Tricks, Tips, Hints, Cheats, Tools, Whatever!!!!

Love to tweak toys and models? Add features and small details? This forum is for you!
airforcecop67
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Tricks, Tips, Hints, Cheats, Tools, Whatever!!!!

Post by airforcecop67 » Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:13 am

Hey guys,

Well, it seems that every so often, someone will have a problem with their XD. Stuff breaking, or trouble removing this or that from the packaging, how best to hang their birds.

Remember the horror of finding your beloved Blackhawk or whatever on the floor, in pieces because the 10lb test wasn't strong enough, or the knot slipped?

So, I thought it would be nice to start a tools and tips section.

First of all, I use 50lb test for hanging all of my birds. Yeah its a bit overkill, but I figure if it will hold my sons 1/6 Little Bird, it will hold my birds fine. Longest I have had a single plane hung is over a year before replacing the line. Not that I had too, just to be on the safe side.

A set of jewelers or gunsmithing screwdrivers for their precision ground points and magnetic heads are a must. This prevents stripping screws.

Handle the landing gear on any XD or BBI bird as though it were glass. Slow and easy!!! If it doesnt budge, dont force it, as you will break it!

Stop, set the plane down, and get some help from someone on the board. I broke my LOUIV gear in less than 2 minutes out of the box. Thankfully the wife had the receipt. Others may not be as lucky.

I am not an expert on the use of heat to bend things to proper shape, so Ill let others pass those tips on.

Anyways, I hope this helps start something that we can all fall back on and save all of us some headache.
"When the enemy is in range, so are you!!"

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Post by Teamski » Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:39 am

Great idea Airforce. Here are a couple of my pointers:

1. F-18/ F-16: Of course support the landing gear on both the F-18 and F-16 if you display them on their gear. A post or something supporting the fuselage right behind the Main Landing gear will save the gear from distorting from the weight.

2. FW-190: Detach loop antenna if it is attached to the control column and glue it into place underneith the fuselage. If you break the hinge on the landing gear, which is quite common, disassemble the wing by unscrewing the 4 screws that hold it together and remove the strut. Use a cut down nail the same diameter of the pin and heat it up to red hot. Using a needlenose pliers, drive the nail in the strut in the same position as the pin. This will fix it. Re-assemble the wing keeping in mind the tabs used by the flight controls.....

3. P-47: I never liked the look of the P-47's cockpit. It looks way too toyish!! SO, I removed the windshield and canopy, took a dremel and trimmed off the base of both, about 1/8th inch, then reattached them. They look FAR more realistic. Check out the pictures of it in the Miscellanious folder of my Webshots account.

4. Corsair: Notorius for hinge failure on the folding wings. I found a work-around for this by loosening the screws on the hinge section that holds the 2 halves of tab together. If you do this, you take the strain off of the tab and it is less likely to break up. Also, I dremelled off the tabs at the end of the tab to make it a lot easier to remove the wing, another cause of damage. Makes a big difference, although my first Kepford Corsair is a lost cause!


Hope these tips help!!

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by tmanthegreat » Sun Dec 12, 2004 2:18 pm

I now use 20lb test line, however before I used 8lb. As long as it was double knotted, there wasn't a problem, however when I got my BBI F-16, I felt I needed to upgrade the line strength.

Good call on the landing gear, I haven't broke any yet, but nearly did with the P-38 before I learned the secret to pusing the nose gear.

I also suffered a double hinge breaking on my origional Kepford Corsair :x however when I got the Boyington version, I tried Teamski's method of loosening the screws and one can't believe what a difference it makes!

My pointer for fixing the various things that may break off - a little dab of superglue! When reattached, the piece is often quite stronger than before.

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Post by p51 » Sun Dec 12, 2004 2:46 pm

I think all more corsairs minus the original have wing damage. The newer ones just are TIGHT as can be and nearly impossible to get out without making some cracks in the rollers.

Edit - Adding... I've used the same fishing string on my aircraft for the past who knows how many years ago I got Lou IV. Even have the F-18 on the same string. It's only 16 pounds if you can believe that. It's never broken since I've used it. 'Nylon Monofil'

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Post by tankduel » Mon Dec 13, 2004 2:06 am

Here is a fishing tip that is useful for hanging planes with fishing line.Heat the tag end with a lighter,the line will form a round blob that won't pull through if the knot slips.

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Post by mburduck » Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:23 pm

I'm thiknking of hanging a plane or two, and my weapon of choice will be 50lb test line. I, too, believe in overkill when it comes to something like this. And by all means I will heat the end of the line--great tip!

Mike

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Post by airforcecop67 » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:29 am

Aferg or P-51

Anyway that this thread can be posted so that it always stays on page 1? I have noticed a few more tips posted and I think it would be nice to have the tips readily available instead of having to scour through the posts before your screw up the wing hinges on your new Kepford Corsair, or hang your first plane.

Just a thought.
"When the enemy is in range, so are you!!"

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Post by aferguson » Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:12 am

i've left it stuck at the top of the reference room..

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Post by vulgarvulture » Wed Jan 12, 2005 2:50 pm

Ski says: FW-190: Detach loop antenna if it is attached to the control column and glue it into place underneith the fuselage.
=======================================
Am having a hard time detaching the loop (concerned about breaking the entire column off). Exacto knife is not doing the job...loop is hard to access. Would like some suggestions to remove the loop, please.

Thanks.[/quote]

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Post by Teamski » Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:15 pm

I think I used a razerblade...........

