It's in the fuselage, it's not a big bump, you really need to look at this juncture, but I know it's there. Seems I allowed a proud bulkhead to escape inspection. Anything I can do about it, or should I just let it be and remember it for my next build?

As a nurse I sugest some Benadryl
Add a picture and these guys can be of great help.

I'm afraid the picture may not pick it up.
If only Benadryl could fix it, how easy would that be?

Hey Swampyankee,
Give a little more detail on this former bump.Llikely it could be sanded down without causing problems.
What is the fuse made of and where exactly is the bump? what plane is it for?

IF it is a balsa sheeted fuse a couple of pieces of scrap balsa place INSIDE the fuse next to the proud spot would allow sanding the outer surface evenly without weakening the sheeting.

And, as a group of guys trying to help, we need more than what you have above. Depending on the plane, the fuselage could be anywhere from a foot long to about four feet long. That's a lot of area to find your 'bump'.

Give us something to work with.

OK chief, I'll try to get some pictures onboard. The plane is 108 in. Zero, the bump is over B7. I've only gotten as far as sheeting with 1/8th skin.

I take it you attended Cape Dissappointment, how was it? I turned down the billet to the school while I was awaiting GM school. Biggest mistake I made in my CG life, going from BM to GM. Days of 44 footers and Noreasters, good stuff.

Here we go, I'm not certain you'll be able to pick up the bump, but I've bracketed the bump with black pen. The last pic is for the Ret. one.

The only true fix is to remove the sheeting, sand the bulkhead, and resheet.

You can somewhat hide the bump using the method drywall guys use to hide seams and repairs. Apply filler to a large area and sand it down to spread the bump over a larger area so it is less obvious.

Unless it is much worse than it appears in the photo, I wouldn't sweat it. Take a loook at some actual WW-II era airplanes. Many were very lumpy and wavy, anything but perfect. Someimtes I think RC models might appear more scale if builders would put a few imperfections in to mimic the actual aircraft that saw service.

depends on what model your building, and your method of finishing, if your going to monocoat(heatshrink covering) it then some wood filler works well for smoothing it so the area isn't so obvious, Minwax wood filler is one I use allot, Elmers also makes one, or just some light weight spackle, I would recomend sealing the area if using spackle before you cover it since spackle doesn't provide a super solid surface for the covering to stick to.

if your glassing the model( using light weight fiberglass) then fill it after words with a bondo spot putty or simmilar type filler, Evercoat makes a light weight filler that sands better than a bondo type and is lighter weight.u

Hi!
It's an easy fix! Just sand the surface and cover!

Sand the surface smooth, then cover. I have a friend who tells me when I have a complaint about my work, at 300 ft. you won't even notice it. Also I have to agree with an earlier post. many full scale planes aren't perfect either. Also another trick is to put a decal right in that area, it will camouflage the defect. But in reality, it doesn't look like it will affect the performance.

Great to see a former Coastie on board.

I've been to Cape D but not as a Bosun. I was an ET. Spent a lot of time in Eureka, CA both at the group and on a cutter. I spent quite a few patrol days out on the Pacific. And, I was the only guy in the Group ET shop that didn't get sea sick, so I did most of the off-shore buoy stuff, mostly from a 44' out of Eureka. I made Chief while on Governors Island, then went back to Eureka for a tour where I made CWO2. From there, it was pretty much shore duty with one assignment to Loran duty in Japan.

CGr.

JMO, but if you sand it enough to smooth it out, the skin over that former/bulkhead is gonna be really thin...

Granted that the skins of WWII warbirds weren't all that smooth, but it looks to me that if you scaled up that "bump" it would probably be the equivalent of a couple inches high?

I would try and carefully peel those 2 sheets of skin off and take the high spot (of the bulkhead ) down.

Thanks Gents, I see this may be a matter of tolerance for a mistake made. If I pull the sheets off I run the risk of ruining the sheets. Then there's the issue of dealing with the glue and wood residue. It could be the paint will camoflage the mistake, some, or magnify it.
Maybe I'll use my inexperiance as a reason to leave it alone. Bump? What bump? "It's my first one" excuse. I don't think it'll spoil the airfoil too much.

I think you'll be fine. Just file it under the "things that I need to check over" next time....

If you are glassing it then I would just block it out with a sanding block and not worry about it. You mentioned paint so I assume you are glassing it...???

Aye, glassing it, like I did to my 78 Chevy van. Only lighter.

Thanks.

make one for the opposite side......then its symetrical......