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Who Else Wants a 63" Lavochkin La7 kit?


jrman
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@Bob - clever use of paintbrush along the slide lines, plus aluminium tape too of course!

@ Richard - yeah, Sara did ask if it was allowed on the grass, but then she also asked if I made it or bought it like that!

V the lad, aka Vlad, says he's not paid to clean it, only to rag the arse of it! Not sure about that, in my book if he messes it he either buys it or cleans it, But then he is 6' 5" so I shouldn't really argue with him, and he's still a bit angry coz he ain't got no legs visible and thinks he looks like he's got his granny's blanket on him when in the 'action room'.

Edited By Ron Gray on 12/06/2020 17:14:09

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@Gary - I know I've been having dreams blush

@ Peter - loved every minute of it, scrounging time off everywhere I can to get it done, target was this weekend for final fuel proofing and bits and pieces and it looks like I'm going to hit it. Next up, Extra Wot!

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Posted by Ron Gray on 12/06/2020 19:44:44:

I blame Bob. His wheel wells are better than mine so I've ripped mine out and am going to re-do them!

? Whyyyyy crying

Competitive wheel wells? Wheel wells at dawn? surprise

You just don't want to finish this do you Ron?laugh

So I slit the bubbles and pumped the resulting envelopes full of Poly-C, then after 5 minutes or so I burnished them down flat with a knife handle. Skim of filler and job's a good 'un. I think it was where the thin PVA soaked into the softer block tips leaving not enough to bond the paper covering. Add in a cold damp-ish winter in the shed, result lifting covering.

Enthusiasm rising, I've been playing the choral versions of the Internationale and the later (Stalinist) Soviet National Anthem to ramp things up note

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Well it is finished and today saw the engine started for the first time! Next up maiden.

Just looking at the vid, the U/C legs are not angled that much forward so I will have to watch the roll out and keep some up elevator applied until up to speed.

Edited By Ron Gray on 17/06/2020 14:54:57

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Looking good and engine sounds sweet too, Ron. Good luck with maiden.

I must admit watching you go through the starting process it reminded my why I converted to electric! wink.

I am no engineer of course and I accept it would be sacrilege to to use anything other than an I/C motor in the Lavochkin. yes

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Whilst I fly both leccy and IC you just cannot beat the sound of IC in a warbird but it has to be a 4 stroke or radial engine. Yes, I know you can get sound systems and when I get the P51s from Richard they will be leccy powered and I will get a sound system for them but it will have to be a loud one!

Unfortunately I won't be in a position to maiden it for a couple of weeks as I'm still in isolation mode! And then when I'm good to go I will be spoilt for choice for which one to fly! But a nice problem.

Edited By Ron Gray on 17/06/2020 17:01:20

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Them props are sharp, aren't they Ron? face 1

Change of plan for mine, it was going to be grey on grey based on white 23. Having got the base grey (rattle can primer) on yesterday and today I've come to the conclusion that I really can't be doing with this rattle can lark so it's going to get the monotone grey top/blue underside scheme, with the all red cowl and red/white striped tail taken from white 93. This build has gone on long enough! I've just printed off a layout for the leg covers so I can see how the ABS sheet idea works out.

What size spinner did you end up fitting?

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Hi Bob, 4" spinner. I was put off the grey / mono colour schemes because of a possible visibility issue, if it wasn't for that I would have gone with the green 14 scheme.

My finished AUW including everything is 3.5 Kg which I am pleased with and the CoG is spot on with no additional ballast.

Can't wait to fly it but I have to sad

Post up pics of yours Bob.

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I'm scared to go out to the shed after this afternoon's storm, yesterdays found it's way through the overlaps in the roof panels landing square on the rolling mechanics bench holding the freshly painted control surfaces and cowl, not to mention all the LiPos inside the toolbox section! I'd not long put on what WILL be the final coat of grey when the storm struck, with luck the fresh paint had dried off enough and moving the trestle and bench meant the leaks missed everything this time.

I'll get some pics once the blue undersides are done, though the finish is nothing to write home about. I would say quick and dirty but only half of that is true.

Thank the deity of your choice that I've got a nice pre-finished ARTF Seagull P47 waiting in the wings to help me forget the smell of spray paint!laugh

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Isn't it strange how things change. I got back into model aircraft a few years ago having been away for about 30 years. Back then I enjoyed building more than flying but when I 'came back' all I wanted to do was fly but gradually over the last couple of years I've got more into the building side again and one of the things I love doing is painting, either spray or brush or rattle can. I know that both you and Tim don't like that part of the build but I see it as an opportunity to add some character to a scale 'plane, a bit like painting a pilot figure adds character to it. Hey ho, each to his own.

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I think it's a mainly health thing Ron, between COPD and paint fumes plus spinal issues and stooping over a spraygun I'd rather sit in comfort with a lazer cut kit and a hot iron face 1 - or an ARTF! I'm happy enough fettling, or as some would have it, I can't let things be.

White 93 forms the basis of the scheme combined with the White 23 graphics I got with the kit:

white 93.jpg

In the depths of the shed something grey lurks:

all in grey.jpg

The rib tapes are quite distinct at this stage, hopefully they'll become more subtle after the satin finish goes on:

rib tapes.jpg

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That is shaping up quite nicely Bob, keep at it, finishing line nearly in sight! I tried a new paint (to me) for this build and was surprised how much it covered up in just 1 coat, I certainly lost some of the details which I didn't expect to happen so yours could go that way too.

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OK Ron, I've been back through 5 pages, I saw the rear of a paint tin in one photo but no mention of brand - not Guild paints were they? I'll just be painting the underside blue, leaving the top primer grey, then lacquering the lot with Halfords Satin Clear. The grey primer needed a couple of good coats to get an even finish on the top, I just hope it doesn't add much weight as it won't be flatted off as it would be if it were getting a topcoat.

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The paints I used fo topcoat were from Cass Art and at £4.95 per 400ml rattle can represents excellent value for money. I will certainly use them again and they have a good range of colours, not warbirds colours but enough to get a pretty good match. I experimented using them on some foam then, once dry, bent the foam to see if the paint flaked off and it didn't so I will be using some of their fluorescent colours on one or two of my foamy wings / deltas so that i can see the little devils when they're zipping by at about 130 mph!

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Cass Art acrylic sprays - one to bookmark then. I understood most car paints to be acrylics these days so how do those differ? Do they use a similar solvent base? I know that when I used to use Humbrol paints the matt enamels gave a better cover due, I understood, to them having a higher pigment content compared to gloss.

Painting is on hold until the weather relents so it's back to tarting up the Panic graphics and swapping servos so I can set aside a matching wings worth of digitals for the P47 then I can use Sbus to hook up the wings.

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Top man, well done!

I'm still beating myself up over the angle of the U/C, want them angled further forwards but then they won't retract without the legs being raised.

@ Tim - hope you're watching, what are yours like and how its ground handling?

Edited By Ron Gray on 19/06/2020 10:05:07

Edited By Ron Gray on 19/06/2020 10:06:12

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