# Fine Molds Falcon....First Impressions



## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

My Falcon arrived yesterday and I have to say I'm pretty much blown away by the quality of the kit. The packaging alone is possibly the best I've seen for a static model and is more akin to the likes of Tamiya's 1/16th armour kits.
The box art is ripe for mounting in a frame, as are the two colour inserts.
The hull halves are almost a snap fit and the complexity of the detail parts is astonishing...I spent an hour just playing spot-the-part-on-the-sprue.
That said, I was interested to see areas where FM have left options open to the individual modeler or have simplified detail.
The damage from asteroid collisions, blaster hits etc. is missing allowing the builder to dremel in as much or as little as he/she likes. Similarly the extensive stencil markings seen in the supplied photo's is also absent.
The six circular "radiators" on the rear deck are very finely molded but could have been provided as etched grilles with detail beneath.
The entry ramp is well detailed and can be set in the open position but no detail is provided for the "tunnel" walls leading into the ship. The top of the ramp is fairly neatly blocked off where the gun turrets meet but some kind of generic corridor detail could have been provided.
The interiors of the turrets is somewhat spartan, especially when you consider the detail that was crammed into the FM TIE Fighter cockpit.
I would have liked the option of moulded detail OR decals for the cockpit instruments but maybe I'm just being too picky.
Overall I think this kit really does live up to the hype and certainly deserves applauding as possibly THE most finely detailed and accurate plastic kit of a science fiction subject yet produced.
Expensive? Yes. Value for money? Yes.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

I agree with your observations. My kit did not contain any decals whatsoever. That is certainly no loss, as the hull panels will be painted and weathered, anyway. Third-party vendors are already close to releasing decals and photoetch/resin parts for engine intake vents, etc. So, there will be options in that arena. The rest of the missing details can be scratchbuilt.

Definitely the finest SF kit, ever (IMHO).


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## big-dog (Mar 16, 2003)

This is the first Fine Molds model I've owned, and in the box was impressed. Taking it out for a better look, putting the 2 hull halves together made a bigger impression. The engineering is great on this thing. Fit is as good as anything I've ever seen. No gaps, no uneven edges. While interior detail for the ramp, I want to do it landed with the ramp down, and the gun turrets woyld be nice how much would that add to the price of the kit? It's already beyond some people, and a lot of others are having to save to get it.


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## El Gato (Jul 15, 2000)

Drool. That was my first impression.

But I also agreed with the more thorough analysis done by miiature sun, Trek Ace and big-dog.

José


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## Jinnai (Jul 26, 2004)

I think Yoda is the first person on the net to finish one also..

http://homepage3.nifty.com/YODASHP/millennium.falcon.htm


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Jinnai said:


> I think Yoda is the first person on the net to finish one also..
> 
> http://homepage3.nifty.com/YODASHP/millennium.falcon.htm


...not the only one, check this out...

http://www.culttvman.com/arj_kulasegaram_s_fine_molds_m.html


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## Jinnai (Jul 26, 2004)

miniature sun said:


> ...not the only one, check this out...
> 
> http://www.culttvman.com/arj_kulasegaram_s_fine_molds_m.html


Ahaaa.. good to see.. good to see..


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I have to agree with the guy on the Cultman site that the figures are a little rough with some flash evident on my copy.
Also why mold all the major characters and not include R2-D2, I know he comes with the X-Wing but for the sake of a couple of extra bits of styrene he could have been in this one too.


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## kylwell (Mar 13, 2004)

MMI said they're working on a PE detail set for the FMMF. Hoping for, but not sure of, landing gear skirts, grills, cockpit detail.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Trek Ace said:


> I agree with your observations. My kit did not contain any decals whatsoever.


Got mine today, it _did_ have a decal sheet but only for the red and yellow hull panels and console markings. The decal sheet was in one of the two smaller boxes of parts.

Man, that puppie has a LOT of parts!


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

I spent about 6 hours glueing the detail bits to the top hull. It was a bit tedious and harrowing. Tedious because it seemed like I was swimming through an endless sea of microscopic parts, harrowing because every second I was working on it, I thought I would launch those parts into the abyss known as "The Floor". In the end it worked out well. Got all the bits on top glued on and it looks _gooood!_ I've started mapping the blaster and asteroid damage from my reference pix of the 5 footer, so after the sub-assemblies are done I can start inflicting some of that distinctive damage!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Ignatz said:


> ... I thought I would launch those parts into the abyss known as "The Floor".


