Re: Early Feifel Air Cleaners
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:30 pm
I don't know if this will contribute much to the pistol port vs escape hatch discussion. Hooben's new VK4501 kit has the option of installing the escape hatch, or of plugging that opening with a curved piece that already has the pistol port molded on, (the opening on the pistol port is on the right side). You might ask people who have bought the kit if they're going to install the escape hatch and won't have need of this part.
Another option: I was building a Tiger I Vorpanzer from a Tamiya kit and needed the two pistol ports on the turret. What I did was to spray aerosol cooking oil onto the area of the pistol port, and clamping a couple of pieces of styrene at the top and bottom of the turret to act as "walls" for the silicon, and also so I could use them as keys for the other side. (I did not spray these with the cooking oil, so that the silicon WOULD stick to them). Then I liberally coat the area with silicon bathtub caulk. I think I layered it on in two or three increments, so that I wouldn't have any uncured silicon in there. When everything dried and I could pull it off, I ended up with a rubber-ish mold that was the height of the turret and about 3 inches wide. I cleaned the insides of the mold, and transferred that to the other side and clamped it in place, (gently, so as not to deform it). Then I just poured epoxy on the inside of the turret in that area. When it was dry, I peeled off the mold and had a patch that matched the curve of the turret with no sanding & filling, and even had a hole that fit the Tamiya pistol port.
Another option: I was building a Tiger I Vorpanzer from a Tamiya kit and needed the two pistol ports on the turret. What I did was to spray aerosol cooking oil onto the area of the pistol port, and clamping a couple of pieces of styrene at the top and bottom of the turret to act as "walls" for the silicon, and also so I could use them as keys for the other side. (I did not spray these with the cooking oil, so that the silicon WOULD stick to them). Then I liberally coat the area with silicon bathtub caulk. I think I layered it on in two or three increments, so that I wouldn't have any uncured silicon in there. When everything dried and I could pull it off, I ended up with a rubber-ish mold that was the height of the turret and about 3 inches wide. I cleaned the insides of the mold, and transferred that to the other side and clamped it in place, (gently, so as not to deform it). Then I just poured epoxy on the inside of the turret in that area. When it was dry, I peeled off the mold and had a patch that matched the curve of the turret with no sanding & filling, and even had a hole that fit the Tamiya pistol port.