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Armor & LB

Post by digger » Wed Jan 12, 2005 5:16 pm

Don't know if these have been mentioned but:
A) another board member turned me on to a great trick for your tanks - use very thin fishing line to tie down the treads of your tank (tie above the wheels to below) so they lay down against the wheels and give the impression they are heavy pieces of track, not just suspended pieces of rubber.

B) the 21st screws that keep vehicles on their base fit perfectly into the hole on the rocket plank that comes with the LB so you can easily attach a bench or a MG.

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21st Century Mustang

Post by tracer » Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:59 am

OK, I seem to have broken the crankshaft on my P-51 :roll:
The prop is no longer attached to the engine. Any tips for this one, or do I have to split the body and the nose cone?
Yes Dear, I know you said no more planes, But this one is special!

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Post by Teamski » Tue Jan 25, 2005 4:47 pm

Another tip I have on the bbi F-18: Whatever you do, don't fold the wings. Once you fold them, they will forever droop when extended. Another under-engineered part....... Be forewarned!

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by Teamski » Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:02 pm

I got another tip from the 2005 Toy Fair:

The ME-109G's gear locks straight down, inaccurately. What Roy did for the show was to file down the end of the spring-loaded pin. This allowed the strut to rest at a slight angle. It looks a lot more accurate that way. I was told that this might be a change for later runs of the plane. It should work perfectly for both the 109E and 109G. It will even work on the FW-190 as well. Try it!!

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by tmanthegreat » Thu May 19, 2005 9:06 pm

A good Sharpie permanent ink pen can go a long way! I've used one for a variety of small coloration tasks, including this example, where I carefully added the "periscope windows" to the driver's position on my customized tan M113:

Before:
Image

After:
Image

Should any newer members be wondering (and here is another customizing tip), the stowage accessories are from Build-a-Rama, are attached with superglue, and positioned to best cover the holes where the old 21c accessories were attached.

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Re: sharpie tip

Post by Teamski » Sat May 28, 2005 4:21 am

centone wrote:tman's correct, sharpies are nice for doing some quick & easy detailing. Whenever I airbrush a sherman I just spray the whole thing with the base color and use a chisel-tip permanent marker to re-black the rubber road wheels before weathering the entire tank. With the chisel-tip point you can just line it up with the lip of the wheel and then turn the wheel with your other fingers to get perfectly even wheels. PITA with a brush and paint.
The perfect use for the sharpie is to fill in the cowl flap lines on the Corsair and other planes. It really brings it out the details!!

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by aferguson » Sun May 29, 2005 9:33 am

Found a source of small animals in 1/18 scale, if you ever have need.

I'm talking really small like mice, large insects, small fish etc. Try looking at charms, for a charm bracelet and earrings. Some of them feature finely detailed little sculpts.

I was able to snag a 1/18 scale piranha, flatfish and two tarantula spiders (i collect animal figures as well as military stuff, sci fi stuff, dinosaurs, cars, motorcycles etc etc).

Anyway, look on ebay...i found lots of other little animas too but didn't bother to purchase them. Most can be had very cheap and shipping is usually likewise very cheap.

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Post by Teamski » Sun May 29, 2005 11:53 pm

aferguson wrote:Found a source of small animals in 1/18 scale, if you ever have need.

I'm talking really small like mice, large insects, small fish etc. Try looking at charms, for a charm bracelet and earrings. Some of them feature finely detailed little sculpts.

I was able to snag a 1/18 scale piranha, flatfish and two tarantula spiders (i collect animal figures as well as military stuff, sci fi stuff, dinosaurs, cars, motorcycles etc etc).

Anyway, look on ebay...i found lots of other little animas too but didn't bother to purchase them. Most can be had very cheap and shipping is usually likewise very cheap.
I'd hate to see what your dioramas look like! Man vs. Mother Nature.....

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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The bbi Mustang External Tank Mod!

Post by Teamski » Fri Jul 29, 2005 7:59 am

A lot of you already modded your bbi Mustang, but it hasn't been documented here yet.

The external tanks on the bbi P-51 are incorrectly mounted using one of the ammo chutes for the outboard .50 machine gun. The tanks are too far aft and look really silly mounted this way. To relocate it to the proper position, simply cut the pin off on the pylon where it attaches to the wing. Then, glue the pylon with super glue into the proper position as illustrated in the miscellanious album.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/127 ... 6100rklhSI

The front edge of the pylon should be just forward of the leading edge panel line. It takes literally 5 minutes to do and really improves the look of the plane!

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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bbi P-51 Mustang Flap Mod!

Post by Teamski » Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:07 am

Another Mod to the bbi P-51 is to allow the flaps to fully travel to the extended position. As bought, you can only lower the flaps about 50%.

First, pull off both flaps. They are only held on by tabs and come off pretty easily. Then, remove the middle tab on each flap and re-install. Now you can easily lower the flaps to a full down position!

Here is a picture of it removed:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/127 ... 8744yyCbyJ


-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by Morian Miner » Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:13 pm

Here's one if you have the GI Joe Humvee, and don't want the toyish TOW mount on top. Use the MG mount off the BBi Humvee - its the same diameter.

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XD F-104 Repair

Post by tmanthegreat » Sat Oct 08, 2005 6:04 pm

Should the tip break off the plastic pitot tube on your XD F-104, then get lost, and you not want to use the rubber one for display purposes, you can make a replacement using a small shiny nail and some glue. Just clip off the point and head of the nail so that you have an approximately 1/2 inch piece, then file the ends flat and glue it on. That was my emergency repair and you can hardly tell the difference.

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Flaps on BBi F4 Corsair

Post by eddie372 » Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:15 pm

I'm wondering whether or not the same technique used on the P-51's flaps will work on the Corsair. Has anyone tried it?
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