It's possible to make a "jeweller's apron" by taking an apron, then attaching velcro to the bottom edge of it. You then attach velcro to the near edge of your bench, and stick the apron there so you get a kind of a hammock in your lap. Parts that fall into your lap are then saved from the abyss.

It might save _some _ parts, any way.


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## Ziz (Feb 22, 1999)

Yeah, but then when something does make it past the apron onto the floor, or you just get up to go to the bathroom, anything that was in the apron goes flying because you forgot that you were velcro'd to the workbench!


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

If the floor were sticky, maybe the parts won't bounce so far. If I painted the floor orange, the parts would show up better. I don't know. I've been making little "parts handlers" out of strips of blue masking tape, about 1/8 inch wide by 2 inches long. I'll stick one end of the strip to the part, then snip it off the tree. then I'll use the strip to hold the part when I apply the glue and place it into position. One strip works for 5 or 6 parts until the adhesive wears out. But even then, a part might jump when I'm cutting or just fall off when I'm handling it. Not so bad though, I've lost 6 parts to the floor in glueing the back engine area and recovered all of them, but I won't be lucky always!


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## cinc2020 (May 10, 2004)

Gotta get me one of those! I love greeblies and weathering, though often I ask myself - What the heck do all those little things do, and why are they exposed to the elements? The artist vs the engineer. Happens all the time...

Ah. Who cares...


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

PhilipMarlowe said:


> Got mine today, it _did_ have a decal sheet but only for the red and yellow hull panels and console markings. The decal sheet was in one of the two smaller boxes of parts.
> 
> Man, that puppie has a LOT of parts!


Looked through all parts boxes again, thoroughly - and everywhere else. Still no decals.  

I guess I will have to contact FineMolds directly and see if I can get a set.

I don't mind the lack of paneling decals as I will be painting those on, anyway. However, the decals for the consoles I would like to have.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

Trek Ace said:


> Looked through all parts boxes again, thoroughly - and everywhere else. Still no decals.
> 
> I guess I will have to contact FineMolds directly and see if I can get a set.
> 
> I don't mind the lack of paneling decals as I will be painting those on, anyway. However, the decals for the consoles I would like to have.


If they can't help you, let me know, I can scan them for you.


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## capt Locknar (Dec 29, 2002)

So what was the total cost on these with shipping?


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## Richard Compton (Nov 21, 2000)

What's the verdict on this thing passing for the real deal? I looked at a couple of the builtups, and though they look great, they still look a little like a kit. Is that just the paint job?


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

... or are some of the little parts a bit overscale or thick?


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## John O (Mar 8, 2000)

Richard Compton said:


> I looked at a couple of the builtups, and though they look great, they still look a little like a kit. Is that just the paint job?


Based on the completely convincing renditions I've seen other modelers do on their the FM X-Wing, and that is as small as any 1/72 scale aircraft I've ever built, I'm going to say it's the paint job. 

If you follow the directions and have even moderately good modeling habits (a good sense of organization wouldn't hurt with this kit either), you're going to end up with a nicely built model. So the only thing that's left to the modeler that doesn't come in the box is compentence and perhaps creativity with paint. I wouldn't say that the two build-ups I've seen look bad, they are cleanly and completely done, but they are basic in that they rely on minimum technique where a better rendition might require several techniques layered up. Honoring the specifics of the studio model aside, I think what is going to "sell" the paintwork on this kit are nice subtle cues to it's real world scale ...and IMHO you can't rush that.

John O.


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## MartinHatfield (Apr 11, 2004)

capt Locknar said:


> So what was the total cost on these with shipping?


Well Cap'n, here in little old Mar'etta GA. My local hobby shop is charging $250.00 for the sucker. I could not believe my eyes when I saw it, the box is frakkin huge. Anyway, the cost is fair....$200.00 for the kit, plus another $50.00 for shipping costs.


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## PhilipMarlowe (Jan 23, 2004)

I think the first thing I'm going to do with the kit is use that huge and gorgeous paint guide to repaint my AMT _'Falcon_!


