Richard Wood

Sorry to hear of your losses. Back in the early 80's I remember a chap flew a Skyrider regularly & it always flew superbly. A Meteor 40 powered it - nostalgia! Shortly after, some others doubled it up in size & powered it with a petrol engine - also superb . Interesting build thread.

A bit of a shock to read this . Wonderful wit & humour and the heart & soul of RCME for so many years. RIP Alex.

Nice work Gary. What motor & battery setup are you installing?

Thanks to Cloud Models & others before, the Crescent Bullet is still available as a traditional kit. Shaping the fuselage curves with razor plane & sanding block is a very satisfying building experience. Reviewed as one of the easiest kits to build - it has pitfalls for the inexperienced but builds into a super model. All the best.

The RM Snark from '72.

Check the accuracy of the wing cut-out in the fuselage sides. The Firebird kit needed some trimming here & from memory the Magician likewise. A minor issue in a good quality kit but worth a mention.

Hi Richard, I currently have a Firebird under construction & it is going together very well. Yes - it's more or less a Magician with a more conventional canopy position and trike U/C. The wing looks very similar to the Magician's & is possibly the same. The plan doesn't have all the super detail of the Magician's but is fine. It's a good quality kit with many parts CNC cut.

It boils the blood to see the litter everywhere - the selfish 'I'm alright Jack' attitude is getting worse. Fly tipping is getting bad too.

CA is very useful for some jobs - such as running it through the joints on wing ribs assembled onto spars. The fumes can give you a feeling of having a heavy cold if not used carefully - unless there are more benign types available now... Evo-Stik PVA is used as 1st choice for all well-fitted wood-wood joints.   Edited By Richard Wood on 06/08/2020 11:02:49

Chris if you're using a SLEC round mount the tapered beams will make the captive nut arrangement difficult. Self tappers into this type of mount is generally very secure on a 40.

Posted by Michael Ramsay-Fraser on 27/10/2019 21:40:31: As a Scotsman, this is really hard to say.....but best of luck to England next weekend. However, if you do win, PLEASE don't bang on about it for the next 12 years. 'A game for thugs played by gentlemen' - and watched by gentlemen for the most part. As an Englishmen who's lived north of the border for many years I read your post with a wry smile Michael. Lets see if SA can play on Saturday & are more than Faf & physicality.     Edited By Richard Wood on 31/10/2019 00:27:11

Posted by Don Fry on 25/10/2019 09:42:16: Why can't you use Poly C, or Eazy Kote. Aren't they basically the same stuff as Ronseal. They're water based & if applied straight to the veneer will ripple it. The Ronseal used was not the water based type. Edited By Richard Wood on 25/10/2019 09:50:07

I've used Ronseal type varnish before with success as an alternative to sanding sealer when the sanding sealer had run out. I've not yet had a problem with sanding sealer on foam wings as long as it isn't thinned... Try it on a small area or scrap experimental piece 1st.   Edited By Richard Wood on 25/10/2019 09:35:04

Another vote for the HS82MG, or the '85MG.

Uno-Wot kit with ailerons & reduced dihedral is a nice elegant flyer. It's a good quality kit with veneered foam wings & a fair bit of ply. Edited By Richard Wood on 24/10/2019 08:22:00