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Hi all, It's been a while, but here's the sixth installment on the E-2C. Here I needed a little more seam work than just a light touchup. So, as I frequently do in order to protect adjacent detail, I laid down a couple of strips of blue masking tape before sanding the seam. With the seam taken care of and the tape removed, I still needed to finish the seam with 600 grit or so sandpaper. Going that fine wouldn't have any deleterious effect on the surrounding detail. Taking a break from the fuselage, the side windows and overhead hatches were tinted a translucent gold color by mixing a combination of Tamiya X-22 Clear, X-26 Clear Orange and X-24 Clear Yellow acrylic, along with the tiniest dot of X-19 Smoke acrylic. This was strictly an eyeball mix. When I had something that looked right, the windows and hatches interiors were airbrushed while they were still on the sprue. Next up is attaching the outer wings. Believe it or not, they slip right into place with minimal adjustments. Here you can see how the finished installation looks. And yes, the fold joint forms a perfectly smooth connection as it should. I ran into something when installing the horizontal tail that I didn't expect. When you're holding the part in place before applying solvent, the locator pins fit as they should and you can hold the horizontal in the correct position. But, as soon as solvent is applied, the little beast wants to cock to one side. I wound up having to use a rubber band to hold it in place and even then I wound up checking, rechecking and making minute adjustments until the solvent set so that the entire tailplane would be correctly level after final assembly. I have no clue as to why it behaved that way. All I can say is watch it!

Hi all, Here's the latest progress on the Kinetic 1/48th E2C 2000. A recess in the bottom of the fuselage gives you the option of replicating the CEC (Cooperative Engagement Capability). This is the route I needed to go and I didn't anticipate any problem. I was wrong. It turned out that when the CEC insert is properly aligned, there's a .020" gap on the port side. Press the insert down for a tight fit and you wind up with a slight step in relationship to the fuselage. The solution is simplicity itself. All you need is a .020" x .030" Evergreen strip to fill the gap. If you're careful, all you'll need is a very light touch with a sanding stick to blend everything together. Now for the fun...installation of the wing center section. While the center section fits as it should, you won't be able to simply drop it in place and add solvent. In this shot, the center has been installed and snugged down with a couple of rubber bands. Here's a closer view of what it took to attain a proper installation. The aft end of the center section has to be pulled down with a rubber band that wraps around the fuselage. Because of this, you want to make sure the CEC is thoroughly dry before doing so. Then another rubber band goes under the fuselage and up over the wing stubs. Seen from the side, you get a better view of exactly the rubber bands were used to pull the center section down. Also, notice the internal detail thru the crew door. There's no interior detail in the fuselage beyond the cockpit other than this insert that allows you to position the door open if you choose. When everything's dry and the rubber bands are removed, you'll discover two problems in the form of seams that have to be filled. One, the largest, is at the aft end of the center section where you had to use the heaviest rubber band. The other's at the front and doesn't go all the way across. Just like the gap on the CEC insert, a strip of .020" x .030" Evergreen strip solves the problem. And the same thing up front. If you're careful, you'll barely need any sanding at all. The port nacelle is next and you will definitely need more rubber bands. Take a close look at this shot and you'll see that the heavier rubber band goes over the seam between the nacelle and the wing, then under the nacelle. In order to have continuity from the wing to the nacelle without a step, this is essential. Then another rubber band loops under the front of the nacelle,over the wing and under the aft part of the nacelle. This pulls the aft part of the nacelle up into position. Everything fits exactly as it should, but it takes this approach to get it there. Just in case you're confused by my previous description, this side view should help clarify things. I repeated the process for the starboard nacelle and finally wound up with what you see here. When everything dried and the rubber bands were removed, I was looking at a perfectly fitted wing center section and a pair of nacelles. Next installment you'll see how well things worked out before we tackle the canopy.