rcaddict Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 just received my new ripmax wots wot & wot 4 artf and am a bit disappointed that the covering is going to need creases taken out, is this normal and whats best for this iron or heat gun, if its an iron out job what temp for this foreign stuff ive only used solafilm before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wills 2 Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 yep normal for those, my acrowot and wots wot were terrible. Wot 4 not so bad. I used an iron, beware on mine the yellow colour was a pain, needed far more heat than I was comfortable with, so much so that the other colours melt if you touch them when trying to shrink the yellow. Looked ok in the end, but couldn't get it perfect. Wot 4 was simple, one pass with a medium heat and it's perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 For creases I would opt for a Hot air gun but be careful as not sure what covering they use ,but its probably the cheapest option. It will probably still take more heat than Solarfilm but be aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 I bought the standard Wot 4 and stripped off all the covering to do my own design. Just as well I did some of the glueing and building was shoddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted March 29, 2017 Share Posted March 29, 2017 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 It's a shame about the small Wot range. Not only do we replace a lot of the hardware, ( well I do anyway),as it's simply not fit for purpose. The covering might as well come off and a better job done of it. Pity. However, my Wot XL had a quite good covering job though some of the small black trim pieces have peeled away in flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 On my XLs it's been the brown trim that's poor quality with the film and colour separating. Let's be honest though, it's not just Ripmax models that suffer from poor covering. I've never had an ARTF that didn't have loose film and wrinkles to some extent whether H9, Black Horse, Seagull or Ripmax. If you have seen the videos of the airframes being covered you will accept that they can't get 100% quality at the speed they do them. Then the kits are covered and packaged in a tropical climate before being containerised and shipped half way across the world. No wonder they arrive less than perfect! The BH Percival Provost I'm putting together is supposedly Oracover - also known as Profilm. Wrinkles - yes, loose edges - yes. More heat needed than Solarfilm to attach and shrink - yes. As for the painted parts, all but the cowl needed a complete strip and paint before fitting and now the lacquer is flaking off the cowl in places! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Wills 2 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 The covering really is shoddy, and the hardware not the best, however it depends what you are expecting for in reality very little money. I didn't replace a single fitting on the Acrowot, nothing has broken, and with a little effort I have a superb flying sports model which I don't have a fortune invested in, or as importantly a lot of time. Yes they could use better covering and fittings, but the price would go up. All in all I love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 My Acrowot's covering was extremely well applied and still is wrinkle free. My only niggle is that you have to buy either a glow or electric mount system. IMHO both options should be included, as a lot of other manufactures do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 It would be nice if you could buy them uncovered, so halfway between kit and ARTF. When I have bought the ARTFs like Wot 4 XL and Wots Wot XL I also had to do a lot of internal reinforcement too. In an uncovered state it would be easier. I have built and still fly the traditional Chris Foss Wot 4 mk3 and Acrowot which are much more durable than ARTF but do take a fair bit of time to build. I tend to cover traditional kits with fibreglass too so that's much more work than film😉. I think I would be tempted to bug uncovered ARTFs at the current ARTF prices. I would probably film cover them but also be able to better reinforce and fuel proof them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 In all honesty I can't find anywhere that needs reinforcing on the ARTF Acrowot and as mine's electric powered the film covering should remain pristine for the life of the plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Good to hear Bill. However I have seen plenty of the ARTF Acrowots coming and loose their undercarriage at my club on our grass strip😉 , even more when they have a dead stick and forced landing in the rough. Makes a fair mess. Luckily I don't have that problem on the Kit Acrowot as I built it myself. The undercarriage ripping also happens on Wot 4 XL if you do not reinforce it and land badly. I guess if you are an ace flier and always land perfectly no reinforcements are necessary. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 30/03/2017 15:11:00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 I'm not an ace flier by any means (wish I was!), but I can consistently land on the strip without trauma to the undercarriage, and I have yet to suffer a 'dead stick' with any of my electric powered airframes. I guess I've been very lucky so far. However, I do accept that no two ARTFs are the same and that certain examples will have an issue, some multiple issues, just as with any other mass produced product on the market. All that said, the ARTF Acrowot is still an excellent sport plane at a sensible price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Agreed Bill I do think all the Wot ARTFs are very very good value . In fact there is no way they could be built for anything like the cost from scratch. Also to be fair the Wots Wot XL ARTF undercarriage is plenty strong as standard (luckily!) as I didn't manage to get any extra reinforcement in there as the front end is quite hard to access...even putting the fuel tank in is very hard. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 30/03/2017 16:38:55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Posted by Bill_B on 30/03/2017 13:00:43: My Acrowot's covering was extremely well applied and still is wrinkle free. My only niggle is that you have to buy either a glow or electric mount system. IMHO both options should be included, as a lot of other manufactures do. They removed the two mount systems to keep the costs down on the second generation kits and I think that's a great idea especially as I rarely use the fuel tanks supplied with ARTF kits. In comparison to what else is on offer of a similar size & flying style the Acro Wot still offers very good value for money without the running kits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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