In Step 2 you are told to glue the BT-50 sections to the BT-5 with 3" of space between them.The two supplied dowels are exactly 6" long. Those are cut in half leaving two 3" sections. If the dowels ended up a little short the dowel ends wouldn't reach the BT-50 assemblies.
I glued the upper assembly a little closer to the bottom (2 15/16") to allow a sanded friction fit of the dowels between the two BT-50 sections.
Cut the dowels in half by rolling a razor blade over the 3" mark.
Roll only one turn of the dowel forward, then roll back toward you keeping the blade in the cut you just made.
If you roll too many rotations forward you run the risk of the cut traveling down the dowel in a spiral. You don't have much dowel length to play with, make the cut correctly.
Here's the dowels in place, friction fitted with no glue.Don't make the fit too tight, you could bend the center BT-5 tube.
The dowels will be glued with a spot of white glue first on the ends.
I'll follow with some medium CA applied with a toothpick at the inside area of the joint.
Kit instructions said nothing about sanding or priming dowels nor launch lugs... so I took the initiative and sanded and sealed prior to primer. But I glued the dowels in place before painting! Will attempt a brush paint with Testors or a black permanent marker as suggested for the command modual pong ball. Also, I thought the fins were too loose, and one cracked off during assembly, so I am re-addressing all with fillets that I will not sand...for strength!
ReplyDeleteI seal dowels before gluing onto the model. It makes for a smoother surface and is easier to do beforehand.
DeleteI was surprised how well the marker colored the ping pong ball.