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| Bottom view of the IL-2 nose section with the lower hatch block and balsa nose ring installed. |
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| Another view of the nose section. |
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| Some additional 1/4" thick balsa filler blocks and a couple pieces of 1/4" triangular stock are
added to the top nose plate to create the recessed vent area that was a distinctive element of the IL-2. The spinner
has been mounted to the motor to act a guide for sanding and shaping the nose section. Wrap some masking tape
around the spinner to keep it from getting too scratched by the sand paper. |
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| At this point the nose section is ready for shaping and sanding. Use #80 or #60 grit sandpaper to remove everything
that doesn't look like and IL-2 snout. Make a pencil line where the F2 former is located. You do not want to sand aft of this
point because the fuselage is only 1/16"+ thick here and is already at the finished cross section. |
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| This photo shows the nose section after sanding and shaping. To get to this shape sand carefully working your way
around the nose, blending everything into the outline of the spinner. This should only take 10 minutes max. Only use the #80
grit paper to get the rough shape then switch to a finer grade like #220 |
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| Bottom view of the sanded and shaped nose. You will want to use light weight spackle to fill in
any imperfections and gaps. |
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| Check the finished profile against the plan side view to see how everything turned out. It should match the
side view. |
