...just taking some photos for my own future reference - thought I'd post a couple for those of us who enjoy watching bodywork - personally, I find pictures much more entertaining than the real thing

I actually laid down another super thin coat of epoxy on the top surface of the wing since the last post trying to fill a few minor fisheye type situations, but it didn't really change very much, so I sanded it off, primed it again and was forced to get out the glazing putty this afternoon. Things are moving in right direction again. What am I doing? sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding.........

I promise not to make you sit through every step of the finishing process, but people keep asking me how much sanding is really required. I can't give a straight answer, but I should be able to bore you enough to get the idea across! lol Today, I hit the topside again with some glazing putty, and then sanded it with 220 followed by some 600. It's starting to take shape. The underside needs a guide coat of primer before I can tell where I'm at after a couple of thinned coats of epoxy. Actually, I put some microballoons in the last coat on the underside to help with the sanding last time so it shouldn't be too far off. Unfortunately it's below zero out in the shed, so I will have to set up a little spray booth inside the backroom in the basement and ventilate out the window. Stay tuned....

I found a couple of minutes to do some more sanding on the P-40 wing plug this evening. As you can see, there is still much work to be done, but none the less things are shaping up. With the holidays coming up, I hope that I will get a little closer to putting some panel lines etc, in place, but first things first, I must have a flat surface worthy of moving forward.
One of the things that gives me a kick is giving back to a hobby that kept me out of trouble as a kid, gave me distraction from the pressures of studying through my college years, and gave me something to call my own as I let the multinational corporate organizations rape and pillage me for all that my two engineering degrees and experience could yield them. (the trick is most definitely to bend them over first) Throughout this project I've hoped to inspire others. If you are out there and still need some motivation here's something to think about.
It began only weeks after posting the first video to youtube. First it was boat manufacturers, then it was artists. A couple of weeks later it was tool companies in the States, then it was Chinese ARF manufacturers. Today, it was a manufacturer of glass fuses for some of the names that I've only ever read about in Top Gun reports. If you are a young person out there who is looking to start a business, I would have to say that I have never seen market potential like I've seen here. You will not have to search for customers - they WILL contact you - no matter how anonymous you think you are....
Don't let others dissuade you, think it through for yourself. I only wish I had time to help them all.

Over the course of the last month I've been spending my spare time on some of the areas on the underside of the wing plug that need special attention with respect to draft/release considerations. It's one thing to decide to mould wheel and flap bay details, but it's quite another thing to maintain a level of calm persistence as you spend hour after hour after hour holding a little tiny sanding block as your fingers lock up and eventually refuse to hold the darn thing forcing you to stop until the next day.
At first I spent a great deal of time building up draft in the wheel and flap servo recesses with glazing putty. It was boring, but my 4" wheels fit the bays like they should, and release shouldn't be a problem. It's taking some time, no question about it, but every day it moves closer. One of the things that consumes time is the method that I'm using to build up fillet radii in the the tight spots.
In order blend everything in the flap bays, I'm brushing on a light coat of thinned finishing epoxy. I leave it for 8 hours and then sand, prime, and repeat. The thinned epoxy flows very nicely into the corners and has a self-leveling characteristic that just can't be beat. You spend an inhumane amount of time sanding - but what you don't want is a beautiful wing plug sitting in the corner trapped inside a fibreglass sarcophagus

Thanks for keeping us posted!

Great job!! Subscribed!

I saw that you stated it is not 84" in span, but what are the measurements of the P-40? You may have stated it on your YT vids, but I've not visited them yet (and can't at work )

Great thread though. I love the P-40.

Jon

Since my last post I've done some more work in the flap bays but to be honest, I woke up one morning after having sanded all night in my dreams and was very disheartened to find that it was still the way I'd left it the day before. LOL So I figured that a break from that task was in order, and I moved on to something else that had been aggravating me for some time now.

Overall this kit has been a joy to build, but if there was something that I would improve it would be the wing fillets. The precut ply fillet bases need to be extended further out the wing near the leading edge. There's nothing I can do now with the fuselage complete and it slipped by me or I'd have fixed it. So having stared at this annoyance for months I needed to do something to ease my mind. I decided that with no options for achieving a scale look, I would improve the fit so that when someone noticed the form deficiency they could comment on how I tried to fix the fit instead! lol

There's still some finish work to be done obviously, but it's shaped in for the most part. So now I can go ice fishing this weekend and at least feel like I made a little progress.

