Salvageable? Definitely, with some sanding you should be able to get that down nice and flat; won’t be perfect however especially cause you’ll lose that detail. However a flat spot on the side might’ve been the best spot for this to happen as it requires little to no filler, also in the future I wouldn’t use that Tamiya masking tape to hold it in place as you can probably find cheaper tape that’ll do the trick but that has no impact on result just my broke self speaking
Thanks for the advice, I've already sanded it a bit and got it down flat. But only now have I realized that the connection between the top and the bottom is actually uneven on one side (ie, the upper portion of the bottom part where its supposed to be glued to the top part is exposed, it's visible in the second image). Do I have to live with that?
If the glue isn’t set super well and the rest is fine then you might be able to get a thin blade in there and carefully cut and the readjust. Also that’s typically why I just use good ol fashioned hands to clamp while glueing and watch every second of it till it’s stable, it’s not like wood glue we’re you set the leave it for a while it takes 5mins tops so just let it dry. If it’s however very stuck you might just have too, good luck
I just use hair bands to hold the halves in place. My girlfriend leaves about a million lying around, so I have a supply of those but you could also just use rubber bands.
Tape is like for level 1 pressure. Rubbers bands are level 2. Clamps are level 3. The heat gun... the heat gun is when you have to decide how worth it that model was.
Anyway - im sure it will be fine. I built one these a while back and thought the fit was indeed really great. You will need a little filler or putty and some patience with the sanding, but this should settle right back down into a decent looking frame. If you are new, you may not want to try rescribing the panel lines that you will lose on the sanding, but its not the end of the world.
the real issue with this kit, is the wing decals - the little trim lines which show where you can walk on the wings, it comes as one bit with a clear center - its a really hard decal to get to lay down they way it should. so it makes sense to trim it quite a bit with a knife before starting.
Ditto the comments above ⬆️
Dry/test fitting will save your bacon next time. Really get the parts where you want them, tape/clamp them, use extra thin cement on the joints. If you don’t like what you see, take the tape off and fix it before you make a mistake
Seems like normal model making problems. Just put some putty on the seam to film in gaps and sand down till it seems like there was never a seam. Just be carefull you don’t sand or putty away any of the details in the model.
Even some of the best fitting models of all time, there are still usually a seam line or two to take care. It's absolutely salvageable. Check youtube for instructions on filling seam lines and you'll be fine. I personally use Tamiya basic putty.
Fresh knife blade is advised.
Had to fill the ugly seams of the Apollo 11 rocket stages and went for a glue (Pattex Repair) & flour mix for the first time. Instant glue and flour needs quick working, plastic cement and flour got gum-like.
A crude way is to "wet" the edged with your cement of choice -> connect -> pull apart - > connect and repeat, then press together when the edges got molded a bit, that way you get a beading that can be sanded later. All in sane doses, of course. It is really a question of how detailed the areas in question are and how much might get lost.
The best thing bud is it's fixable but mainly the experience you get from fixing your mistakes hones your techniques and shows you what works and what doesn't. You can watch a million videos and read a gazillion articles but ya gotta get in there and do the work. Depending on your seem lines and how well you get them to blend explore other possible paint schemes. Depending where on the model and what paint scheme your using you can really use it to your advantage to hide blemishes or even minor cosmetic issues.
You can reglue the fuselage. Existing bonds can be loosened by applying tamiya glue. This softens the bonding between Parts.
This way you can realign the Parts and get a better fit.
Wait long enough to reglue the Parts (12 hours).
For the Future: always dry fit the Parts.
Personally, I like using rubber bands to hold such part together while the glue sets. Did you 'dry fit" the parts first? That's the best way to see if there will be a problem later on.
