Who Else Wants a 63" Lavochkin La7 kit?

[Ron Gray]

That looks really good Bob

[Tim Flyer]

Here is a picture of my wing fairing to the cowl. I added extra fillets.

[Tim Flyer]

Here are my flaps installed

[Tim Flyer]

Good work Bob . I was also worried about wetting veneer or balsa. I must admit I have gone back to what I know and am using epoxy glass fibre to cover the plane. I am making sure to keep it light by removing excess with a credit card after brushing on . My rudder to which I added ribs ( for looks ) and lightening holes will be Solartex covered. The wings in the pic are already glass covered . I added the flaps on top. Their flat hinges go into a square balsa beem I previously embedded in the wing. The flaps are not scale shape or size but should be effective.

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 03/04/2018 09:40:23

[Bob Cotsford]

Thanksd Tim. I've started putting some primer on and the bp finish looks to be definitely in the stand-off category, hopefully once dry and coated with satin lacquer the finish will look better. Then again, it was a wartime production line so I don't suppose the originals were particularly well finished.

[Tim Flyer]

Cheers Bob . Your covering does look good to me . Regarding finish I think that’s right. As Jon said a bit earlier on the thread Warbirds look better when well used and I think the “factory finish “ isn’t necessary. Mine is also going to be very stand off ....I’m certainly not a good painter so will probably just have a simple white finish with red cowl. I’m putting a simple tail wheel on with a rod in the bottom of the rudder like on my Wot 4. I don’t think I will bother either  with covers for the wheelbays ( maybe later!). I will be trying my best on the cowl though and also adding a semi realistic spoiler made fro aluminium plate on the cowl air exit to enhance hot air extraction. I look forward to seeing the photos of your plane when finished.

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 03/04/2018 13:51:23

[TJ Alexander]

Wow. Looking really good now.

[Tim Flyer]

Here’s my rudder after Solartexing . It’s the first time I have used that and was pleasantly impressed. Shame they have closed down . I have used the standard kit  kid solid rudder and just added strips for “looks” and lightening holes. I hope to finish glassing the rest and add the tail this weekend 😊. Happy building and hopefully flying all!

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 06/04/2018 19:45:02

[Tim Flyer]

I have glassed & epoxied the fuselage now . Just as a note in terms of weight. I used about 60g of epoxy which left me enough to do the elevator tail plane and ailerons. The glass weighs 25g per square meter . In itself the covering is light but the weight is easy to put on with painting and detailing.

[Piers Bowlan]

Bob, did you weigh the model before you added the BP finish, I just wonder how much weight it added?

[Bob Cotsford]

No Piers. Just after putting on the second coat of diluted PVA I did think 'I should have weighed that'. It doesn't feel heavy

[Piers Bowlan]

I haven't started by build yet as I am still waiting to move house, hopefully soon. I thought I would give the BP covering a try in the fulness of time as I am not too keen on epoxy/glass, even if it is very tough. Presumably you thin the PVA with 30% water?

[Tim Flyer]

Good luck with the move Piers. Hopefully the photos will help. If I were starting again I would have shortened the front bulkhead to save all the cutting work I had to do for my engine. I understand from the PVA paper guys the thinning is just 10%? I would be wary of going too thin as the veneer my ripple. Another idea might be to "seal the grain first before covering with a light coat so as to prevent over soaking ? The BP finish does look good and is smoother than glass Epoxy and will probably paint more easily i think. After glass epoxying mine you can hardly see that any work has been done I think most excess weight I have added in the past was excess paint weight. Thats why I'm probably not going to use expensive epoxy paint as i think it will be quite thick and heavy aswell as seemingly expensive. I bought a tin of red Solarac solar film fuel proof paint which I will use on the cowl. Im not too sure what i will use on the rest, but have a few tins of white in my shed. Hopefully I can get the paint properly fuel proof. At least the epoxy underneath won't let it through.

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 08/04/2018 21:51:52

[Bob Cotsford]

PVA dilution rate will vary with the brand. Reading the other threads it seems some cheap ones can be used straight while thicker glues need up to 25%. I just added water until I got something like thin single cream that would brush out easily but not soak into the paper too quickly. Too thin and the paper becomes weak and tears easily, too thick and you are just adding weight. It's not that critical in reality.

One point that I learned is that it's easier to do awkward bits (eg wing fillets) as separate pieces.  The paper will shrink and stretch a suprising amount but it takes less patience to work with smaller pieces.  Once the glue has dried off overlaps can be made almost invisible by rubbing them down with wet'n'dry.

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 09/04/2018 11:46:25

[Piers Bowlan]

Thank you Tim/Bob regarding BP/PVA covering advice, it will clearly be a while yet before I get to that stage (!) but I will be experimenting a bit before I start doing any BP covering in anger.

