Ian Mat Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Many years ago, I used to build small model planes, boats and hovercraft, from kits, plans or my own design. Following a long break from the hobby, while going to university and starting a family. I recently returned to the hobby and have learnt to fly (after a fashion) and recently gained my A certificate. I decided I wanted more of a challenge than the couple of Wot 4's I have built and fancied building a more traditional kit, specifically a F4U Corsair. I was fortunate enough to obtain a Top Flite kit from Robert on these forums and have decided to document my build, whilst hopefully gaining invaluable information from the experts on this forum! So I started with the aft end and built up the fin, rudder, elevators and stabiliser, nothing to taxing here, just waiting for better weather so that I can get outside and sand the correct profile to these parts. Then I decided to skip the wing and start on the fuselage while I waited for the Robart 615 retracts to arrive from the USA (where I obtained them for a quarter of the price of over here!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Hi Ian, What a fantastic start you have made, nice to see the kit being built instead of looking at it in my attic. I also bought my Robart retracts and all of other items needed for them from the USA for a fraction of the price they were over here. I'll be watching this one. All the best with the build Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Looking forward to this. I have the same kit to assemble - when I get a moment Good luck Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Posted by Martyn K on 23/09/2015 15:39:56: Looking forward to this. I have the same kit to assemble - when I get a moment Good luck Martyn there's a coincidence - I've also got one tucked away along with a TF Sea Fury. I'll be interested to see how the wing sheet fits around the dihedral break, it looks like some compound curves are involved. I see HK do some 100 degree twist'n'turn retract units, they would make life easier when it comes to take offs and landings as they will rake the wheels further forward than the more usual 90 degree units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 The retract problem is a challenge. A bit nervous about HK retracts - had a few problems with them in my Magic. The 60 sized Robart retracts don't seem to be available any more for this model and I probably couldn' afford them anyway. I have quite a few Resource Mags and images for this if that helps. Lots of colour schemes - history - variants etc Martynt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 I read a huge amount of other forum posts on the internet about the problems of fitting alternative retracts, but the simple truth is that the Robarts were specifically designed for this kit and are proven. I bought the entire retract set including the scale looking robostruts with sprung oleos for about £150 from omnimodels in the US including postage. I think the total cost in the UK would have been £400+ and no one had any in stock, so the waiting time would be about the same. I haven't even thought about colour schemes yet... I'm still getting over the shock of how many parts were in the box! I need to start thinking about engine choice soon... I have 3 options: 1. ASP 91 FS which I have been bench running and has now had about 2 hours running and idles like a sewing machine 2. Saito 100 which is a second hand find on ebay, yet to run it, but it all looks good. 3. Saito 82 which has only had a few tanks through it. I'm zeroing in on the Saito 100, but open to suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 A couple more pictures of my first attempt at skinning... The first side looks pretty good, it's stuck in all the right places with no cracks! Just have about 30 pin holes to fill now. Edited By Ian Mathews on 23/09/2015 18:38:17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 I tentatively removed all the pegs and pins to find... All the advice I had received had worked a treat! everything was nicely shaped, properly attached and more importantly, the upper half of the fuselage was completely square and the base flat... No twist . Have spent this morning shaping cutting and fettling the 4 upper skins and they are glued, taped, pinned and pegged and currently drying. I'll post more pictures when they're dry. If anyone has any thoughts on engine choice, I would be glad to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Posted by Ian Mathews on 23/09/2015 16:09:00: I read a huge amount of other forum posts on the internet about the problems of fitting alternative retracts, but the simple truth is that the Robarts were specifically designed for this kit and are proven. I bought the entire retract set including the scale looking robostruts with sprung oleos for about £150 from omnimodels in the US including postage. I think the total cost in the UK would have been £400+ and no one had any in stock, so the waiting time would be about the same. Hi Ian Were these the ones that you ordered? **LINK** Regards Martyn Edited By Martyn K on 24/09/2015 12:04:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Martyn, I think those in you link are for the 1/5 scale Corsair. These are the ones for the 60 sized corsair: **LINK** Although I think I may have bought the actual retracts from another US shop and all of the other accessories (air control pack, wheels and scale struts) from Omnimodels. I've just noticed that those are the electric retracts, so they might fit. I used the part numbers from the instruction manual as a reference. Might be worth dropping Omni an email and asking them. Edited By Ian Mathews on 24/09/2015 12:16:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Thanks Ian Very helpful - at least I know which ones I need to look for now Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Very slow progress today, but extremely happy with the results. I took a lot of time and effort to ensure that the top skins, which have to be cut from stock sheet balsa, fit properly and