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## big-dog (Mar 16, 2003)

197 all in. Though that was a pre-order and pre-commit special. Though really that is VERY small taters. Marg's latest kit, with shipping, over 1700 US. And that is dollars.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

I was looking at that build-up again on the Cultman site and couldn't put my finger on what was wrong with it then I realised the circular window in the cockpit is painted out

http://www.culttvman.com/arj_kulasegaram_s_fine_molds_m_3.html

....erm....why is this?


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

The builder goofed and painted over that portion of the clear plastic part? Maybe it's his stylistic interpretation of the cockpit window. 

After 6 hours, this is all I managed to get done.

I'm looking forward to the next step!


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## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

Jeez!!! All those parts? #&$#[email protected]$ what is it, Skill level 37!!
You guys must be a much more patient bunch than I.Good luck to you all.
However being the artists you are I'm sure you guys will build some killer falcons!


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

Or we'll die trying!


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## TrekFX (Apr 15, 2004)

Ignatz said:


> The builder goofed and painted over that portion of the clear plastic part? Maybe it's his stylistic interpretation of the cockpit window.
> 
> After 6 hours, this is all I managed to get done.
> 
> I'm looking forward to the next step!


I think it's just masking that got left on.

"oops"

Or at least I hope so!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Ignatz said:


> After 6 hours, this is all I managed to get done.


Hey I hope you didnt glue that engine vent (bottom centre) in place yet...theres a screw goes under there!


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## kylwell (Mar 13, 2004)

Trek Ace said:


> Looked through all parts boxes again, thoroughly - and everywhere else. Still no decals.
> 
> I guess I will have to contact FineMolds directly and see if I can get a set.
> 
> I don't mind the lack of paneling decals as I will be painting those on, anyway. However, the decals for the consoles I would like to have.


My decals were in the divided box. Had to remove the divider and reach in to slide them out. Nice fit.


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

miniature sun said:


> Hey I hope you didnt glue that engine vent (bottom centre) in place yet...theres a screw goes under there!


LOL! No. But I was close to it! I think the engine vents will be the last things I glue on. I'm really hoping MMI will come out with a photo-etch enhancement for the grilles.

I'm treating each segment of the instruction sheet as a sub-assembly--with the exception of anything that gets planted directly on the top and bottom hull parts. I think that's really helping me slog through this endless sea of miniscule parts!

I'm also beginning to think about lighting the engine exhaust port. I'd like to keep all the extra detail parts that they've put in there, but it would be great to get it to glow nice and bright too!


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

*Too much of a good thing?*



cinc2020 said:


> . . . I love greeblies and weathering, though often I ask myself - What the heck do all those little things do, and why are they exposed to the elements?


Sci-fi spaceships covered in little fiddly bits have been the fashion ever since _2001_. (The movie, that is.) The greeblies don't have to be practical or necessary — they're there mainly to impart a sense of scale. As for FineMolds' _Millennium Falcon_, I would probably find all those hundreds of tiny parts more exasperating than fun — that is, if I could afford the sumbitch!


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

Hey, I could barely afford it (shouldn't have gotten it, but I couldn't help it!). So now it's on my bench. Funny thing is, since I've had it, I've been spending all my free time, such as it is, working on it and not at the mall or online scouting Ebay or otherwise buying stuff! I've spent less out-of-pocket over the last 2 weeks since I can remember. At my pace, I could be spending 4-6 weeks working on the Falcon and not going out buying stuff. I think the FM Falcon has broken my nasty impulse buying habit.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

scotpens said:


> Sci-fi spaceships covered in little fiddly bits have been the fashion ever since _2001_. (The movie, that is.) The greeblies don't have to be practical or necessary — they're there mainly to impart a sense of scale. As for FineMolds' _Millennium Falcon_, I would probably find all those hundreds of tiny parts more exasperating than fun — that is, if I could afford the sumbitch!


That approach was one of the bones of contention with the design process of the original Enterprise, and again with the refit, because Matt Jefferies (and Joe Jennings with TMP) _refused_ to add little greebles to the hull, and stick with the design concept that anything that might require servicing be kept inside the hull.

With Star Wars being more of a space fantasy, however, such considerations weren't all that big of a deal. How cool the ship looked was more important.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

I assume that was the reason they used the "Aztec pattern" — to add fine detail giving an impression of massive size while keepng the basic concept of a "smooth" spaceship. Very effective on screen, but makes the model a bitch to paint!

BTW, did you read my last post on the "Star Trek animated series" thread over on the "Movies for Modelers" board?