Tim, yes I was thinking of getting a Laser 80 but it seems that they won't be available for a while so sticking with what I have (ASP90) and avoiding any major surgery to the front of the model makes sense to me. I can always treat myself to a Laser for something else later.

 

Edited By Piers Bowlan on 11/04/2018 04:30:54

[RICHARD WILLS]

Maybe have a look at the 110 thread regarding the brown paper , As you probably know , I have been using it for the last twenty five years and found it hard to beat ,

As Bob says , single cream consistency is correct , thicker is ok , just takes longer to brush on . The big mistake is going to thin . Its way easier than people think.

If you want to get really slick and consistent , try using UNI BOND super PVA adhesive and sealer which comes in a white and red 500ml can . This stuff works straight from the can , no dilution .

The other factor is paper . The cheap corner shop has the best stuff . The upmarket shops like WH Smiths sell brown paper that is reconstituted . That means that when you add water it may tear . The old cheap stuff never tears . I have tried chip paper for a cream finish and it was way too fussy ,

On the 110 thread , Paul used grease proof baking paper . I have seen the result and it is very good . No ribs and pretty tear proof .

I always paste the matt side (if there is one ) let it grow for about 60 seconds then smooth it on with my hands trying not to get glue on the top side . Then iron like solarfilm . It will go round compound curves .

Once the paper is dry , I give it a quick coat of thinned dope to seal it . Then prime with Halfords grey primer ,

Hope that helps .

Richard

[Ron Gray]

Another advantage of grease proof is that it doesn’t need sealing!

[Tim Flyer]

Hi all. I hope all is well with you. I put the tail plane on last night which went well and very accurate vs wings etc so no twists! My next job is finishing the cowl then painting. I will leave ailerons , elevator and rudder off while painting I think as it should make it easier especially if I’m going to be doing a quick “ rattle tin job”. I still look forward to seeing what makes of paint the others are going to be using. I have bought oracover fuelproof red and have a few tins of solarac white around. I looked at epoxy paint but seems to be very dear . I was thinking of white smooth Hammerite as that should take fuel proofer ok.

Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 12/04/2018 12:56:43

[Bob Cotsford]

I have some Halfords paints, Ford Bermuda Blue and grey primer as per Richards suggestions, plus a very dark grey which I can't remember the name of off-hand, and a Toyota Corolla red from the time when I'm ashamed to admit I owned a Corolla estate (very briefly!). The red is parhaps a shade darker than ideal, but it'll do. Ditto the dark grey and primer mid-grey for a two-tone camo, but again it will do for me. I'm looking at 2K satin rattle can lacquer as an option for the top coat.

I need to add a layer of cloth and epoxy resin inside the cowl and on the oil cooler prior to painting the lot but with the current wet weather I'm losing the will to live let alone build models.

edit - it's getting so bad I can't even type coherently!

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 12/04/2018 14:50:45

[Tim Flyer]

Cheers Bob . The wet is horrible at the mo agreed! All I have been Flying are my Wot models and it’s like cleaning football boots after flying! I might give Halfords a visit too . I think I will probably go for bright white as I don’t want it disappearing in the constantly grey sky! I was also worried about wrinkles with the fuel proofing and will need to do some bench testing! I’m not bothering with the radiator as mine is going to be a bit “sport “ stand off 😉 The flaps I fitted are a bit “Corsair “ like too !

[Tim Flyer]

Here is my cowl with front baffle balsa sheet glassed in from behind. I added flutes to direct the airflow onto the engine fins.

[Tim Flyer]

Here is a side view of the air extractor spoiler I added. Maybe a bit big but no cooling worries now!

[Tim Flyer]

Here is the exhaust cutout plate I fitted to stop exhaust oil blowing back in !

[Tim Flyer]

The fuel tank vent and crankcase air vent were craftily positioned in the exhaust cutout in th cowl to avoid extra trimming 😉. I just have to drill the aileron hinge holes...then it’s off to Halfords for paint . I will finish the cockpit afterwards. I think I’m feeling like doing Bob’s colour scheme. I have gone off white a bit.! It’s a shame La7s didn’t have invasion stripes on the wings. I will certainly do the red and white striped tail fin and red cowl! Happy building and flying all!

[Bob Cotsford]

I'm considering extending my downsizing as I have far too many models for the available space and my flying time so if anyone was to make me a sensible offer for my paint ready model I'd consider it. I think I'll be putting my TF P40s (Gold and Red box) and Dave Platt designed Pica FW190 kits up for sale too as I'm losing my enthusiasm for this sort of build. I've enjoyed building the La7 to this stage and I think I've done a good job of the construction but the magic has gone for me.

I'm not giving up building entirely, but I need a break from 'projects'.