chris meek 1

20/20 for me - although the last one was a cheeky one! 🤣

Unless that is anyone has a WR ju88 in their shed they don’t want! 🤣🤣

Thanks for the positive comments, they really are appreciated and have helped keep me motivated! I’d considered doing similar but wanted to try the warbird replicas approach - after watching some of Ron’s videos on the fw190 I thought I’d give it a go and tbh think for me it’s the way I’ll go in future again - quick and easy and gives an impression of panel lines etc without adding weight (always a worry on this for me given the short nose length!) Ive got the WR tempest on the board next but already thinking of possible projects for the new year…. Possibly a hawker typhoon but I’m a fan of twins/multis so might end up changing my mind several times before then! 🤣

So back at it today. Couldn’t bring myself to do any soldering so did some more weathering! 🤣 Need to sort esc placement in the nacelles - at the moment I’m thinking under the battery trays then the lipos go on top - will need to mount the trays higher up in the nacelle to allow this to give space above the retract units but hopefully once done there’ll still be space in them for a 5s lipo if I decide to go up to one - current plan is to go 4s as I’ve got a stash of them… Couldnt resist another set of photos with it together! The good news is, with lipos and electrics in, when using the ‘finger method’ the c of g is close/on the suggested mark so I’ll hopefully not need much (if any) extra weight in the nose. Once everything is finished I’ll make a Vanessa rig to check it accurately but I’m pleased it seems to be in the right ball park…..

Last one for this week! 🤣 finally got the cockpit canopy plug finished, after a little trial and error I got a canopy I was happy to use - this is it temporarily fitted until I get another pilot figure and detail the cockpit. Again, it’s not perfect but it will do me!

Thanks Richard - from other blogs I’ve seen I think people are put off with the fuselage curvature at the nose, but with some patience (and ammonia!!) it’s not that difficult- the biggest challenge so far has been the plugs for the canopy/cupola!

Thanks - I’ve only got a small airbrush I’ve used in the past on plastic kits - don’t want to shell out on a bigger one so will try that, if it fails I might have to resort to brushing it on!

Weathering started on port side… what do folk use to seal everything down at the end? Heard some form of varnish?

A little more progress - pulled a new observers cupola which came out nicely so happy to use it. Still working on the cockpit canopy plug but hopefully making progress with that as well.. anyway - I cut out the observers area and glued the figure in place with a machine gun - the barrel is removable to stop hanger rash! Then I glued the cupola on (sat for 40 minutes holding it in place while the glue set! 🤦‍♂️🤣) and started on panel lines and rivets as per Richard’s technique on the warbird replicas models.. once done I’ll try some weathering with some chalks to muck it up a bit! Got to say - panel lines and riveting didn’t take that long and the effect they give is quite impressive!

First attempt at the observers cupola. A couple of imperfections but if it wasn’t for the spidering I’d have been happy to use it!

I use a water based finishing resin over the brown paper which I give a light sand before I put the paint on - not sure I have the patience to squeeze a load of bananas! 🤣

Well that’s it for this week - wings painted and decals on! I’ve had a quick go at vac forming the canopies - observers cupola went ok but no joy at all with the pilots canopy! There was some spider webbing from the observers canopy so it wasn’t perfect - I think I need to make a bigger vac former. Ah we’ll all good progress anyway!

And so it begins! I hate doing the white of the invasion stripes - currently on coat three and it still looks horrible up close! It’ll get there but still a pain… 🤣

Took a four hour drive yesterday to visit North Coates and the memorial to the Strike Wing at Cleethorpes…..

So today has been a day of mixed results! Spent the day meeting friends and going to do some stuff in town but I’ve finally got the second nacelle finished off and the top hatch cut with a catch fitted to secure the rear of the hatch in flight. I was feeling very pleased with myself - then realisation dawned that because the hatches run up to the firewall there may be an issue…. The cowls supplied when fitted run over the nacelles by about 15mm, so although the hatches fitted very nicely - I’d need to remove the cowls every time I wanted to access the flight batteries because they were stopping the hatches lifting out! 🤦‍♂️ . Got to admit to a few curses under my breath but soon sorted - an additional bulkhead glued into the interior of both hatches and I was able to cut them both into two pieces - then it was a simple job of gluing the front piece in place for the cowl to fit over while still leaving plenty of access into the battery bay. I’ve also done some more filling and sanding on the canopy plug so have been able to add a layer of resin over the top of it. Not quite got to covering the wings yet but not long to go and all good progress!

Thanks Ron, got it sorted with Paul

Are the retract sets available direct from Richard? Tempest is next on the building board and I want to fit them while building ….

Filler on - looking a bit like an iced cake but I’m happy with it!

Second attempt with more formers in place….

Progress on the cockpit canopy mold has been faster than expected. A friend at the club suggested I try making the mold using foam instead of balsa. The first attempt wasn’t great but after adding some more balsa formers for the foam cutter to run along the second attempt was much better! A quick layer of filler and all set for a final sand.. First attempt….

The motors I’m using look like they’re front mounted - so I’m planning on using 4 threaded rods from the firewall into the front X shaped mounting plate so that I can add side and down thrust as per the plan. I was thinking a 4mm rod on each corner. Will these provide enough torsional strength when the motors running or would I be better off building a plywood box to mount the motors into and epoxying it to the front of the firewall?

Today’s progress report! Starboard nacelle planking finished and the cowl hatch cut out… filling done and waiting to dry so I can give it a final sand…. further progress on the plug for the observers cupola and I’ve made a start on the plug for the pilot’s canopy….

Thanks Richard I’ll try and contact him!

Next thing would be - if I want to go for three bladed props but keep the diameter the same, do I need to alter the pitch to get the same power?

Observers cupola plug - resin coat on and drying…..the plan is to give it a sand smooth then maybe add another coat, will see how it is in the morning… As I’m planning on going electric with this I thought I’d get opinions and check my workings out are in the right ball park - I’m planning on getting the auw as close to 10lbs as I can get, but if I say a weight of 12lbs at about 150 watts per pound then I need a setup that produces 1800 watts to fly the model? Im going with separate esc and battery for each motor so am I right in saying each motor should provide about 900watts? second photo is the motors I’ve got (bought years ago but never used!) which according to their spec sheet provide 940w on a 13 x 7 prop on a 5s lipo. I hear that the projected power output on the spec sheets can often be ‘optimistic’ but I’m hoping that by planning for a slightly heavier model than I’m aiming for I should be in the right ball park…