Unsuccessfully Seeking Solace in Styrene

 

I do so love the old school box art and would pay handsomely for the original painting

         Having painted the Indian elephants and a bunch of odds and ends that had attempted to go AWOL from their packages I again dug around in The Vault seeking the remaining elephants that I just KNOW are hiding somewhere. After a half-hour of searching I was left unrewarded and vexed. I decided to let the matter go for the time being and seek solace in some styrene. The first kit that came to hand was a garage-sale find that had set me back the princely sum of fifty cents; an ancient Lindberg Arado AR-234 that had been manufactured in the late sixties/early seventies and had been started by it's previous owner.

 

the previous owner's heavy coating of paint didn't help assembly

 and an unusually poor fit made this a unsatisfying build 

the amount of putty needed to close the gaps gave me a reason the sand away the huge rivets

 

 

 

I'm still trying to rescue this canopy; clear parts joined with styrene cement left a bad white joint line that even a heavy dose of acrylic floor polish couldn't help, the next step is 2000 grit and another coat of polish, failing that I might have to try heat-forming a replacement

       The poor design of the canopy which is split vertically instead of horizontally left a seam that runs straight through the clear panels where a horizontal split would have hidden the seam in one of the frames. This is an unusual mistake from Lindberg whose kits, while simple, were usually well thought-out. I really want to use the kit glass so that I can stay within my mission of "straight out of the box" builds, but unless I can make some progress clearing up the join I will have to try heat-forming a replacement. We will see how all this pans out.