It's all a secret Chris.

I forgot one small detail on the body. I reminded myself not to forget, and I did. The weep holes for the inertial filters are missing on both sides of the body. This is easy to add, I used a #75 drill bit for the holes. On the left side of the hood, third bolt down on the blower duct, moving the drill down about .004 from that bolt and over .004, I drilled a single weep hole there.


On the right side there are two weep holes in line with each other. From the end of the inertial filter going towards the cab, I measured .370. I made a cross mark about .004 from the bottom of the inertial filters frame. With a straight edge, I drew a small line straight down. I then drilled the first weep hole. From center of the first weep hole, I measured .250 down the line and drilled that one. Now I’m done.

Frame


My projects usually start with the frame first. But I chose to do the body first instead for this project. It really didn’t matter to me anyhow; I’ve done quite a few Kato frames over the years, so I knew what I was going to do with the frame. So, I always make sure the model runs smooth. If there are any problems, it should be addressed before you continue. With no running issues, I disassemble the trucks and the motor from the frame.
Now taking a look at the frame, I never liked the angle on the frame sides. The angle on the frame makes it a little difficult to enhance the details underneath. And I don’t like the details of the fuel tank, especially, the tank clip. So I’m going to remove the fuel tank from the frame. I’ll set that aside to work on later.


Next, I’m going to mill the frame sides down to the flat of the frame. I leave just enough material on for the Kato body tabs to lock in. I also milled the tank area to a width of .341. This gives me enough room to install Cannon air tanks.



When the millings all done, I take 1/8th plastic channel and cut it to the length of the milled frame area. I cut 2 pieces and attach them to the frame using thinned Barge cement. The frame can be set aside to allow the Barge cement to cure. I usually let it sit for a minimum a day.

After some drying time, I’m going to add jack pad supports to the frame. To do this I first set the deck on the frame. With a pencil, I mark a center point on the frame rail matching the center of the jack pads. Next I use a jeweler’s file that measures .038 thick and file a slot across the fame rail. I file down to the top surface of the channel. I don’t file through the channel to the metal.
Now I take .030 X .125 styrene and cut four pieces at .135. These will be the center supports for the outboard bolster of the jack pads. You don’t want these any longer than .135. They would then inter fear with removing and replacing the deck over the frame. Next I use liquid cement and set these in between the filed out channel creating a cross member.


I check to make sure these are perpendicular when looking down on them and straight. The liquid cement will give you that time to make these adjustments. I then place the deck back on the frame to make sure the supports are centered to the jack pads on the deck. After I make any adjustments to the bolsters, I set the frame aside to dry overnight.
While the bolsters are drying, I’m going to make the slope sheets for the jack pad bolsters using .010x.250 strip styrene. The dimensions I used are .250 wide cut to .130 in length. I drew these dimensions out with the help of a piece of styrene that was .120 wide. When I draw a line across the styrene, it comes out to .130. This is due to the tip of the pencil point. I then mark off .035 from each bottom end and draw an angle to the top corner. Look at the pic to understand better what I did.


You can see I made some adjustments to my markings with the pencil. I cut all four slope sheets out based on my adjustments. I wasn’t about to re-do a perfect drawing of these slope sheets. I just wanted to prove a point to the goofs anyone can make while doing a build like this.
Moving on, the bolster supports should be good to go after a night of drying. What I’m going to do first is cut an angle on the bolster supports using sharp flush cutters. Next I turn the frame upside down and measure .065 at the front bottom of the bolster and place a pencil mark, do the same for the other three. I take my nippers and cut on an angle from the mark up to the top of the frame rail repeating for the other three. This gives me the angle for the jack pad bolsters. The pic below shows the dimensions of the support and a loose piece of styrene.


With a flat file, I clean up the tops of the bolsters flat and file down the top edge next to the frame rail .010. While doing this, I’m maintaining the angle without filing down the bottom edge keeping it to .065.
Now I take the frame and the deck and assemble them. I take the slope sheets that I made and fit each one before I glue it onto the bolster. The top of the slope sheet should against the top of the frame rail edge. I apply a dab of liquid cement to the top of the bolster and attach the slope sheet. Center each slope sheet to the jack pad. Repeat this for the others. When I get all the slope sheets centered to the jack pads, I remove the deck and run a bead of liquid cement at the edge of the frame rail and slope sheet.


I let these dry overnight and start work on the fuel tank.

I'm writing all this down. Time to rework my 7600's.

Fuel Tank




For the fuel tank, I nip away all fuel and air tank details flush to the surface. On the left side of the fuel tank, I shave flush the round fuel gauge. The Reading only used one round gauge located on the right side. When the tank is all cleaned up, I glue the two halves together with liquid cement. I push the halves together for a little squeeze at the seam to make sure I get a good bond. I run a little more liquid cement down the seam and squeeze again. I then let the tank dry overnight.

In the meantime, I assemble the Cannon 2155 air tanks to get them ready for detailing. I use liquid cement for assembly. Don’t forget to remove any flash on these. I glued on the mounting brackets also. If you never assembled these, just follow the instructions and take your time. These are not hard to do, and they really look good on the model. I set these aside to dry, and I’ll get back to these when it’s time to work on the deck.

After a day of drying, I take the fuel tank and carefully slice away the Kato tank clips flush to the tank. I then use 400 grit and sand the ends smooth. I also sand the tank slope smooth with the 400. I then putty any gouges on the ends of the tank, the slope and fill in the round fuel gauge. After the putty dries, I sand these areas smooth again using 400 grit on the tank ends. On the tank slope and fuel gauge, I wet sand with the puttied areas only with 400 grit. I repeat the putty process as necessary to fill out any imperfections, especially the tank slope and gauge. When I’m finished, I wet sand those same areas down with 600 and 800 grit. I don’t wet sand smooth the ends of the tank since they will be capped. Wipe clean or wash all residue of the tank.


Next, I’m going to make the end caps for the fuel tank. To do this, I use .010 sheet styrene and place one end of the tank face down on top of the styrene. I mark and cut a rectangle wider than the tank. I cut a second piece the same way. Next I place the tank face down again on the cut styrene, and I trace around the tank edge with a pencil. Repeat this for the other piece of styrene.



For this next step, you want to have a good flat surface like plate glass. Place one end cap on the glass with the tracing face up. With Model Master liquid cement, I wet the face of the fuel tank and wet the styrene cap to the edge of the tracing. I use a microbrush applicator to spread the cement around evenly. I re-apply the cement to the tank end again to get a good melt, and then set it on top of the traced area of the cap. After a slight push down on the tank to get a bond, I run a light bead of liquid cement around the edges of the tank and gently push the tank downwards again to make sure I get the ends sealed up. I repeat this for the other side and then I let the tank sit again overnight.

You can also bond the caps with thinned Barge Cement, and run a bead of liquid cement around the edges. And sometimes I do my caps that way. Old formula barge is difficult to find in 2oz tubes. The new formula with blue tubes of Barge is junk. You can get the old formula in quart cans yet. That has a yellow and green label on it. I don’t use CA on the end caps. They tend to pop free while adding details to the tank. I do use several types of liquid cement for all my projects. I use Model Master’s liquid cement. It’s a little thicker and doesn't flash off as fast as the thinner stuff. It gives me the flexibility to make adjustments before it sets. I also use it for tacking parts in place before finishing off with thin cement. I then use either Tenax or Tamiya green cap cement to finish the weld. Mostly, I use Tamiya for my finish cement and save the Tenax for the tougher plastics to bond. You can use whatever cement you like best, I’m just describing my technique I've used for years with good results.