Graham Davies 3

They'd look great in the air together!

Maybe it's time for a liquid cooled engine? ;-D Some nice scale radiators would be lovely. Cost, complexity, plumbing nightmares? Pffft..

I quite fancy watching a run-off between your Hurricane and Ron's Lavochkin too!

Great idea Jon. My bargain bucket 75 in my WotsWot would come and play!

I was joking Jon! Kind of you to offer but it's perfectly preserved by the plug of mud that surrounds it since I dug it out of the hole it made!

You Jon, are what forums are all about! Well played sir. I agree, it's a fabulous model and a very worthy cause. It would be a shame for it to be written off. Now, anyone want to fix my seized OS15 max so I can resurrect some oil-soaked wreck with no historical or modelling significance? Thought not... ?

Fully paid up disciple of Paul and Richard here! The black/ white pens work really well. I agree with Paul, you don't want a continuous solid white line as you are trying to imply light catching on a panel gap. Fortunately, it turn out far easier to get a broken line than a solid one with these pens. I'm a bit heavy handed in the pics; next one will be better! I didn't have the guts to use a wash, but used chalk. At Richard's suggestion, I got a pack of 'greys', which went from white to black. I lightly applied a strip of masking tape just ahead of the line and then rubbed chalk into the tape before feathering it from the tape across the panel. I used light chalk on the dark colours, and dark chalk on the, er, light ones... Time will see how long it lasts, but I'm sure aircraft in service got washed from time to time! I may practice with my airbrush on my next project (Yak 3). Final point, I used silver and bronze sharpies to add some wear that would go down to aluminium. Around the leading edge, canopy frame etc. Apply a little dab and then immediately smear it with your fingertip. The bronze worked well on the exhaust stacks. Rivets are done similarly to lines, a tiny semi-circle of black (like a smiley face) and then an inverted smiley of white above it. The lower one is a shadow, the upper is light catching the rivet. You can just about see one near the spinner. Not to many rivets on a spitfire! It's a hugely relaxing and satisfying process. The model literally comes to life before your eyes. Graham

This is a great thread; I need to start thinking about what to take when we are released! Try though I did to avoid overdoing the new models; I have 2 to maiden so far: 36" Mini-Pitts (called a pitts-e back in the day, which is odd as i was an IC model from early 90s). Renovated after 20+ years languishing in storage and electrified. Should be exciting! And I also have my new Cambrian funfighter Spitfire that my wife bought me for Christmas. 42" span, a little under 3lb and with 500w of neddies in the cowl. So, two small, fast and flighty models that have never flown before after 3 months off. I can't see a problem... Good job I've got time to see sense! Graham

Fabulous video Peter. You live in a beautiful part of the world. "I think I can swim out there". Er... Nope, nope and nope some more! Graham

Thanks Ron

Thanks Jon, I think I will struggle to find a dongle compatible with Fasst, but there are lots of cables available for about an Ayrton. I have a 2015 Mac I use in my studio, and a 2013 macbook air for everything else. I'll chuck it in the Mac. Graham

Thank you everyone, much appreciated. RC7 looks to be reasonable value at around £30. Jonathan, you find this useful? I presume I can use an RX dongle too? I'm guessing I transmit 2.4GHz to the dongle and this converts to USB? Graham

Afternoon all, I know this has been discussed before, but I am yet to reach a conclusion! I'm thinking of getting a simulator to practice some manoeuvres that have always alluded me. On the one hand, this makes good sense during lockdown. On the other, practicing these when we return to the skies may be a good way to naturally select the squadron that has built up during lockdown! I don't want to spend big on this; I will use it rarely once we are outside again, and I am aware of the limitations that exist due to the lack of peripheral information. What is a good way to go on this, bearing in mind I only have Macs at home, no PC. I use a Futaba T9CAP transmitter; is there an interface cable that I can use? If not, can anyone also suggest a cost effective USB controller? So my requirements are: Works on Mac Cheap A controller, or interface cable for my T9CAP I consider this a green initiative; it's saving balsa... Thanks all Graham

Right on cue Ron!

