Help with Cannon fan grills

[atsf5517]

I am having a really hard time getting the fan grill etchings into the grill ring.  The ring seems to flex too much and I end up bending the grill to the point where it's unusable. Fortunately I have extras to play with as the unit I am building had quite a few different grill styles.  Before I ruin any more I thought I would see if anyone might have a trick to make this thing work.  Thought if I attach the ring to the fan first it might help but thought I better  see what others might suggest.

Thanks,

Dave Yingst
Corning, CA

[Deleted]

Dave,

Are you trying to put the grills into the fan guard before you put the fan guard on the base? If so, do not do it that way.

I am sure everyone has their own method of doing this. So I'll be the first to post.

I put the grills on last. After all the paint and decal work is done. After I have weathered the inside of the fan housings and have installed the fans.

1. Glue the fan base to the model.
2. Clean up the fan guard ring. Sad to say, these are no longer the quality that Gordon had originally produced. There is a lot of flash involved as well as the bolt heads are becoming ragged and sometimes not shot. It is what happens when molds get old.
3. Glue the fan guard to the fan base. Use liquid cement sparingly. You want the separation ring to show.
4. Build the fan hubs with blades. Do not install.
5. Paint and weather the fan hubs/blades and set aside.
6. Paint, decal and seal the model.
7. Weather the inside of the fan housings.
8. Install the fan hubs.
9. Glue the fan grills into the fan guard.

To glue them in I use CA. Now CA left alone will dry shiny. But if right after you put it down, wipe it with your finger and it will be dulled. I place the fan grill into the guard ring. I nestle it in and start applying CA to the joint. I put a little CA on and hit it with my finger to dull it. I work this way ALL the way around.

[atsf5517]

Brian-
Thanks for the tips. Following the instructions sure got me no where. Will have to check some of my photos for weathering ideas.
Dave Yingst
Corning, CA

[Deleted]

Dave,

Sorry for this late addition. I failed to mention that you need to pay close attention to the orientation of the motor supports. The Cannon Instructions DO tell you clearly how they are to be oriented.

Brian

[slowfreight]

Nov 1, 2016 22:55:37 GMT -5 atsf5517 said:

Brian-
Thanks for the tips. Following the instructions sure got me no where. Will have to check some of my photos for weathering ideas.
Dave Yingst
Corning, CA

I figured this out too late for some of my units, but fans are not the body color. The blades start out aluminum but usually turn to black.

This is another reason to paint the fans separately from the grills and body.