Sorry I missed your post Jonathan - The span is 64" and the fuse length is 54.25".
(I don't want to cause you any probs at work, but for interest sake only if you google "youtube by proxy" you can go just about anywhere on the net anonymously through a proxy server)

I've been delaying this post primarily because it's difficult to demonstrate progress at the rate that I know others enjoy watching. However, I've been asked to put down my sanding block and share; so share I will.
As many of us know any good finishing job goes through an alternating state of ugly, better, ugly, better, ugly, better until you decide at some point that better is just not going to happen again. I tend not to like to share pics of the ugly, but I suppose it does provide some insight into what a blended surface looks like under that final coat of primer, and that is what you're getting tonight.
I've been working away steadily on the mounts for the mains. This is an area which will never been seen after the exterior pods containing the doors have been installed, but none the less it deserves proper attention as it will form deep cavities in the finished mould which will need to release. I've tried to show pics which give an overview of the process, but won't bore you with the repetition that's actually involved. In order to achieve a final blended look, I've now applied thinned finishing resin and then sanded it level three times now. I know it looks ugly, but it's getting pretty close. Hopefully the next series of pics will be nice and shiny!
It's worth noting that over the years I've learned that this is not something that you can power through and get done properly in a week or two. It's tempting to think that with constant effort you could get this sort of thing done in short order but in fact what time has taught me is quite the opposite. It sounds corny I know, but when you want something you can be proud of, you don't build it; it builds itself through you. You have to work in short spurts and then just walk away. Don't worry about walking away, it will call you back and when it does you'll be at your best. You can't force your will on something like this and that's the point. It's not a project to be managed, it's a manifestation of something intangible. I know what it sounds like and twenty years ago I'd have been laughing out loud for sure. Live and learn I guess, live and learn.

Is video 3 and 4 still available? I have them saved in my you tube but they no longer work. THANKS ahead of time, Mark

I'd originally moved away from work on the flap bays because I was beginning to have dreams about it. This is usually a good sign that a break is in order, so the gear mounts got some attention. Well I made enough progress on the mounts that today my eyes moved back to the flap bays and I quickly remembered what it was that I found discouraging enough at the time put me off.
There's a lesson here. As you spend more and more time on something you naturally get more and more emotionally involved with it. This is what a little time and perspective helps to diminish. After glassing and then finishing every corner of those flap bays, the last thing I wanted to do was apply some more epoxy and do it all again. I knew it needed doing, but instead I sat there for a couple of days with the wing in the corner just looking at it dreading the thought. Meanwhile nothing was happening except that I was reinforcing the notion of my dread. I decided to move onto something else. Today it happened - it started calling my name. It never ceases to amaze me how the biggest obstacles seem to be self-realized and if you can find a way of moving on, time will often erode them.
After taking a good hard objective look at the situation with fresh eyes I can see that most of the corners that I worked so hard to get clean are not conducive to the moulding process. I knew this - I've locked things in fibreglass before - but I sure didn't want to come to terms with it because I'd just spent all that time getting them "darn near perfect" lol
The pictures should speak for themselves. What they won't tell you is that there's eight hours cure time until they can be blended before flipping the wing and repeating. It may take two applications to get things good and uniform, so that's likely three or four days of patient waiting, and I suspect that that may also have had something to do with the hurdle. All in all, it's a "better safe than sorry" situation!

...just some quick pics today of the ongoing saga in the flap bays
I need to do something else for a while again, so I'm headed into finishing the flap servo bays before coming back to finish this area.
2 weeks - 6 coats of epoxy - one side and then the other - much sanding

Upside:
1 - ease of mould design/construction (might have had to split mould down centre of each rib)
2 - ease of part release
3 - ease of mould prep (waxing)
4 - improved rigidity of wing structure through form in a high stress area of the wing

Downside:
SANITY ;-)

The dearest woman in the world stands behind me as I type this morning. She would like you all to know that if any of you ever find yourselves doing anything like what you see in these pics, alone before breakfast on a Sunday morning, you should re-evaluate your priorities.

After yesterday's episode, I found myself immediately speechless when asked to explain my compulsion on the spot. To that end, rather than pour salt on an open wound, I decided to put some creative energy into effect and revamp the welcome video on my youtube page. No comments required, but I do think it helped a little. You may not find me online next Sunday morning, but everyone needs a little structure I suppose! LOL
I do have some fun with these videos and I can hardly wait to finish this wing plug so that I can get another one up!
Nothing new, but if you're bored with a minute 45 to kill you can check it out here

Welcome - Yes, it's a tongue-in-cheek situation! ;-D (1 min 46 sec)

Until next time...