Mossie

[Martin McIntosh]

A little more. Cut the final formers F5 and 6 plus the tail ribs. These items are rather delicate so be careful. A bit puzzled as to how to fit and then be able to get at the motors since I cannot see a removable cowl so I shall do my usual trick and make GF cowls. Just starting to cut the nacelle sides and with luck the rest of the balsa and strip should arrive tomorrow so that I can start some assembly.

Ordered a pair of Multistar 5200 4s from HK plus a couple of BECs and a 700 LiFe Rx. pack to supplement what I already have. These are a fraction of the price of the 5800 packs and I have been using Multistar 1400 4s most of this year in an electric glider with no problems.

[Martin McIntosh]

Got the basic fus framework together. Despite being accurately cut to the (free) plan some of the spines did not fit too well but were easily reworked. I could see no way that RM2 would match up with F8 and make a strong job so I re did this my way. I should have engaged my brain before making up the bomb doors/access hatch parts. The 1/4 sq. doublers should have been fitted but not glued together. Since I am thinking of fitting working doors I shall look at this area again later. From past experience I must be able to power the Rx and servos in order to open the doors and gain access to the main batteries.

It went together straight without the use of a jig. I suppose that it is the awful job of sheeting it next so I shall retire to bed and have supper biting the CA from my fingers.

[Sean Tracey]

You know the one thing about this model and any other model and that is YOU DONT HAVE TO BUILD IT. That is the bottom line for goodness sake all this fuss over a free plan. I bet a lot of you spend more probably on fags, beer or something else. Please put your dummies back in and whinging over a free plan.

[FastFlyer Smyth]

Oh dear Sean.....

[Chris Barlow]

Sean I'm certain Martin isn't complaining about the plan at all and he's more than capable of overcoming any discrepancies that will occur. All he, and most of the rest of us, is doing is pointing out any issues which will make it easier for anyone building from the same plan later on.

As for your bet on the beer & fags, probably wrong there, we can't afford them!

I suspect you've misunderstood the point of a build blog!

[Martin McIntosh]

Firstly, thanks Chris for explaining that to one of our readers. No, we do not have to build it just because it is free and no, if anyone does not like what they read then they can unsubscribe from this very easily since no one is forcing them to see it. This is here only to inform prospective builders of any pitfalls I may come across, not to criticise the designer or his very hard work in producing a superb plan.

That done with, I have now started to skin the fuselage. Kicked off by trying to fit a piece between F1 and F4 which proved to be difficult. Maybe my wood is not as bendy as I thought it would be despite drowning it with water so I reverted to doing one section at a time. Much easier. I expect that once the nose is done then the rest should be straight forward. A few pics showing this and the modified tail wheel mount. Don`t intend to flood this thread with photos since most parts are covered in Tony`s on line pictorial.

Do not forget to add the battery tray while you can still get at it.

[sean smith 1]

Posted by Jon Harper on 05/11/2015 08:50:01:

I was also very surprised with the total price. Especially when the larger Brian Taylor mossie is considerably cheaper and includes ali spinners, F/G cowls and doors etc etc. **LINK**

I would love to build one, but i think its just not quite big enough. The 81'' version is more what i would be after.

Edited By Jon Harper on 05/11/2015 08:50:27

You can get a 124" BT plan from Bob Holman in the US. The plan is an enlargement of the 70" fighter/bomber model.

[Dennis Holmes]

Hi Martin following you build with interest please keep the photos coming my take on f8 & rm2 is that it buts up to the tail spar, I only have the free plan.

[Dennis Holmes]

Martin, l too are building the mossie and like yourself am trying to keep the cost down to a minimum, I'm trying this one using only the free plan and cutting my own parts.

My progress is slow at the moment but I have now cut most of the stuff, not yet sourced the motors but expect to use hobbyking mainly.

[Danny Fenton]

Looking good Martin, have you tried amonia to hep bend sheeting? it is far more effective than water and works in a different way. But it does of course smell a bit ........okay a lot

Cheers

Danny

[Martin McIntosh]

Oh no! I suspected that you would be watching this Danny. Now I shall have to make a proper job.

Dennis, I looked at butting up the mounts to the former but decided that this could be too weak so instead of cutting out the centre I cut along the gluing marks, extended the mounts into these and have now just cut a hole for the wiring. I may or may not make the tail wheel steerable since neither my Mustang nor I/c Tucano (tricycle) have any steering. I cannot tell the difference from a grass strip and both can be turned round quite tightly. It would save a lot of trouble.

The sheeting is progressing slowly. I have heard about the ammonia treatment but since the nose is now done the rest should not need this.

I have removed the bomb doors/hatch and will sheet this separately.

More pics later.