these are the results. It's really starting to look like a Corsair now (although my youngest daughter reckons it looks more like an upside down boat!) The rough sanding has been completed but, I'm not going to do any more until I've completed the bottom half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Slow progress over the last few days, due to work getting in the way! I've added the lower fuselage formers and the pushrod for the rudder and tail wheel, which required soldering and meant that I had to quickly learn a new skill. In fact I brazed the thicker steel and brass connectors and soldered the thinner ones. I'm not sure whether to sheet the rest quite yet, because it will severely restrict access to the interior of the fuselage. I can't see any reason not to leave the final sheeting until I've finished the wing, which I'll start next, unless anyone has any good reason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi Ian, What great progress you are making, looking excellent so far. As far as the sheeting of the underside is concerned, have you got all of the pushrods / snakes in place, check with the instructions if you need to access this area later, what about the air tank? Excellent work so far and enjoying the build Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi Ian, What great progress you are making, looking excellent so far. As far as the sheeting of the underside is concerned, have you got all of the pushrods / snakes in place, check with the instructions if you need to access this area later, what about the air tank? Excellent work so far and enjoying the build Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Robert, I'm think about attaching the air tank to the wing, I've seen a couple of other people do the same on other builds. It reduced the need for connecting/disconnecting pipework each time the wing is removed and therefore reduced the chance of leaks. The tank hasn't arrived yet so I've decided to park the fuselage for now and start building the wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I agree, it looks great Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djay Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Hi Ian. I have made a few TF kits and they fly superb. The secret is make the tail end as light as humanly possible as the wood in these kits is generally hard and heavy. I usually use the parts as templates and make new from lighter wood and cut lightning holes everywhere. You will still need a ton of weight in the nose though. We had one at our club built very heavy and it would not fly. Use the Saito 100 to power it, cover it with lightweight glass cloth and Poly C and it will fly nice. I currently have left in my stable, the DC3, Sea Fury, and P39, lost my P40 and Mentor. The Mentor is the best flying kit TF do next to the DC3. Good luck witht the build and as long as the C of G is correct it will fly. Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 Djay, I'm building as light as I can. I've read on a few other forums that the Robart retracts I'm using don't like much more than 10lbs total weight, so I'm aiming for less than that. I usually use receiver batteries as forward ballast and put them under the fuel tank, which usually saves having to add too much lead in the nose. I'm also going to cover the aft control surfaces in tissue rather than the heavier solartex option I'd considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Made a start on the wing yesterday and I must confess that this has been my least favorite part of the build so far. Extremely fiddly, very frustrating and when I thought I'd managed to assemble a straight central wing skeleton, I discovered that I had glued two of the ribs in the wrong positions... Thank goodness that I'd used aliphatic glue, which hadn't fully set! The main components, all assembled ready to form the central part of the wing. This was the easy bit! After a couple of hours of hair pulling, swearing and very nearly throwing the whole lot in the bin, especially when all the balsa ribs split when I drilled the aileron pushrod holes, I eventually ended up with this... It all seems square and fairly rigid. Next job will be trial installing the retracts and from what I've heard, this part is crucial to the correct operation of the retracts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Hi Ian, Well done with the wing centre section, the outer panels should be straight forward compared with the centre section. It was this stage that was putting me off a bit with the build. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 Very frustrating day again... Spent a good 3 hours fitting the retract units, so that they were perpendicular to the wing and straight with respect to each other. In my opinion, this is the worst part of the design so far... It's extremely difficult to get the units lined up and very little guidance in the manual. Anyhow, I eventually got to a position I was happy with and epoxied the supports in place, double and triple checking all the way. I left it for a couple of hours to reach the point when I could remove the retract units (just in case there was any epoxy on them) and realised that one of the units was about 3mm higher that the other. Not a big deal, apart from the fact that one of the retract unit forward edges now protrudes slightly from the profile of the wing... I'm now starting to doubt my ability to complete this model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Any photos Ian - some here may be able to help? Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mat Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Martyn, I've had another look this morning and think that I might be able to chamfer the edge of the retract unit slightly. I will take some photos when my phone is charged and post them on here later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Been at same stage on many a model Ian, move onto something else for a while and have a good ponder. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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