Installed the new belts today and they are vastly better than the pathetic PE with the kit. I don’t know why Takom bothered to include it. It might have been better to mold them into the seats.
Here’s a nice comparison: I won’t tell you which is which. You can figure it out.
With the belts installed I was able to finally mount the seats. By default and installing the fancy seat belts, I’m saving my money and not spending $50+ on the wonderful Reedoak crew. I’m building the 5" turret and need to keep my powder dry to cover the costs of that project.
I then got back to work on the fuselage.
Based on Nigel’s video, he found that Part P25 which is installed on Page 20, must be installed on Page 5. You can’t put the duct assembly in place without P25 being in place, and it’s not an easy part to install requiring some pushing and shoving.
Here is part P25 glued to the exterior.
The fit was a bit ragged and needed a tad of filler. Then you assemble the 2-part duct and insert it from the rear. It’s supposed to nest tighly into the open space on the outside, but couldn’t quite get there. This is what the fit it looked like.
Here’s how it looked after filling and sanding.
And here’s the ducting on the inside. This ducting is for an APU and the starboard side is the intake I’m assuming.
There’s similar opening on the port side which I’m assuming is the APU’s exhaust. However, nothing is mentioned on page five. It shows the assembly going in on page 19 FROM THE OUTSIDE. Again, it’s tricky fit that would require handling the model a lot and there’s internal ducting (Parts C11 & 12) for this one too. I decided to install it now for the same reasons as the opposite side.
I assembled the three parts with the duct glued to the exterior fairing C60.
T DOESN’T GO IN WELL FROM THE OUTSIDE. If you do try and force it, the duct doesn’t bend around the corner and breaks the glue joint. Experiece talking. So I did it like the previous one and install the fairing on the outside and the duct from inside. Further reason to install in on Page 5. Page five is where you join the fuselage halves.
Here’s the outisde view: The duct has a tiny gap. I’m thinking that all of this is going to be hidden by the engine exhaust housing.
And from the inside.
The last thing I did was install the tail rotor gear box housing. You need to install this BEFORE joining the halves. It has a small fairing and a small PE screen that goes in. All this done before gluing it in place.
It’s installed in the starboard half. There is a plastic tail rotor shaft that also goes in before closing it up. I’m not happy with the plastic and may turn a piece out of brass that should not break when you look at it. The vertical fit is excellent. The fore and aft fit looks a tad long, and I will shave it down when it’s fully cured.ng. This is the insde view of the starboard half.
And the exterior.
We’re heading out for a week trip Back East, so any work will have to wait until then. Happy modeling!
