Stages 55 & 56; Applying carpet to the rear left (and right) side panels.

[Mark A]

After the nice warm-up exercise applying the carpet to the floor section, it is time for some real fiddly work! There are 6 pieces in each of these stages, 5 of which are carpet.

Start with the side panel, peeling the backing paper in small sections once again. The wheel well makes this an interesting piece to do, as you are trying to get the curves of the well, and the fabric to line up.

Once this section is laid down, locate the top section of the wheel well. (Carpet 3)

I started on the very narrow end of this section, as I thought it might be a bit more difficult to do it last, since there is also a hole that needs to be located correctly in the carpet and the plastic sub-panel. Once the fabric panel is in place, burnish the seam with a smooth object, working the seam into the corners of the plastic sub floor. Next comes carpet 1, the side of the wheel well. Once again, start at the narrow end, working in small sections. Carpet 5 goes down the same way, followed by carpet 4.

Once all the carpet sections have been applied and the seams burnished down, take the cockpit floor section and turn it upside down, along with the side panel. You'll also want 1 IP type screw. Screw the side panel to the floor, taking care as this joint is a bit fragile.

 

Now, Repeat all these steps for stage 56! You should have mastered the art of getting the carpet to lay down smoothly, so this stage will be a breeze!