This is designed for Testor's/Italeri's 1/72 scale Blackbird kit, and specifically test fitted to the kit No. 145 boxing.
This part goes with my SR-71 Engine Spike design. I designed realistic details into the Engine Inlet, notably the forward bypass doors and the "mice" which were located inbetween each inlet door. The mice functioned by locally increasing parasitic drag, which in turn enhanced pressure recovery ahead of the engine.
I've designed this to fit into the engine nacelle of the Testors/Italeri kit, after removal of the internal mounts for the kit supplied inlet spike. Some sanding on the outerleading edge of of the inlet will be required to achieve a precise fit.
I offer the Engine Inlet in low-cost Strong and Flexible plastic, or higher detailed Frosted Ultra Detail (my recommendation).
New to rapid prototype parts? Here are some suggestions of how to handle Frosted Ultra Detail:
Surface preparation: For starters, you'll want to rinse the parts in acetone to remove the wax support structure (some always seems to remains behind, stuck in the nooks and crannies), and wax support structure residue. Note to use extreme caution in that there is the possibility of damaging the model at this stage. What I did was to find a large enough Tupperware or equivalent, and pour in enough acetone to partially submerge, then used an old paint brush to brush on acetone in the areas not submerged. Do this 3-4 times, no more than 1 minute at a time, rotating it to submerge areas not previously, and then taking it out of the acetone "bath" in between. Monitor the part the entire time to reduce the possibility of any part damage from the acetone. Do this BEFORE you begin any assembly given the use of acetone and the donor kit's plastic; cleaning the parts once assembled to the donor kit will no doubt lead to tears.
Gluing: Use Cyanoacrylate glues to adhere the RP parts to the plastic kit, or RP parts to RP parts.
Painting: The Frosted Ultra Detail rapid prototyping produces some of the finer surface finishes. However, that doesn't mean it's completely smooth; there will be step/striations. As for how to deal with these striations, give the parts an initial sand to give the surface some teeth (400 grit), and then get yourself a good spot-filling spray primer. I'm a fan of Dupli-Color's Filler Primer; it can be found in the paint section of most auto part stores. Multiple coats of that, sanding between each, should eliminate the striations in the model surface.
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