Wednesday, April 12, 2017

PML Lunar Express Build, Part 12, Landing Pads Fin Details

Landing "Pods" are attached to each of the four fins. These really give the rocket a 1950's era sci-fi look.

The pods are very well cast from resin. They are smooth and show no flaws at all.
They are two part, the upper and lower flat gluing surfaces were sanded flat with 220 grit on a block.



Here's the low end, the pod is turned upside down. This is a dry fit.
There is a small dimple on the bottom which I won't be filling.
The instructions recommend using medium thickness CA glue.
A fair amount was set on the flat of the longer end and the bottom pressed into place. Any CA glue that ends up on the outside is easily sanded off.

When the seams were sanded smooth there was virtually no line at all! I wish all pre-formed parts went together as easy and clean.

7 comments:

  1. Hmmm... Now that I got a good look at the fin pods, it looks like it shares some design elements with Tintin's moon rocket. Curvilinear body shape, fin pods, retro portholes, etc. If one were to modify the fin shape and paint it an orange and white checkerboard pattern it would be a good facsimile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi BAR,
      I was reminded of the Tintin rocket when I first saw this one.

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  2. May I add, check for stability when doing any modifications, unless you are building a shelf queen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi BAR,
      This one was for a client, built stock except for the paint and vinyl décor.

      Delete
  3. Placing the CA on the shoulder to wipe off? I was taught to place the glue inside the tube, and twist, therefore no need to sand any residue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thomas,
      If you read the post and look at the pictures, you will see that there is no tube. There are two "flats" that glue together

      Delete
    2. Hi Thomas,
      The "landing pods" were two pieces of (very well) molded resin. It was almost like gluing together to nose cones back to back, except there were no shoulders at the base of the cones.
      A small "pool" of CA glue was set on the flat base of one half cone. The other half is pressed into the glued base. Any glue that came out the side seam was wiped off and sanded smooth after the glue dried.

      Delete