First off, a little bit about the laser cut wood since that is what a lot of people are interested in. Since this is an early evaluation the wood doesn't have any printing on it so I have to reference a map of the sheet goods which is actually fairly standard for non-Guillow's models. Production versions should have printed wood. They've combined the 4 sheets of 3/32" wood into 3 sheets that are larger so I can't make a perfect comparison between die-cut and laser-cut wood without computing the density of the wood. However, the laser-cut wood is 111g while the die-cut wood in the kit is 117g so I'd say they are about the same density. My other kit is about 10-12 years old and tips the scales at 173g! The laser-cut wood comes out to 9.0 lbs/cu.ft. (ignoring the minor loss in wood from the laser cutting process).
Laser cut wood can allow you to build faster, but due to needing to carefully check each part for errors my progress is a bit slower. I also don't use CA glue which limits my pace a bit. Here is what I got done in a casual evening over a few hours:
Most of you probably know the ups and downs of laser cutting, but for the rest of you here they are as I understand them:
Advantages:
- The parts are exactly the right size and shape, ensuring good fit and an accurate build.
- The parts are easily removed from the wood sheets and without any damage.
- The laser cutting process requires wood of a fairly consistent density which results in wood that is more suitable for flying models.
- No crushing of the parts when the dies get dull or the wood is soft.
Disadvantages:
- Higher cost.
- The edges of parts are charred which can be unsightly and may inhibit glue bonding.
- Diffusion of the laser causes cuts that are not always perpendicular, though you may not notice this except on the 3/32" thick parts.
The plan for now is to build for static display with all of the movable parts from the "action plan" as this is probably the most popular way to build the P-38 and should use all of the sheet wood parts.
