Dragon Panther G Smart Kit

[TomN]

Hi everyone, thank you all for the kind comments.

Tim-
I work for a company that builds pressure vessels, heat exchangers, columns, etc...i.e. lots of welding. I showed that picture to my manager (a non-modeler), his first question was "What is it?" I explained it to him and he said "Yep, looks good." So in a way it has been certified. Probably wouldn't pass X-ray though.

Luiz-
Thank you for taking a look. I have been following your wonderful thread and it has given me great inspiration. Lots of tips too, thank you!

Ok, on to the PE fenders. The first one was a complete disaster. The mini-torch has proved useless for this. Even on the lowest setting the fender caught fire and was almost completely obliterated. When my embarrassment subsides I will post a pic. Meanwhile the Panther will be missing the front right fender. Um, you know, battle damage.

I had better luck with the second fender. Here it is being formed. Never quite sure if this is how those little tabs are supposed to be bent.

Here it is all formed and soldered, and cleaned up with some sanding.
Rule #1: Make sure your soldering is HOT!!!
I think part of my problem has been trying to use it before it has completely heated up, takes a while.

Look at me! I am learning from Luiz!

Underside with brackets. Hmmm...not too shabby.

I blobbed on some Mr. Surfacer 500 to fill in some holes, this stuff is really old, more like Mr. Surfacer 200.

Once that has dried I'll sand it all down, works kinda like bondo.

Thanks for looking,
Tom

 

[panzerace007]

TOM,

:laugh: ( I'm not laughing at you ! promise) Your P.E. actually caught fire ? Can you use it as Battle Damage ? Please post pix. I've never seen P.E. catch fire ! At th same time I've never used a Mini-Torch to soldier P.E. That's gotta go down as one of those "All Time Worst things I've ever had happen " lists.

The Fender looks really Good ! TOM have you ever tired Mr. Dissolve Putty ? Once you do I guarantee that You'll never use Mr.Surfacer 500 to tackle those jobs any more !!

Sprue Brothers carries it.
- http://store.spruebrothers.com/gunze-sangyo-mr-dissolved-putty-p119-p441.aspx

even though it says that it's sold out, If you click th link - Notify Me & put in your E-Mail they will notify you with in a Week & you can pick some up then. It's th Best stuff on th Planet !! It fills gaps & sets smooth - You won't have to sand it. Plus it's Lacquer based & you can thin it down enough to make a Wash out of it , if you wanted to. I use it whenever I need to & Swear by it. It's not like traditional putty - You can't make Zimmerit out of it but as far as fillin' a Crack - It's th Best !!

ERIK

 

[TomN]

Thanks Erik, go ahead and laugh away, it was, in a way kinda funny, like "You have got to be kidding me!" kind of funny. The PE is just too thin. I had it set really low, waved it across the part and whoooosh! Up in flames.

Actually, the blow torch technique might come in handy if you want burnt out exhaust shrouds or really rusted away fenders or something.

I am on the "notify me" list at Sprue Brothers, but it seems to have been sold out for quite awhile. When it's back in stock I will order 2 jars most certainly.

Later,
Tom

 

[Kreighshoer]

boy that is good! (can i have it? you can have my fender in exchange!)

a soldering station is priceless for pe work! *sigh* if only i still had mine!

those little ribs were a pain for me also, i sat in front of them asking me how on earth i should bend themand the counterparts to match ... the solution, my solution, was to cover them with solder and file that down ... pe instructions can indeed be a sphinx riddle!

 

[TomN]

Hi Laura,
I too struggled with the ribs, wondering which to do first, the large radius in the fender or the ribs. As you can see I formed the large radius first. Then I added the ribs as per the instructions, with a ball point pen. I have heard to use an old dried up pen, but found that the ink seemed to act as a lubricant when forming. Just clean it up with a cotton swab and alchohol or lacquer thinner afterwards. I used a thick piece of cardboard taken from a pad of graph paper underneath.

I had an extra piece of PE and tried annealing it before forming the ribs. Don't do this, as the thin brass becomes too soft and distorts.

HTH,
Tom

 

[Kreighshoer]

i was talking about those tiny thingies on the side that drove me mad!

how on earth did you do the perfect bend of the fender?

i have noticed that you cut away the strange thingy that should form into a hinge ... on purpose? that was another mood killer for me when struggling with those fenders!