I skimmed through the 251 posts here and a couple of other places and found that the DML kit problem I had been having (sloppy fit on the lower hull side parts) was not unique to me. Teacher seems to be able to get great results, but I wasnt able to, until now.

Since I have 5-6 of them in the stash, I got to playing around , trying a few things here and there.

I am such an ADD modeler, that I have trouble with following the directions in order anyway.

DO add the fuel tank, engine and assorted other invisibile inner hull parts. The fuel tank especially seems to help with the holding up of the floor plate, which then lets the sides slip into place.

Add the lower hull sides BEFORE the floor and dashboard. (I had already added the stowage boxes but I don't think that matters)
Use the triangular section at the front as a starting point, and work backwards. I used Tamiya extra thin for one side and Tenax for the other, both worked and cured equally well.

Then mark with a sharpie or just an x-acto scratch on the inner hull sides where the floor locating marks are.

Drill any holes in the floor plate you will need for the variant and mark on top of the floor plate where it needs to line up with the lower hull.

slide the floor plate in until the marks line up, and run the liquid glue down the joint. Love that capillary action.

Paint and detail the dash, and add it.

At this point I have dry fit but not glued the upper hull rear plate. No fit problems are expected.

just another mans POV
Mike

Hi,

Thanks for the info.... I have a 251/22 I am working on and was just about to glue the lower sides on.... kinda tricky with the floor inplace...

But everything looks ok.... after I removed the floor


Thanks,

Gray

Er...........but the whole point of putting the floor plate in first is that the sides then click into place, allowing you to slide them up and down, making sure they're located right. The fuel tank doesn't support anything, I've left it out of most of mine with no difference noted. The main things that will help to locate it correctly are the small rectangular cut out's above the front axle, and makiing sure the floor is placed absolutely centrally.

Vinnie

Vinnie,
Big fan of your built up 251 series, but I never had any luck getting the 'click'.

Even with lining up the floor plate in the pins from the lower chassis, I still had some side to side 'slop'
This interfered with one sidewall or the other, magnifing fit issues later.

I did another run on another 251D and added the side storage boxes and fenders to the sidewalls before gluing them to the floor pan. This works too.

My US $0.02, your miliage may vary.

Mike

Hi,

After taking a look at my kit, it seems as though it was not "clicking" togeather because the bevel between part number B9 and the lower chassis was not even...(at the joint there was step)

A few passes with a file fixed it....

Thanks,

Gray