[STARMAN 352ND]

I was just thinking about this...By doing this will it weaken the gear ?
As time goes on will it collapse ?
What do you think ?
JP

[SKUNKY]

Elmer, sorry to hear of your ordeal!....I probably spent about an hour and half in all. I can see where you could have had problems if you were using too small of a bit for the entire project. I only used the smallest ones to get into the corners and yes, I broke one myself..Yes I did touch them up afterwards with a little gloss white acrylic paint. Now that you're a pro,you should be able to breeze through your next "warranty voids"....

JP, I really can't see where this would weaken the struts whatsoever. There is still way more than enough structural integrity there. I've even "stress-tested" them with my fingers and I'm confident that they're more than strong enough to support the weight of the model for at least a hundred years, as they are absolutely solid... If you'll notice, FOV F-14s still have the flash on the nose struts. It seems CW removed it from there, but for some reason didn't bother with the mains. I guess they figured it wasn't noticeable enough to bother with...but it is for some of us!

Oh, and thanks for the positive feedback, everybody.....

[flyXwire]

Finally for once, Skunky posted something positive and very usefull, helpfull etc.! Btw, thanks for the tutorial. You've defnitely earned your paycheck!

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

JP, I really can't see where this would weaken the struts whatsoever. There is still way more than enough structural integrity there. I've even "stress-tested" them with my fingers and I'm confident that they're more than strong enough to support the weight of the model for at least a hundred years

I agree. There is no way the gear will collapse. Hell... just to cut through a micro of a centimeter with a hobby knife required more force than the weight of this model over a millenium. Every fiber of metal in 'dem gear struts is tuff stuff. Don't worry, JP. Go for it.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by flyXwire

Finally for once, Skunky posted something positive and very usefull, helpfull etc.!

What about all my Corgi Mustang and 21st Century Toy reviews???.........Have they meant nothing to you?...

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

What about all my Corgi Mustang and 21st Century Toy reviews???.........Have they meant nothing to you?...

Oops, sorry 'bout that! Oh yeah..those have a very special place in my heart!

[Black 6]

Originally Posted by Elmer

... his bit/bits must have been bigger than mine.

Elmer my friend, don't listen to the Skunkster. He'll always tell anyone who is listening that his bits are BIGGER than theirs.

[Elmer]

I was speaking with a plastic modeler friend of mine about this cutomizing job. He suggested using a Dremel rotary cutting drill. While I had heard of Dremels, I had to admit that I really know little about them. Did some googling; they aren't that expensive. Any Dremel fans out there that can speak to the handy dandy nature of this tool, and, if it would have better application for trashing flash in the CW Tomcats than pin vises and small files? Inquiring minds need to know.

BTW... I don't have an Intruder yet, but from pictures, it does appear there is some minor flash between struts? No?

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Now that you're a pro,you should be able to breeze through your next "warranty voids"....

I actually can't wait to move on to my next "warranty void!" I've got my VF-84 AJ202 next in the queue. I am wating, however, to hear feedback from folks who have used Dremels... Power tools are so much more fun!

[SKUNKY]

Elmer, I actually do have a Dremel and thought about trying it, but just didn't feel like dragging it out. I must have had some very sharp bits (no comments, Blackie!) because I was really able to get thru quite easily just using my pinvise. Besides, I was just doing it while I was watching TV and found it kind of relaxing, believe it or not.....

I do have an Intruder, but since I have it displayed on the stand "gear up" I never even bothered to look at those struts. Tell ya what, tonight or tomorrow I'll get my Dremel and the A-6 struts out and have at it...I'll file my report when I'm done.


Okay, scratch that idea. I just pulled the struts from the A-6 box and found that the flash area on the main struts is extremely tiny and is located directly behind the wheels.I wouldn't even bother with them.. I have to say though that in looking at the cutting tools that came with my set at least, I still think that I would opt to go the manual pin vise and file route. The main problem is that since I'm Amish, I have to wait 'til everyone else shuts out the lights and goes to bed before I can sneak out to the garage and fire up my Dremel.