I am now remembering what the problem was with the 908/03: All those flexible little white metal bits making up the tube frame. The minuscule dowel and socket joints, with next to no surface area for the glue to grab on to; the fact nothing lines up without a lot of careful bending, filing, drilling and cussing; the fact the weight of the engine (which in the 917K has 50% more cylinders) puts a huge load on all the joints and keeps pulling them apart... These kits have to be the most difficult MFH kits, period.
And don't get me started on the heat sinks for the little relays attached to the bulkhead! Each consists of a white metal relay, a photo-etched baseplate that bends up to form the outermost cooling fins, and 4 more actual fins. It took me a couple of hous to come up with an assembly routine that worked.
So anyway will this be a better build than the 908/03? I certainly hope so, but I'm not holding out too much hope. Meanwhile I might need a break (again) to get back in to the Zen mode that these kits demand.
But that said, the engine sure looks good inside that frame! Stay tuned!
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI've been following your MFH kit builds which look marvelous by the way. These kits look like a fantastic exorcise in patients.
How long do you soak the white metal in acetone for? And do you use a magnetic tumbler or an ultrasonic cleaner as well?
Just realised I posted my reply as a separate comment. Have a look at the post to see it.
DeleteNice to know someone is reading! And thanks for the compliment; MFH are fantastic kits but require a lot of rework and adjustment. The ones with lots of tubes in the frame (917 and 908/03 especially) are probably the most difficult, which is why I am taking a break from the 917K.
ReplyDeleteWhite metal can soak in acetone forever with no damage; I leave it a few minutes, and scrub larger parts with a toothbrush. Some resin companies recommend a quick scrubbing of resin in acetone, but it has to be really quick as acetone will dissolve resin. I don't have a cleaner or tumbler at this point, but I do use Tamiya's metal etch primer.