Skyshark Dauntless Build

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:56 pm

Finally got back to working on the Dauntless today. I cut out the plastic fairings to rough size. Though the directions don't say anything, I used 1/64 ply to make up the bottom of the fairings. I glued a piece of ply to each side of the wing saddle, put some wax paper where I needed to glue the joints, and bolted up the wing. I assembled and glued on the rear wood fuse fairings even with the back of the wing. I used a piece of 1/4sq with a slight angle sanded on it to help support the wood fairing better are the back of the fuse.

With careful trimming on the molded lines, the fairings fit really well. Once I was happy with the fit, I measured for three 1/8 balsa supports for the fairings. Using my duplicator gauge, I was able to get the proper curvature of the fairing to put on the supports. Using the duplicator again, I got the shape of the fuse for the other side of the support. I made up supports for both sides, and when I was happy with the way the fairings fit, glued them in place. Taking my time, I carefully feather sanded down the top edge, the bottom edge where it contacts the 1/64 ply, and the rear back corner of the fillet. The bottom edge that contacts the wood fillets doesn't need to get sanded. I did sand the edges on both wood fillets to match the angle of the contact areas of the plastic fillet. Taking your time and really sanding the edges down thin makes for a nice clean line between the fillet and the fuse/ply.

Using small pins, I pinned the very front point of the plastic fillet in place. Holding the fillet where I wanted it, I pinned the back corner. I then used a felt pen and traced the line of the fillet then taped off the line pretty close. With the lines traced I now had my glue lines. I taped on the back of the fillet, pulled the front point off the fuse but left the pin in the fillet. Using medium Zap, I glued about the first 4" of the fillet in place, basically starting at the first balsa support I made, forward. I pushed the the fillet back in place using the pin to guide it back in it's correct location. Once the glue set, I took the tape off the back of the fillet and lifted it up enough to run a line of Zap down the rest of the 64th ply. Once the glue set, I pulled the remainder of the top edge away from the fuse and ran Zap from the first support, all the way to the tail end of the fillet. Once set, the bottom edge of the plastic fillet is glued to the wood fillet. Then all is trimmed and sanded anywhere needed.

I recommend using the plastic fairing as the fit real well and if the builder takes their time, are easy to install saving lots of work. Mine seem to be nice and strong too.

I also cut out one side of the cooling vent per Brian's design. Assembled it up for a photo op and put one of the two 1/9th pilot figures I have on hand. (I usually buy a few pilot figures at a time but find I'm running out of US Navy ones. Have a couple Japanese on hand for some of my other builds though.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:48 pm

My best friend, great builder, and airbrush painter aficionado is doing a fiberglass show and tell tonight at our club meeting and my stab will be the item being covered. I wanted to get the elevators, rudder, and ailerons covered so yesterday I brushed on the Balsarite and got the elevators and rudder covered with aluminum colored Solartex. I finished up the ailerons early this morning. The Solartex is a great product to work with. I use the aluminum so after it's painted, some paint can be scraped off to simulate primer or aluminum depending on what model I building. Can't get plain Coverite any more any way!.

Piece by piece, it's coming together. Got the 7/8" hole for the fuel tank drilled and fit the fuel tank in. Most of wants going in the plane is in other than the two pilots and cockpit details. Still have the muffler to fit , the fueler, and the remote glow but it's just those little things. Got to clean up my work bench and give the whole area a good vacuuming. Nice to have a clean areas again plus it makes the wife happy. She usually works out about 6' from where I work on my planes. She likes having the company when she's on her elliptical.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:46 pm

Didn't get the stab fiberglassed last Tuesday night. Turns out Gerry's catalyst had gone bad so nothing to cure the resin with. When Gerry was looking at the wing fairing he told me how the rear bottom of the wing fairing leaves the bottom of the fuse smoothly and the pieces supplied in the kit for the bottom of the fairing don't really give that as an end result. You end up with a raised portion of the fuse in the bottom of the fairing.

To remedy this, I ended up adding two pieces of 1/4" sheeting and tapering them a lot to blend them in. A lot of shaping with a piece of sandpaper taped to the rear of the fuse gave me what I needed for a good flat bond. I ended up adding a 1/4" tapered piece on each side to close the gap between the old fairing bottom line and the new pieces added. Added some thin filler in a few spots but I've ended up a nice flat junction to the fuse with the fairing bottom.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:04 pm

Haven't done much in the last week or so as we need resin catalyst and haven't had the chance to go pick some up. I also need trim tape to start taping off the inside of the canopy so I can paint the inside zinc chromate green. Then I'll mask the outside for when it's painted with the rest of the model. The rear canopy will be all cut up and put in the forward stowed position so I can have the gunner and the twin fifties out. Here are some pictures of the guns I made up tonight. I used a Parmesan cheese contain for the main ring and the perforated gun run. The main ring was made from the cover and the perforated gun ring was made from the bottom's threaded top.
I sanded off all the plastic threads on both pieces and started working on them. The main rings is too small and I will have to look for something different. The Pilot/gunner figure I have is just a little cramped inside the ring so I will make a slightly larger one. The guns are coming along pretty nicely and will have enough detail to look good when painted right. I'm also putting evergreen plastic sheeting down on all the floors and bulkheads to make for a much better look when the cockpits get painted.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:42 pm

Worked some more on Gus the gunner's office and Gus himself. It's the old Vailly Aviation pilots they used to carry. I was able to cut and glue his arms up to hold the gun's handles and just need to do a little work on his head's angle then he'll get puddied up and painted.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:37 pm

Putting more detail on the guns. Added some plastic edges, gun sides, cocking knobs, ammo chutes, forward gun sight, ammo belt, and then painted it. Needs some work but coming along. Will make up a rear sight out of very fine brass wire, a ring of brass tube drilled and the wire run through to make cross hairs.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Fri Feb 26, 2016 10:15 am

Going to be getting some glassing done and waiting on some styrene sheeting to come in so I can finish up the cockpits. Been doing the tedious masking and painting of the canopies on the inside. Always happy when this part is done!

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Fri Feb 26, 2016 11:48 pm

My styrene sheets arrived today and I started covering up all the areas in the cockpits and radio deck area. Using all the sprue sheets left over after the bulkheads were removed made for perfect tracing on the styrene. Ended up taking the canopy pieces and trying them out in the stowed position. I put the second canopy inside the gunnel on the top of the radio deck, the next one inside that, then the rear most section inside that. I used a small piece of balsa to hold it up in the prototypical position. The front main section of canopy I taped to the outside of the fuse over the radio deck. I believe this is probably the best way of stowing the canopies when I go glue them up. Of course, they need the outer frames painted up yet and the deck needs more details. Just trying to figure out how to get it done the best way. Still have to make the ammo boxes to put the belts into at the twin .30's.

chistech · Post by **chistech** » Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:12 am

Didn't take many pictures but glassing has begun. Gotten about 1/3 of the air frame glassed in the last couple days. We use the West Systems resin and the credit card/heat gun technique. Hope to have it glassed completely before the end of the week.