Monday, August 5, 2024

Enerjet by Aerotech, Astrobee D Build, Part 9, Forward Lug Rail Fastener




From the remaining lug rail material,
Cut a piece to 1.31" long.

Sand the ends square.

These are the bolts that glue onto the forward lug rail.

They are small, 
I'd recommend keeping them in a small zip-lock bag.

Shown in the picture below,
Cut, don't twist off the molding trees.
Notice I first cut off the thin tree side. Cut a little long, sand to the round edge.


You'll find it easier to sand the open side of the bolts round with the larger molding tree to hold onto.

After you sand the open side round, you can cut the bolt head off the larger tree side. Cut a little wide
More in the next post -

3 comments:

  1. "Cut, don't twist off the molding trees" -- ah yes, one of the first things you learn when building plastic models. You might be able to get away with twisting off the parts on beginner's kits with relatively large parts and the "scar" left from twisting the parts off the tree isn't as apparent (it also depends on the design of the mold -- some of the better designed tooling position the attachment point so that they end up hidden on the completed model).

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    Replies
    1. Hi Naoto,
      I started building plastic models at age five, didn't get a sharp hobby knife until a few years later. So, I know I twisted off the plastic pieces.
      These bolthead pieces had trees on both sides so you'd see the connection points. Careful trimming was a must.

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    2. I too started building plastic models at an early age (around age 6), and didn't get a hobby knife until years later. When I learned about cutting the part off the sprue tree -- I was doing it with a blade that would be used in a safety razor. I then moved into model aeroplanes (balsa-and-tissue stuff from Guillows and Comet) -- still using a blade for safety razor. Didn't get a proper hobby knife when I got started in model rocketry (the knife was an item in the Deluxe Starter Outfit). Funny thing is that I'd not accidentally injured myself until I got that hobby knife.

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