Hi Chris, and welcome. Laminating film can be used in a similar way to solarfilm type coverings (Soalrfilm have ceased trading, but oracover and the excellent hobbyking films are all largely similar). It is applied with heat, and shrunk with, er, heat. There are lots of articles and youtube videos showing detail on covering. Laminating film is a little different from the dedicated modelling films with regards to the temperatures needed, but if you haven't used either, you will need a bit of trial and error anyway. You will need a modelling iron. You won't need any additional adhesives for the edges, etc. Ron Grey is probably the best resource regarding laminating film; I am sure he will chip in. Graham

I can't see why Gordon; they are all common at the receiver end. For good practice, I would keep an earth with each signal and keep 'exposed' signals short to prevent noise. However, that shouldn't be an issue.

You could 'common' the ground and power lines. You'll only need 7 connections then!

Gordon, you could use a bigger d-type. There's a 15 pin version that is the same size as the 9-way. Job's a good'un!

Matty, I think Linds' Spitfire counts for at least 5! He's pretty much resurracted a bag of sawdust!

Posted in it's own topic, but as this is my favourite topic... Cambrian 42" funfighter spitfire. 2lb 12Oz with a 3536 1200kv turning a 10x6 from 2200mah 3s Lipos. Covered in laminating film, painted with emulsion, panelled with gel pens and weathered with chalk! Graham

Evening all, My dearest first wife bought me a Cambrian Spitfire kit for Christmas. This was a result of my insistence that a chap should at least once own a Jaguar, and model a spitfire. Combine this with some irrational attachment to what we used to refer to as '25 size' models as they appear to hold less jeopardy for me and so I fly them with more confidence. So we end up with the very traditional foam, balsa and ply kit for a 42" 'fling and flop' package. Alongside this is Richard Wills' fantastic advice on finishing, and how to make models realistic in easy steps. As such, I felt this was a chance to have a go. The build is very straightforward, so let's skip straight to the finished article. She's covered in 43micron laminating film and painted using emulsion matchpots. The colours are not great for the 1940 Mk2 I was roughly basing this on, but there's no way I'd paint any of my house in these colours! So, a coat of matt white emulsion, and then 2 lightly brushed coats of each colour. I used a little roller to remove brush strokes and 400 grit between coats. The edges of the camouflage are softened with a soft bristled brush. Panel lines are black pen with a white gel pen line in parallel to give the illusion of light. All the white lines are on the 'high' side, depending on which face, so essentially whichever side would be lit. Weathering is done by applying masking tape to the line and rubbing chalk into the tape before smearing it across the panel. I bought a selection of grey chalks and used lighter greys on the darker colours, and darker greys on the lighter colours. I then smeared chalk to the panel lines parallel to the airflow to replicate the accumulation along the panel gaps. Finally, some judicious application of a silver gel pen to replicate wear through to the aluminium. Across leading edges and various foot contact points. By accident, the masking tape lifted some tiny patches of paint. They looked authentic so I dabbed silver on these too! I added some cannons from dowel and carbon tube having previously added a radiator to give a bit more 'spitfireness' from front on. I also gave the prop yellow tips for the same reason! I don't think it looks bad; certainly more scale than my usual 25-ers.

Crikey, that took some doing. Sympathetic to any web switchover, but none of the interaction methods acknowledge activity. Apart from the screen flickering, the same thing occurs when you reset your password, contact the site, and post as a guest. So, like Jon, I had no way to get any support. I also couldn't start another account, or even post as a guest because the email address I used was in use by another member... Trying the same things I was trying for the last 2 hours eventually, inexplicably worked...

Evening all, As a disciple of WR and all things Wills, I have been building a Cambrian spitfire and using the opportunity to learn these finishing skills. So, the spitfire is covered in laminating film and painted in emulsion paint. Edges soften with a big soft brush. I have then used the 'black/ white' technique Paul detailed above, and weathered with chalk. I have used a silver gel pen to add wear down to metal (need to work on that technique a little). I haven't finished yet, but i couldn't resist a picture thus far. Hugely satisfying; don't know why I haven't tried this earlier. Thanks Paul and Richard Graham