Jeffrey Cottrell 2

Hi Mike Early days yet, we'll see. I understand Marvic Models took over production for a time. I know they had a shop in York, which closed long time ago, but if anyone knows whether the owner is still around, might have drawings or moulds for these old models. Anybody got Hercule Poirot's mobile? Jeff

Hi EarlyBird Yes, I did notice that one as well. Ordinarily right up my street, but not at that price. As far as I know these are old stock which has probably been hanging around in the warehouse for a number of years. I think we all know what happens to kits in storage for a long time. Wood drying out, veneer de-laminating etc. Might be untold issues with the kit, and I was not prepared to pay what I consider to be a high price for it. Did ring SMC, see if he was prepared to haggle, I offered £225, which I would still consider high, but the reply was 'no lower than £250' at which point I said thanks but no thanks. As a comparison I looked at the Crescent Bullet. Slightly smaller at 50" span, but otherwise very similar. PB models still show these in stock at £135. Seems a much better bet to me, if I was in the market for one. Jeff

Hi Andy That's a puzzle. The other picture on the SMC website shows the kit box, and on the front it says 54" span for 40 engines. Are we looking at the same model? Jeff

Andy Agreed about current prices, but as far as I know SMC are selling these kits as old stock. Don't know how long the Smart Move has been in stock, but probably a matter of years. Not only would they have been far cheaper back in the day, but the kit has been around for a long time, so might suffer from balsa drying out, veneer separating, and all the other issues that plague models that have been stored for a long time. Still think £279 is excessive. Jeff

Hi All Looks like the Breeze and the Wind are as popular as ever. Just a reminder: Some time ago I was looking at a way to get intermediate rib shapes for a built up wing. Posted a question on here and also RCGroups. The question led me a contact from a guy called Harry D in Canada. Turns out to be a bit of a whizz with rib plotting software, and in very short order he was able to produce not only the intermediate rib shapes, but even cutting templates incorporating spar cut outs etc. These he sent to me as Acrobat files so I could download over here. He also gave me permission to share these files, so for anyone contemplating a Chilli Wind or Chilli Breeze build PM me with your e-mail address and they're yours. Jeff

Hi Andy Your post came in while I was typing, but does serve to illustrate your point. £279 for a Smart Move kit does seem excessive to me. Ho hum Jeff

Hi ED Agreed, I have a soft spot for this style of model. So much more elegant than todays' 'fish with flippers'. Probably don't fly as well, but then neither do I so that fits in nicely. Out of interest, my contact is Nick from NJR models. He has already brought back the Mirus, by Ken Stokes and the Blob, Thing and Apache from the Alan Head stable. He has a track record of bringing to market popular but discontinued models. First of all though, quite rightly he needs to get in touch with Dave himself, or whoever now owns the rights to his designs. Wouldn't be proper any other way. Meanwhile, just to prove it's a small world, new issue of RCME has an article from Alex Whittaker about his visit to Fighter Aces workshop. There is a picture of some fuselages in the process of being vacuum bagged. They are destined to go to Nick for his Apache kits. No doubting their quality then. Anybody noticed the sale on at SMC? Looks like their selling off some of their old stock that had been gathering dust at the back of the warehouse. By coincidence, one of these is a Smart Move. Would have had it like a shot, except they're asking £279 for it, ouch !!! Mind you, point I made to Nick was if an old kit can command that sort of money, definitely scope for profit for a new issue. We'll see Jeff

Hi All Got a model kit manufacturer who might be interested in bringing back Dave Smith models to the market. He has asked me for any info on either the designer or previous makers. I have given him details for Geoff Hodgson at Foam-Wings, who was planning to bring the models back some time ago. However I understand that DSM production was taken over for a time by Marvic Models. I know Marvic Models shop is long gone but wonder if there might be a way still to get in touch with the owner. Might be a long shot, but who knows? Jeff

Hi All Don't know of anybody's still lurking around, but this might be of interest. SMC are doing a sell off of some of their discontinued kits and old stock. Among these is a PB models 'The Bean' kit. Priced at £129.99, which doesn't seem too bad. Not so the Smart Move kit I also noticed. This is an old, discontinued Dave Smith Models kit, and must have been at the back of their warehouse for at least 5 years, probably nearer 10. Despite this, they are asking £279 for it. Did phone and ask if they would accept £225, but they said nothing lower than £250. Too rich for me, I'm afraid. Pity, I'm a big fan of Dave Smith Models. Ho hum Jeff

