SPA Modeler

Thanks Clint!

Here is the seat after the RLM 66 was applied.


Here is the seat after chipping.


Using a couple of online articles, I am in the process of making some corrections to the Hasegawa kit. The small bumps at the base of the horizontal stabilizers are not present on the K-4 and need to be removed. The gouges and saw marks from the tail door removal will be repaired, don't worry!



I used a razor saw and a knife blade remove the bumps and then cleaned it up with sandpaper.



The rectangular hatch on the port side is not quite the right shape. The kit represents as a right rectangle but on the K-4, the bottom edge is not parallel to the top edge. To make this change, I need to remove the existing bottom panel line. I'm removing the circular hatch bolts as well since their position will change slightly. I am using black CA glue to fill.


Black CA glue is rubberized so it is easier to sand than regular CA glue. It also leaves a nice black record of your filled area.


The new panel line is drawn in pencil.


To scribe a straight line, you need a guide. I like to use Dymo label tape. It is thick plastic, which makes a nice guide for the scriber blade and it is adhesive backed so it stays securely in position during the scribing.



I use a scriber (by UMM-USA, not pictured) to cut a line but not all the way to the corners since the hatch has rounded corners. 2-3 passes are enough to scribe a line deep enough to remove the Dymo tape.


A metal template is used to scribe the rounded corners. You can't fit a scriber's cutting blade into these templates so a sewing needle chucked into a pin-vise is used instead.


A needle is not a true cutting instrument and will simply gouge a trough in the plastic. So it takes a few iterations of scribing and sanding to get a clean panel line.



It's difficult to gauge the results so I spray a light coat of Mr Surfacer 1200 to check the new line. After this dries, I will put new circular bolts in the corners.

Wouh, that panel line adjustment, that is beyond perfectionism, it is outstanding!
Looks wonderful John !

Black CA, hmm, what brand is that ?


- Kari

Great job on the seat. I've seen that black CA at the LHS never knew what it could be used for until now. Is it a strong bond?

Thank you again for a great tutorial, John!

jkim wrote:

I can’t help but wonder. What type of tank is that in front of the control stick?

KSaarni wrote:Wouh, that panel line adjustment, that is beyond perfectionism, it is outstanding!
Looks wonderful John !

Black CA, hmm, what brand is that ?


- Kari

Thanks Kari! The Black CA is BSI (Bob Smith Industries). But I'm sure other brands offer the same product.

Floki wrote:Great job on the seat. I've seen that black CA at the LHS never knew what it could be used for until now. Is it a strong bond?

Thanks Clint! The rubber gives the bond a little bit of flex so it is more resistant to shear forces, which is something that regular CA glue is not good at. Otherwise, it is very similar to CA glue when it comes to strength. I usually don't use it for joins due to the color. I like it as a filler material as I find regular CA glue dries too hard and difficult to level.

mostrich wrote:Thank you again for a great tutorial, John!

Thanks Torben! I thought it'd be helpful to outline the steps to redo a panel line to ensure that it matches the surrounding details.

BlackSheep214 wrote: I can’t help but wonder. What type of tank is that in front of the control stick?

The object directly in front of the control stick is the breech cover for the Mk 108 cannon. The tank around the breech cover is the ammo container for the Mk 108 cannon. I've been told that the Eagle rendition is not exactly correct for the K-4 but it not visible from the cockpit so not a big deal IMO.

I brush painted some colors over the RLM 66 base on the instrument panel.


The instrument panel was given a gloss coat. I have a set of Airscale instrument panel decals as well as a placard set.


Using a punch set, I began to populate the panel, one instrument at a time.




Using the same punch set and sheet of overhead transparency plastic, I created a set of glass dials for all of the instruments.


Before the glass dials are stuck in position, I give the instrument panel a final flat coat (actually a 50/50 gloss/flat finish). You can forgo the dials and put a drop of Future/Gloss in each dial and call it finished.


The glass dials are just an extra touch. Here is what the finished panel looks like in the light box.

Nice work the plastic gauge covers really gives it that extra touch in this scale.

Great stuff! I always learn something from your work. Obvious at it is now, I could not figure out how to accurately punch out instrument decals...duh. You solved a mystery.

Wow. That instrument panel looks incredible!