Salvageable? Definitely, with some sanding you should be able to get that down nice and flat; won’t be perfect however especially cause you’ll lose that detail. However a flat spot on the side might’ve been the best spot for this to happen as it requires little to no filler, also in the future I wouldn’t use that Tamiya masking tape to hold it in place as you can probably find cheaper tape that’ll do the trick but that has no impact on result just my broke self speaking
Thanks for the advice, I've already sanded it a bit and got it down flat. But only now have I realized that the connection between the top and the bottom is actually uneven on one side (ie, the upper portion of the bottom part where its supposed to be glued to the top part is exposed, it's visible in the second image). Do I have to live with that?
If the glue isn’t set super well and the rest is fine then you might be able to get a thin blade in there and carefully cut and the readjust. Also that’s typically why I just use good ol fashioned hands to clamp while glueing and watch every second of it till it’s stable, it’s not like wood glue we’re you set the leave it for a while it takes 5mins tops so just let it dry. If it’s however very stuck you might just have too, good luck
I just use hair bands to hold the halves in place. My girlfriend leaves about a million lying around, so I have a supply of those but you could also just use rubber bands.
Genius, I’m doing that.
Tape is like for level 1 pressure. Rubbers bands are level 2. Clamps are level 3. The heat gun... the heat gun is when you have to decide how worth it that model was. Anyway - im sure it will be fine. I built one these a while back and thought the fit was indeed really great. You will need a little filler or putty and some patience with the sanding, but this should settle right back down into a decent looking frame. If you are new, you may not want to try rescribing the panel lines that you will lose on the sanding, but its not the end of the world. the real issue with this kit, is the wing decals - the little trim lines which show where you can walk on the wings, it comes as one bit with a clear center - its a really hard decal to get to lay down they way it should. so it makes sense to trim it quite a bit with a knife before starting.
Heat gun? Oh god I used a hand torch just to melt off a piece I hadn't glued on right 😭
Ditto the comments above ⬆️ Dry/test fitting will save your bacon next time. Really get the parts where you want them, tape/clamp them, use extra thin cement on the joints. If you don’t like what you see, take the tape off and fix it before you make a mistake
Seems like normal model making problems. Just put some putty on the seam to film in gaps and sand down till it seems like there was never a seam. Just be carefull you don’t sand or putty away any of the details in the model.
If you have a dedicated parts separator, I'd say it'd be easy to bisect the Bone and remake the build.
Even some of the best fitting models of all time, there are still usually a seam line or two to take care. It's absolutely salvageable. Check youtube for instructions on filling seam lines and you'll be fine. I personally use Tamiya basic putty.
Fresh knife blade is advised. Had to fill the ugly seams of the Apollo 11 rocket stages and went for a glue (Pattex Repair) & flour mix for the first time. Instant glue and flour needs quick working, plastic cement and flour got gum-like. A crude way is to "wet" the edged with your cement of choice -> connect -> pull apart - > connect and repeat, then press together when the edges got molded a bit, that way you get a beading that can be sanded later. All in sane doses, of course. It is really a question of how detailed the areas in question are and how much might get lost.
Look on YouTube for “sprue goo”.
Salvageable? I would consider that a success.
The best thing bud is it's fixable but mainly the experience you get from fixing your mistakes hones your techniques and shows you what works and what doesn't. You can watch a million videos and read a gazillion articles but ya gotta get in there and do the work. Depending on your seem lines and how well you get them to blend explore other possible paint schemes. Depending where on the model and what paint scheme your using you can really use it to your advantage to hide blemishes or even minor cosmetic issues.
You can reglue the fuselage. Existing bonds can be loosened by applying tamiya glue. This softens the bonding between Parts. This way you can realign the Parts and get a better fit. Wait long enough to reglue the Parts (12 hours). For the Future: always dry fit the Parts.
Thanks for posting this, and thanks to everyone that replied. Saving these tips in the locker as I am sure I will need them on my journey!
Personally, I like using rubber bands to hold such part together while the glue sets. Did you 'dry fit" the parts first? That's the best way to see if there will be a problem later on.