Hi Guys Contemplating a Chilli Breeze build, but I'm a bit concerned by reports of tailplane failure. What's the best solution? Wondered about a built up structure with 1/8" inner frame with 1/16" skin each side. Means I could put in diagonal struts which would resist any twisting force, but not sure if this would be sufficient. Your thoughts? Jeff

Hi All Trevor Very impressed by your table, wish I was that organised. Hypothetical question: I you bought new LiPos and on test the ir was pretty much in the class of 'bench use, dispose' would you not be inclined to return them? Anyway, back to the plot. Have arranged to send mine back for a refund. Amazon have sent me a pre-paid label which I have attached to the parcel. This, however is for Post Office 48Hr service. Reading elsewhere on Amazon site seems to indicate that I can't send LiPos back with the post office, but I have to arrange, and pay for, a courier such as DHL to transport them for me. Anyway, postie is due to collect tomorrow, see if he asks what's in the parcel. Meanwhile, had communication with HRB direct. They did ask for a photograph (why do they always do that?) but accepted I couldn't do that because the packs were already packaged for return, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. Still have a question. Should I buy more HRB packs in the hopes that my issue was a one-off? HK are telling me deliveries from their EU warehouse are set to begin again 1st June. Might hold fire until (if) that happens and I can get hold of Turnigy Blues instead. Everything up in the air atm Jeff

Hi All Have a saved search on e-bay for HRB batteries. Just got an e-mail from them with a new addition. Seems HRB also do an Alien Pattern led table lamp. Who'd have thunk it? Jeff https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134119747904?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=151aa7e596fc48e7944ca82798c6cd2e&bu=42993982027&ut=RU&osub=-1~1&crd=20220516055144&segname=11021&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cut%3Dut%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid

Hi leccy, thanks for that. Looking for a go-to supplier for my lipos. Anyway, have a question in to the suppliers regarding these two in particular. Will see how they respond, might tell me if mine are a one-off. We'll see Meanwhile, changing the subject slightly. Put a question to HK regarding resumption of supply, got this reply: 'We are very close to finishing all the paperwork needed to start again. Should be done by end of May'. I know, we've all heard this before, wait and see. Never ordered anything from Global, on principle. However looking at the price including shipping, seems the more you order the cheaper they got. Tested with an order for four 2650 4s. Working out the price per unit, comes out at some £29 per. That's way more than the EU price but in the ballpark with what you can get over here direct. Food for thought? Jeff

Hi All Just to add fuel to the fire, did an IR test on the second pack and the figures are even worse. I'm getting 18,21.4,19.1 and 19.1. These are definitely going back. In general, anyone using HRB packs on a regular basis, what do you think of them? Would like to think my results are a one-off, but not sure. Any thoughts? Jeff

Hi leccyflyer, thanks for the quick reply. Although I have no doubt these packs would perform ok in use, I am considering sending them back anyway. This only because they are new packs showing an IR more suited to ones that have had many cycles. Have a question in to the supplier via Amazon. Will see what they come back with. In your post you said that HRB's you have are showing 2-6 milliohms, which is what I would want to see on new packs. Definitely something wrong with mine. We'll see Jeff

Hi All Was going to start a new thread, but Geoff's post was enough to start the discussion, so here goes: I am a big fan of Turnigy Blue lipos, but since it looks unlikely that HK will ever re-start deliveries to UK, looking round for a suitable alternative brand. Seen suggested that HRB lipos were good, so bought a couple of 2600 4s for a try. Came from Amazon, delivered withing a day and good price, so no complaints there. However, checking IR on my ISDT charger came out with figures of 15.7, 18.4, 16.1 and 16.1 for each cell. Geoff's quote would indicate these batteries are already 'toast' before they've even been used. As a baseline, I pulled a TGY 2650 4s from my dwindling stock and measured 7.6,7.2,8.0 and 8.8. Even a used one measured 6.9-7.6. I do not punish my LiPos, so unlikely to see an issue with the HRB ones, but I was disappointed to see them below par straight from the factory. Any thoughts? Jeff

Hi Guys Notice on HK website the virtually everything I look at only has Global shipping option. Leads me to wonder if EU warehouse is still trading. Could someone in Europe check if the site in your country still shows EU as shipping option? Jeff

Hi Stuphedd, could use some help. Work proceeding well on my Sbach. Pretty much standard stuff except one thing I can't get my head around. The wings are held on by 4mm bolts through holes in the wing roots. Trouble is the holes in the roots are 7mm diameter. Can't help thinking there should be some form of insert in these holes to reduce the diameter, but not sure. Did yours have anything? Thanks Jeff