[Danny Fenton]

I always enjoy your builds You are excused the rivets on this one Martin, but you may get the eyebrow if you don't detail the undercarriage

Cheers

Danny

[A.A. Barry]

To save a few $'s, I am going to photo copy the "free plan" in it's folded markings and then tape them all together, that way I will have a working plan on thicker paper and replacable.

Cheers

Barry

[Martin McIntosh]

Barry, the proper plan shows the stuff I detailed above and is really worth the money. Makes life much simpler.

Danny, A club mate has actually built the BT scale u/c but it gives him great problems. I may go as far as the mudguards and a few other bits but that would be about the limit of my skills. These will come after it has been flown anyway. At the rate I am going this could be a long way in the future. (Well, Spring maybe).

[Martin McIntosh]

Photos in reverse order as usual I am afraid.

I thought that the back end would be easy but as I said, the wood I was supplied with is not as bendy as I ordered which is very unusual. I have few minor splits in it which will need filler. Not a lot done tonight due to this.

I would recommend getting a few of the 1/8" sheets in 4" wide so as to minimise wastage.

[Danny Fenton]

Did Tony sheet or plank the prototype Martin? Looks like you are having fun
Cheers
Danny

[Martin McIntosh]

It seems to be sheeted. Mine would not have been a problem if the wood had been softer.

[Martin McIntosh]

Slower progress now. I decided to do the rest one small section at a time which I found much easier than long pieces. I glued one edge, wetted the sheet with diluted Tesco hard surface cleaner (my model cleaner) then steamed to shape with a heat gun. Worked well. One mistake I made was to cut out the bomb doors prematurely. They sprang out of shape and gave me a headache since they were not even sanded to profile.

Other than the extreme rear end I have planed and coarse sanded the fus., adding the angled front piece to take the nose moulding. This is shown taped on. I think that the doors have now been tamed using water and heat. A simple battery hatch should not cause such problems.

[Martian]

Lovely work Martin I aim to get started in new year with mine am I to understand you made a mould for your nose cone ?

[Martin McIntosh]

Hi Martian, thanks. I did not need to make a mould in the end because my surplus BT 1/8 scale one will easily cut down to fit.

Leaving the fus. now and starting on the tail and wings since these will be required for alignment.

By the way, I would recommend drawing in and adding the missing top piece to F3 as this would make sheeting the nose much simpler.

[Martian]

Thanks for that Martin it will save me making a mould I,ve just checked BT still have them I guess it,s part of the pet canopy set

[Martin McIntosh]

A bit more done. Basic tail and one wing.

I always prefer to fit the webbing while the skeleton is still nailed down to give some rigidity. Between W1 and W3 I have used 3mm birch ply. Not much mention of when to fit the phenolic tubes in the instructions so have done it at this stage with oodles of epoxy. A little admission here. The main tubes I have in stock are only 3/4" but I have some which fit inside these so could fit a short piece between the W2`s. Hope this works. This gives the advantage that they can be extended to an extra rib. I have also taken the flap spars out to the next rib.

The spars in my case are spruce and it is best to ensure that these are flush with the ribs to minimise sanding.

To hold down the 3/8 sq. spars I drilled a 0.8mm hole 3/4 of the way through then pushed pins in.

[Martin McIntosh]

The moment of truth has arrived. Will all those tubes align correctly and slide together easily? Well, nearly. Just a little massaging of the fus holes to get the wings straight and bingo. Tip to tail end measurement is good. Only the tailplane seat will need a tiny bit of work. Phew! I shall glue in the ply plates FD1 and 2 when totally happy. Wing sheeting next.

[Martin McIntosh]

Lots more work done but not much to show for it. I built the ailerons and flaps to the top wing skin rather than separately in order to preserve the section and washout. Forming the flap LEs was a challenge but they are very similar to the Mustang which I have already built. Anyone know a source of the 2 1/4" Robart hinges because these evade me at the moment? You may notice that I have put a horn reinforcement piece on each flap. This is because the interflap linkage reminds me too much of the B.T. version I attempted to make and gave up on. Much easier in my mind to use a servo on each.

The pull cords have been added. For some reason there is a gap shown in the webbing between W4 and 5 so I have added a hole in case I have missed something.

I decided to sand the root sheeting flush and add a filler piece later as the overhanging 3/32nd would be a bit vulnerable to damage.

[Martin McIntosh]

P.S., Don`t forget to add the hinge blocks before the bottom skin is fitted as this could be a daft thing to do. And please do not ask me how I know this!

The lower skin was fitted using the sandbag method which was firstly tried on my Spitfire rebuild - very successful.

Very quiet on this thread. Anyone else building one so far who can add their wisdom or am I the only one on here who has taken the plunge? Anyway, I shall pass on my mistakes and observances.