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I dont do anything. The engines are always run on small props for a light load/high rpm, tuned for peak on both needles, and then run long enough at high power for them to get good and toasty. Pinch off the fuel to stop them and its job done. The engines then live on a shelf in the factory so its not like being in a cold/damp shed. Even so, my flying engines do live in an outdoor store and they have essentially been left in the same way following the last time they flew. Some have not flown since the summer, and yet they are still rust free inside as they were nice and hot when last shut down so any left over methanol was able to evaporate. My other engines in storage are run up in a similar way before being stored and then put in boxes under the bed. I have taken engines out after many years of storage and they suffer no ill effects. The biggest enemy to an engine is methanol. If you leave methanol in the engine its not gonna go well but if you run out/evaporate all the methanol then you are only left with oil. Engines should always be tuned for peak performance as rich running causes most of these rust related problems. I have received many engines back for service which have been stored for some years and gone rusty. Although uncommon, on more than one occasion i have been able to pour the rusty soup out of the crankcase and set fire to it as its still got enough methanol in it to burn even after many years sitting in the engine. 4 strokes are much easier to deal with the 2 strokes though as they should never have much in the way of methanol in the crankcase anyway. Just blowby. 2 strokes on the other hand need a little more attention if they arent being used for a while but generally the same tricks apply. Its just even more important to run 2 strokes out of fuel.

My Elf Bipe now fully covered in matt lamination film and ready for painting etc. I have already done most of the painting but not taken any pics as its been raining and space in my workshop is a bit limited as too much stuff on the go . Pics of that soon .

Supercharger finished......had to make 2 as the first was a tad on the big side.....always a problem when you don't have drawings to work from and you are eyeballing photos. Anyway needs a couple of coats of primer and then welds adding.... Anyone building a 1:4.5 or 1:4 the larger one might work for you....

Mornin all, few minutes late joining this morning, I accidentally changed my mobile phone alarm ring tone to the Hokey Cokey...... Took me 30 minutes to get out of bed!

A baffle plate was made from 1/4" ply, covered in parcel tape and then given a couple of coats of release wax. 2 little brackets stop the plug from moving during the all important laying of the fibreglass. I forgot to take a picture but I tried decorator's filler to fill the inevitable gaps between the plug and the baffle and it worked fine. An initial layer of 50gm cloth to get the cloth right into the recesses was followed up with 5 layers of 80gm cloth. Once the first half of the mould had cured, the second was laid up against the first. Cleaned up and with some screws to hold it all tightly together, the mould is ready for waxing and then a cast taken from it. The mould halves were given 5 coats of release wax buffing in between. Its a pleasant smell so not a bad job to do! Again, following an initial layer of 50gm cloth a further 4 layers of 80gm cloth were applied and then in the middle bit, a layer of 100gm cloth to stiffen it. Here is the result straight out of the mould after 15 hours curing. A quick clean-up of the ragged edges and trial fit of the trouser.........I'm quite pleased with that. The spat will be left for another 2 days to fully cure before final shaping and rubbing down with wet n' dry. This will remove all traces of the release wax and provide a decent surface for a primer coat. Into mass production now with a second spat to be cast! Well not really, I'm hoping there won't be a need for more than two, though if there are accidents later on it will be a relatively simple task to mould another.

Good heavens! Does that mean we'll have to resort to building our own models ? 😳

Let me know when you go in Igor, I'll look after yer team n predictions. 😇

Might be worth having a look at the HRB and Zee Power packs on Amazon.

Here’s a 3/4 scale j60 from an old aeromodeller, doculam with free flight supplies orange tissue with black painted details. Even the cabin windows are doculam, no need to glaze them 😀

Hi Outrunner. The painting has gone very well . Ive tried various paints on test peices and it adheres like you know what to a blanket . Pics to follow.

As all your engines are test run before dispatch Jon, how do you ensure they are protected? Those deposits look like many runs on castor to me…

He has a number of engines for sale, Enya 2 strokes Saito 80 cox etc, so he probably knows what he is talking about. The OS f plug was dead, so plug and bearings ordered 36€ !. I will ask him for the 36€ and see where it goes to.

As has been discussed a number of times on other threads not all modellers are honest unfortunately 😞

not at all hard decision, no one would take a chance with this. safety is #1

Thanks I got some from 4Max..

Just to add substance to my last post about things developing after being “finished” here’s a photo of the compass now with its light! As this is a retrospective thread I’ll do the “time warp” and post a shot of the finished model. Notice the turn indicator, it’s never finished until it’s finished!

Yes they are and nothing flakey about them, imo. I’ve bought quite a bit of gear from both over the years, the latest being my Sculpfun laser which was ordered from Aliexpress on a Friday and was delivered the following Wednesday from the Cz warehouse!

Victims of their own sucess ? HK never thought about all the other disributors or LMS they put out of business and some of the stuff they sold was a bit mediocre putting it mildly. Hobbies are the first thing to suffer when recession comes knocking on the door. In some ways it's good as it rekindles our ability to build although this doesn't help those who never learnt to build in the first place and only fly foam or ARTF's. Anither positive is that to fill a gap in the market an occasional cottage industry pop's up or restarts.

Both 4Max 3547 800kv motors are installed for trial. The wiring is completed with the ESCs in nacelles. The wing holes were plugged back and te servo functions were tested. Used Freddy's Sauce (great stuff) to smooth out some areas and the nacelle joints.

South West Railways addresses risks associated with one of their trains running on time.

Hi Nick, I've used solatex in the past, so probably use that again as i like the texture, i agree there other options but would they give you a texture......one of the judges is very keen on surface textures....:-) All the best Dave

Thanks for your concern, Igor. I'm still around but without much 'kicking' so far... I've been told with hingsight that my surgery was quite a 'heavy' one with 3 coronar by-passes next to my heart. Probably one should not know too much details in advance in this case. Anyway, after two weeks, the nasty feeling of that chest pain is slowly diminishing... albeit I'm still under rather heavy painkilling medication. Patience remains the magical word here apparently. Regarding Fantasy GP next week-end, I have a bit of a problem as well... My next surgery is planned for next Friday 17.03. Precisely during FP1 & 2 for the Jeddah GP... and 2 days in IC afterwards doesn't really help either, I'm afraid... Totally 'blind' banker predictions is my only choice, I guess... Thanks again & cheers Chris

Is this the link you wanted?

So, ribs are a bit better (9 weeks) but not a lot better and am able to do a bit more than previously, so have strung up the fuselage for airbrushing - lots of coats needed The Airbrush I use is an Iwata HP-TH which has advantages and disadvantages but overall for doing this type of big spraying task is ideal. It needs a larger compressor because it is a cross between an airgun and an air brush. It covers however very well, and also comes with a smaller nozzle for finer work, but there are limits because the needle is quite large scale ie 0.5mm It also makes life easier to use specially mixed primer for airbrushes - no tricky diluting needed This is actually a Sparmax compressor from airbrushes.com. Always a good idea to match your compressor with the requirements of your airbrush. This works really well and is good quality.