At this stage the rule is look, don’t touch. Leave the model at least 24 hours to go hard, if not 48 hours. It wont hurt and its going nowhere but if that lacquer is still soft, its so easy to mess it up, its just not worth the risk. The lacquer and the hardener form a chemical reaction that makes the surface tougher as time goes on and although it may have dried, it can get harder.

Now is the time for corrective action if it is needed. Although only you may be able to see all of the booboo’s on your model, there is bound to be someone with a battered Raptor waiting to point out all the errors to you and everyone within hearing.

Do wait until the paint is hard, if you try too soon, you will mess it up. If you have a run in gloss paint, let it harden and then flat it down with wet and dry over a rubber pad. Then repaint the whole area without priming, unless you can find some convenient panel lines to mask off to. Alternatively you can just paint the local area, without priming first, and then try and blend the overspray into the original. Don’t try and do this if there are any rivets in the overspray area as you will need to use an abrasive to get rid of the overspray and it will probably remove not only the paint but the rivet as well. Again, wait for the paint to go hard, at least 24 hours. Then use a mild abrasive automotive cutting compound and gently work it into the overspray areas slowly flatting them with your finger. Don’t try and do this with a machine, you will be through the paint in no time at all. Once the area has blended in, give it a coat of good quality car wax and polish it.

If you have a run or sag in the clearcoat, use the same procedure. You will find it harder to blend the clearcoat in by polishing and I prefer to give it another light coat, but of course you are taking the same risk again if you do this.

Now you get to one of the most difficult areas of finishing in my opinion. This is the windows. You can glue them in, screw them in or fit them into a rubber channel. If some of the windows have a tint, now is the time to apply it. The best way is with a transparent paint such as that sold by Testors. This is like a clear lacquer with a color tint and will allow you to see through the window. I have heard of people using Rit dye to dye the windows but I have had no success with this method.

Painting windows is probably more difficult than any other part of the body for one simple reason. Static electricity. If you handle the window, it will become statically charged and attract dust like a magnet. I cut the window to size and then wash the windows in water. Then I dry them with a towel and finally wipe the side of my finger very slowly over the surface while cupping the window in my other hand. This is to remove any lint or dust that may be there and the cupping action seems to equalize the charge over the whole window and neutralize it. Then I spray a coat of color over the window, and then put a glass bowl over it to stop any more dust arriving while the paint is setting. This is one time when I do try and get the whole job done in one coat. It doesn’t need to be a thick coat, but it does need to be even.

If the windows are going into the rubber channel, the channel gets fixed in with CA from the inside. Be careful not to get CA on the window. Use zapper to get the CA to set quickly, it won’t hurt most windows. Leave it on for a while to be sure all of the CA has set. Its bad news to wipe the zapper off and find you missed some CA and smear it all over the window.

If you screw the windows in, do try and get some small screws which are a scale size. It also helps if you can get some with a cap head, as this will maintain the attractive appearance. You may need to put some plywood behind the screw fixing to give it something to bite into. Tape the windows in place and ensure they fit tightly all the way round. A bulge will look very unsightly and a big bunch of screws trying to hold it in place will look weird. Drill a hole through the window in the middle of one edge and fix it in place with a screw. Keep drilling holes and fitting screws until it is done. Then take the window out and drill out all of the holes in the window with a clearance drill. Do this on a bench drill into a piece of wood. If you try and do it with a hand drill or dremel, you will find that the drill will pick up on the hole as it goes through and the window will climb the drill and the hole will become a big oval as it twists.

If you are going to glue the windows in from the inside, you can use one of two adhesives. Either go for CA with zapper for a really rigid structure, or use a contact adhesive like goop for a more forgiving structure. My preference is for the CA route, as I like to get this job over and done with. Either its right and I am happy or I have to order another set of windows and my dealer is happy. Use medium CA, as you don’t want it running too fast and getting where it is not supposed to be.

Start by fitting the windows in place with clear scotch tape from the outside. Make absolutely sure they are secure, they fit the openings correctly and are flush with the inside of the body. If there are any lumps or bumps inside the body grind them off with a dremel and a rotary grinder on slow speed. Blow the dust off with an airline, don’t wipe it off, as it is abrasive and will scratch the windows. Once the windows are mounted perfectly, tack each one with a drop of CA in the corner of the window and zap it immediately to fix the window in place. Then gradually work your way round each window gluing and zapping. If you goop the windows follow the same procedure but when gluing leave the goop a little while to set before going on to the next area. It is quite a thick glue, but will flow and as it is solvent based it will set fairly quickly. However, it will take 24 hours go hard enough to have the tape removed so leave it on overnight. You may find that you want to put a little under the corners of the window before you press it into place so as to get a good adherence to the glasswork. Be very careful how much you use and where. It’s better to put it over the window edge than under it. A good tip to help handle the windows is to make a loop of masking tape and stick one on each side of the window. Then you can handle the window without worrying if there is a drop of glue on your finger that will come out on the glass and spoil it.

Now its time for fitting out. Fit all of the little antennas, lights and wire cutters. Fix these from the inside with CA or other adhesive. This is because they are the sort of parts which get knocked off or broken in transit and if this does happen, it won’t pull the paint off.

Now you can insert the mechanics and couple everything up and hey presto, you have built a scale model. Now go out and fly it.

Chapter 7