AJ Savage update

Hello,

I've been busy on several fronts, far from modeling for a while - the epic work on Rareplanes' AJ Savage slowed down but didn't stop.

First step, adding the tailplanes. The kit asks for a butt joint - a reinforcement is badly needed. I measured the position of the planes and draw references with pencil, bored a hole through the fin and inserted a steel bar, level with the planes top surfaces.


The tailplanes were finally firmly glued:


I glued the canopy, then it was time to protect it - enter Tamiya yellow tape:


A never ending and boring phase, but accuracy was demanded:


Tamiya Semi gloss black was sprayed from a can to paint the interior of the frames seen through the canopy. A great paint. Some defects showed up in front of the canopy that were promptly corrected.



After some more putty and sanding (I feel bringing this kit's surface to perfection would require half of the putty available on planet Earth), I approached a problem with the wing tip tanks. While one side delivers a very nice match


the other side is awful (a vacu forming problem)


Time for another bit of creative modeling: how to restore the curved contour with an aerofoil hole perfectly matching the wing tip? With putty, obviously, and food cellophane:


Then, taking care to avoid wrinkles as much as possibile, I covered the wing tip with cellophane, inserted the tank, and puttied:


This is where I am right now: the putty is currently setting. When this will have happened, I will slip the wing section off, then carefully take out the cellophane. If everything goes as planned, I should have a perfect match even after sanding the tank to shape.


Cheers
Andrea Lugli from Modena, Italy