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

No, but I'll check it out....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Well I started mine this afternoon around 5.00 and it's now gone midnight and all I've got done is the detail on the top section of the main hull and that's NOT INCLUDING the engine area!
This has to be the oddest kit I've ever built since, unlike most kits where you can recognise most of the parts, you have to keep searching through the sprues and a lot of the time you find you are looking on the wrong sprue! Then you have to keep rechecking the instructions to make certain you glue the pieces in the right place as there are so many locating holes.
I can see it will take me the best part of a week of evenings just to attatch the surface detail.
One good thing is that it should be possible to paint the entire kit as sub-assemblies prior to final assembly which will make weathering easier.


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

I glued together another 115 parts today! I'm actually getting used to messing with these fiddly little bits! Here are the results. It's an incremental advance, but it feels good to keep plugging along. Wondering about the lighting though. Someone suggested drilling out the square "holes" in all those engine modules and mounting white LEDs in them, but by my count, we're looking at 78 LEDs! Is that feasable? Is that smart? I'm hoping to use LEDs, but I think I may not get enough light out through those engine details.


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## big-dog (Mar 16, 2003)

John O said:


> I think what is going to "sell" the paintwork on this kit are nice subtle cues to it's real world scale ...and IMHO you can't rush that.
> 
> John O.




Concur completely. In fact one of those build-ups entirely missed the 4 red painted sections on both of the docking rings. They're there, though subtle, on the 30" model shown with the kit, but they were really prominent on the 60" model. A little research goes a long way.


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## nx01Rob (Mar 1, 2005)

I just got mine yesterday and I must say Iwas utterly impressed with the kit. 900 parts! The images included in the kit are stunning. What a truly professional job. Price is high, I agree, but seems like it's allll forgotten when you open the box....


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## John O (Mar 8, 2000)

Ignatz said:


> I glued together another 115 parts today! I'm actually getting used to messing with these fiddly little bits!


 Just started mine last night and WHEEEEW those little parts are a work-out on my old eyes. 

I decided to just do a couple of recognizable bits to get my toe in the water, so I did step 5 (dish antenna) and step 7 (docking rings). That's something like 30 or so parts all together, no biggie, right? Well, the antenna went great - loved it. It's amazing how much precision is put into such a small piece. 

However, on to the docking ring and I found some of my limitations. Removing the C24 pieces from the trees, I discovered that the mini ***** I've been using for years are far too clumsy to cut the sprue joint on very fine pieces. I tried to carefully knife one part out and snapped it in half sending the other half out in to the carpet - didn’t find it until later in the evening, long after I’d given up looking for it. Even while being extremely careful, I broke yet another one, but it was easily repaired once in place. I’ve actually had to break out the needle nose tweezers for this whole job.

I’m also finding that I need different, more precise, tactics for getting the cement to the joints. I'm using Ambroid Pro Weld and Plastruct Weldene. The bottle brush is defiantly out! I found the edge and the tip of the x-acto knife does okay for delivery, but it’s not consistent.

I’m gonna look through the Micro-Mark catalog today to see if I can find some new tools to help me out with this beast. The whole snapping/flying parts thing was pretty nerve-wracking.

John O.


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

Maybe some of those toenail clippers that look a bit like ***** would work. Might be too big. I have a tiny set of ***** that came in a 4-piece set of Stanley mini-pliers, but I've never seen the set again since I bought mine.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

John O said:


> . . . Removing the C24 pieces from the trees, I discovered that the mini ***** I've been using for years are far too clumsy to cut the sprue joint on very fine pieces.





spe130 said:


> Maybe some of those toenail clippers that look a bit like ***** would work. Might be too big. I have a tiny set of ***** that came in a 4-piece set of Stanley mini-pliers, but I've never seen the set again since I bought mine.


Isn't the usual spelling "dike"? That is, if you guys are talking about wire cutters. I _hope_ that's what you're talking about. . .