Hi Trevor, thanks for that. Did have a look at that page and also some others Google suggested. Conclusions from those are that this number is not related to vat, more something customs would want to see at the border. Also, getting this number is only a matter of filling out a simple form on line. Not clear whether there is only one number for a supplier, or if one is needed for each order, but either way, if HK had the will to supply to the UK, nothing is insurmountable. Out of interest, on HK website there are no purchase option for their entire range of LiPo batteries except Global. Seems like even customers in the EU can't get LiPo's from their own warehouse. Distinct impression that something is going on in the background that we are not party to. Ho Hum Jeff

Hi Guys glad to hear someone is getting stuff from the EU warehouse. Afraid I can't say the same. Placed an order on 2nd Feb for some rolls of covering. As of today 18th Mar still showing 'processing'. Had 4 live chats so far, and they all say the same thing. They are waiting for an EORI number, whatever that may be. Any ideas? Can't see it taking 1 1/2 months to sort out a bureaucratic issue. Even had the cheek to suggest I could order from Global. Out of the 4 colours I ordered, Global only has one in stock, and the shipping cost for a £10.79 item would be £22 57. After closing the UK warehouse, I can't now even get stuff from the EU warehouse. Have they given up on the UK market altogether? Jeff

Hi Dick. Thanks for that, very helpful. My LiPo's are mostly Turnigy, but since HK seem reluctant to supply to UK at the moment, guess I'll have to find another source. That looks like a 4-Max battery in there. They only list a 4s 2200 at 60c on their site. Hope that's the same size as the one you have used. Have to say that battery strap still looks a bit too far back. Might have to invent something better, we'll see. Anyway, given me a direction, still work in progress. Cheers Jeff

Bought myself a second hand Max Thrust Aggressor Sport, and I could use some help. Obviously, no manual, but most of it is straightforward. There is a long thread on RCG, but as normal impossible to find the info I need. It suggests a c/g of 50-60mm back from the le, which looks about right on the model, so if someone could confirm, and also suggest a starting point for control throws. Main issue for me is battery positioning. I'm using a 2200 3s and RCG suggest this goes right forward against the firewall to get the correct c/g. Trouble is the battery bay is too narrow to get it so far forward and also the battery retaining strap is right at the back of the bay, so with the battery fully forward it misses the strap altogether. So, any thoughts? Thanks Jeff

Hi Guys, thanks for your thoughts. Kevin Not sure my esc follows the normal rules. Powered it up with throttle high and all I got was a series of slow beeps, not the musical tones I expected. Mind you, doesn't really matter. The fitted esc has no markings so no idea of current capacity or bec, so I'm replacing it with a Hobbywing one I have lying around. Rather have something I can rely on. Stuphedd Re: hinges Mine has pin hinges, rather than foam ones. Look like original, and the RCG thread does mention these as being rather weak, but mine seem ok so far. Judgement reserved till after flight. MattyB Yes, that is odd. Added to that is that the leading edge of the tailplane has a series of dents in it, either through landing in tall grass or being hung up by its tail from a wall or something. Either way, not going to worry about it. 50' up no one will notice. Given I only paid £40 for it, can't expect miracles. Now a question I can't answer. The motor has a bolt-on prop driver, but this has a collet taper machined in, which I've never seen before. OK, so far, but the position of the cowl means the spinner backplate needs to go on this taper, so neither the prop or the collet is properly centralised. Managed to centralise the prop, using a plastic ring from an APC prop, but can't see a way to get the spinner ring to run true. Going to run without spinner atm, while I (or probably you guys) figure this one out. So far, so ho hum. We'll see Thanks Jeff

Hi Steve, thanks. That certainly looks like the one. Always amazed how you guys come up with this info so quickly. Will have a look through that RCG thread, but its 178 pages long so may be a while. Thanks again Jeff

Hi guys Picked up this model at the Horam Swapmeet. Wonder if anyone can help me identify it. Google search reveals Volantex do (did) a Sbach 342, but that is listed as 1.1 Mtr, where mine is 1.4 Mtr. It has wings which slide on from each side and then bolt in place. There is a 3/8 ply spar extending about 2/3 span. Also the rudder is operated by closed loop, but using wire rods instead of cables. Neither the motor or the esc have any markings on them. It came with a 14 x 7E prop and the recommendation to use 4s. Any of this ring any bells? Thanks Jeff