Model Monster

After several attempts I’ve settled on the following method for glassing. It’s quick, easy, doesn’t add any unnecessary weight, not too much waste and has a great finish with hardly any sanding. I use Bucks Composite products, mainly because they are at the shows I visit, are very helpful and I’ve never had any problems, so haven’t bothered trying anything else. You will need the following tools and equipment: From Bucks – Resin / hardener, cloth, fairing compound. You will also need, strong kitchen roll, 5 min Epoxy, mixing pot, a strirrer, straight Methanol (Southern Modelcraft sell this by the Gallon), radiator roller frame, fluffy or foam rollers to suit (any type of roller seems to work), roller tray, plastic bags that will fit over the tray, plastic gloves (from Petrol Station), mask and 240 grit finishing paper (grey colour). 1, Complete any major filling, fairings: I use 5 min Epoxy – mix well, add equal volume of Methanol, stir until mixed / runny, keep adding fairing compound until you have a slightly fluffy / sticky filler. I’d say a teaspoon full of epoxy would make approximately a golfball’s volume of filler. Spread and smooth this as necessary. For fillets, smooth using a Methanol dampened finger / thumb. It goes rubbery after about 10 minutes and good enough to sand in an hour or so. Sand smooth – Permagrit followed by finishing paper works well. Normal lightweight filler for any other filling 1A, Plan which order you will cover the various components – undersides of wings etc 1st, then fus sides, finally top surfaces (basically 3 sessions should cover the whole model). 2, Dampen any sections of balsa that have become dented or have any pin holes with water, leave to dry. The balsa will swell and most defects will disappear without any filling. 3, Final rub down – finishing paper and a sanding block, leave a lovely silky finish. 4, Remove any dust by careful blowing / hoovering. 5, Cut glass cloth oversize by at least 2 inches all round, put to one side. 6, Mix resin and pour into roller tray (previously put into a plastic bag). 7, Pour a healthy splash of Methanol onto some folded kitchen roll until it’s soaking. Wipe down the surface you are going to glass. Get it good and damp – this then stops the resin soaking into the model. 8, Lay cloth onto model and make sure it’s where you want it. 9, Load the roller with resin and start applying to the cloth, working from the centre out, make sure you go past the edges and the weight of the resin on the surplus cloth will make it hang down nicely. Keep rolling until the cloth is only just coated with resin. Any surplus resin will get lifted off by the roller as you go and it’s fairly obvious when you’ve got it right. The weave of the cloth will still be visible. Set the model aside, somewhere warm / dry and leave alone for at least 2 days and preferably 5 (makes the next stage easier, if the surface feels waxy then leave it a bit longer). 9A, Clean up – Pour surplus resin from the tray and mixing pot. Get your hand in the inside of the plastic bag covering the roller tray and carefully remove the tray. Use your bag covered hand to grab the roller sleeve and remove it from the frame. Turn the bag inside out and dispose. Clean all items for reuse with Methanol soaked kitchen roll – mixing pot, stirrer etc. 10, Once the resin has cured fully, use a sanding block and finishing paper – carefully rub along the edges to wear through the cloth and leave a smooth edge. Followed by a light rub down over the entire surface. Then go back to steps 4-10 and repeat as necessary for the other surfaces. 11, Once all components / surfaces have reached step 10, give the model a final once over, if any more filling is needed then repeat step 1. 12, Recoat all surfaces with one more coat of resin. Only use the bare minimum of resin and over roll with a semi-dry roller until a consistent finish has been achieved. You can do it all in one go if required – use strategically placed pins to keep the items away from the bench while it cures. Again leave for 2-5 days. 13, Final light rub down and you’re done.

Some more photos showing most of the fus build.

Here are some photos of my build so far. Everything is going well and I'm really pleased with the quality of the components, fit of the parts etc. I made a similar change to Bucksboy for F3, but removed a bit more, to allow for installing the tank nearer the c of g. I've fitted a YS 53 (pumped) engine so the tank position isn't critical. I was also missing the captive nuts for the engine mount and used more for the concealed cowl fixings. I also added a cockpit floor and it looks like Bucksboy has as well. The rudder will also be made operational but I intend to hinge the whole thing. I should complete the basic build this weekend and will glass it all using Bucks Composites lightweight cloth / resin. Other minor mod’s / personal preferences for this model include mounting the aileron servo in a box within the wing, more triangular stock adjacent to the firewall and use of snakes for control of tail surfaces and throttle. The pre-cut apertures for the servo mounts don’t seem to fit anything standard, but I’ve got some Hitec Mini’s which will be ok after a bit of trimming. The wing mount bolt plates are pre-tapped for the 5mm Nylon bolts but were a bit tight, so I ran a tap in and out a few times to loosen them up a bit. This is the 1st time I’ve tried adding photos to a post, hopefully they are self-explanatory?

No electric setup advice, but hope the prop size and rev's help. It was lovely to build and is a great flyer. Powered by OS 40 FS's with 10 x 6 three bladers (Graupner), Max rev's approx. 9000 Rpm. Cruises on just over half throttle.