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## spe130 (Apr 13, 2004)

My bad... :freak:


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

You have my sympathies John, I've been at mine a week now and I'm still detailing the hull top and bottom. I'll begin on the side walls next.
I've found the easiest method for removing the tiny parts is placing the sprue on a cutting surface with the numbers facing down. This is about as close as you can get the parts to the cutting board. Then hold the part with your fingernail while slicing through the tag with a new blade.The part then falls into the space between.
I agree that some of the parts are just TOO tiny for working on and I too have spent some time on my hands and knees with a maglite searching for escaped parts.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

I've had that happen too but I haven't lost anything yet! And I only gave up on two pieces, add-ons to the rear engine deck detail that were broken on the sprues and were going on top of already fiddly parts so I figured they wouldn't be noticed. But I'm proud to have gotten most of the detail on the upper and lower hulls. One thing I did to make things go faster and be less confusing was to attack two sections at once in a way--for the symmetrical details I always grab both the duplicating parts and apply them to either side instead of starting at the beginning of the next section.

I would love to figure out if you could actually string 78 LEDs into the engine thrusters--that would look fantastic and preserve all that cool detail back there. I'm leaving off the "fence" grid thing behind the thrusters--even though it's clearly there in the Special Edition shot of the Falcon taking off I hate the way it hides the thruster detail and if you did light those pieces the fence would really obscure that. If you look at the Jabba scene with Solo you actually get a glimpse of the Falcon's engine area and it looks dark with some kind of engine detail in there but nothing like that grid. For all the mind-numbing tedium of putting these parts on the results are worth it--this thing really is gorgeous.


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

jbond said:


> I'm leaving off the "fence" grid thing behind the thrusters--even though it's clearly there in the Special Edition shot of the Falcon taking off I hate the way it hides the thruster detail and if you did light those pieces the fence would really obscure that. QUOTE]
> 
> I've been toying with that idea myself, to me the grid just looks way too heavy.I would expect it to be much finer,maybe photoetched would look better, although I suspect it looks better left off entirely.


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

I'm leaving my grill on. I think it would look cool just catching a glimpse of the engine modules through the openings. For the modules themselves, I might paint them gunmetal so they can catch whatever light happens to fall in there. I don't know about 78 LEDs though. That seems like a lot! I might try to fit one 360 degree LED between each engine module and see how much light I get out of that.

BTW, I've updated my build diary pages a bit to tame all the entries. I've also added some of this weekend's progress. Here it is! Enjoy!


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## John O (Mar 8, 2000)

Ignatz said:


> I'm leaving my grill on. I think it would look cool just catching a glimpse of the engine modules through the openings. For the modules themselves, I might paint them gunmetal so they can catch whatever light happens to fall in there.


 Ya, I've been thinking about those too modules too. I've been considering using aluminum leaf on them, looks just like chrome at that scale. For something that was supposed to be a bit of a hot-rod, I always thought the MF should have some shiny bits somewhere - like rows of air horns leading to the barrells of carburators, in a sci-fi kinda way.

BTW, worked on it some more yesterday afternoon with better results. No more parts breaking off or springing across the room. It's pretty cool how this kit keep calling me back to do more.

John O.


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

MAN! Some of those long thin detail bits? I must've busted up a dozen of them just trying to get them off the sprue! There were one or two bits that cracked up into 3 pieces! I didn't lose any though. I wound up "reassembling" the busted pieces in place with some solvent cement and a real steady hand!


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## big-dog (Mar 16, 2003)

There are some really tiny Micro Brushes that might be useful for applying adhesive to the finer details. Nowhere around here sells them so I'm really glad I bought a few packs of each size last time I was in Vegas.


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## Ignatz (Jun 20, 2000)

I've got some of those, the smallest ones available (white handles). I couldn't get them to wick into space between the parts. The tips were still too big and I wound up smearing some glue, so I went with a higher viscousity solvent cement and used the extra drying time it afforded to allow me to paint the glue onto the backs of the detail parts and position them before it all dried up.


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## sbaxter (Jan 8, 2002)

John O said:


> I’m also finding that I need different, more precise, tactics for getting the cement to the joints. I'm using Ambroid Pro Weld and Plastruct Weldene. The bottle brush is defiantly out! I found the edge and the tip of the x-acto knife does okay for delivery, but it’s not consistent.


My current method is to use a Microbrush. In some cases where I need to be particularly precise, I'll cut off the brush itself and just use the plastic tip.

Qapla'

SSB


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

Get yourself a drafting pen and fill the reservior with your choice of liquid glue like Tenax or Plastruct. Some hobbyshops actually sell these, now. Just for this purpose.

You just touch the needle tip to the join or run it along the seam and capillary action takes over and fills it nice and neat. No fuss. No mess.


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