior frame first to the vacu-formed canopy, then cut the clear plastic. This seemed to work quite well, and made for cleaner, easier handling. Any tips from the pros would be welcome here...
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Some images of the rear canopy section cut out and glued to the fuselage.
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A bit more progress on the canopy...the front of the cockpit canopy now complete.
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Super Model und sehr schön gebaut
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Danke. Es wurde auch sehr angenehm.
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Jan Hascher
Moved the thread from forum wbb.board.AVIATION_CREPORTS to forum Construction Reports.