cymaz Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Don't fret about the tape too much. By the time you've done a few landings you won't notice. Just enjoy the way these things fly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 hello tom...looks good to me.as cymaz has said by the time your wildthing has done a few missions it look even better with a few dents and scuff's(with a capital S) on it... ken Anderson...ne...1...dents and scuff dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Posted by Steve Houghton 1 on 02/10/2017 10:43:04: Looking good Tom. I would recommend that you run an iron over that cross weave tape set at 120°C. This will make the tape adhere to the foam better and also give you a smoother surface to apply your covering tape/film to. I rebuilt my Mk2 WT a year ago after I attempted a nose first vertical landing from about 100' lol. You can see the rebuild HERE. Steve A470soaring Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 02/10/2017 10:45:35 Nice job Steve... I'll bear the covering in mind, have a feeling it won't be too long . Tom it's looking good, yellow is a good colour choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton 1 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Posted by Tom Thomas on 03/10/2017 03:53:11: Wow Steve, just read your rebuild blog, fantastic work! So you can use solarfim on the foam? I have lots of black that I wanted to use to tart mine up but was worried about the heat on the foam. Blog was a great and informing read, cheers mate Tom - You can't iron covering film directly onto the foam, I think, but it does stick well to laminate film, although I do recommend that you wipe the lam film with Solarfilm Primol first, which gives your covering film a bit of a key. And don't go using any of that 3M77/90 spray glue gunk stuff either, lam film sticks perfectly well to foam wings without it. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Posted by Steve Houghton 1 on 02/10/2017 10:43:04: I rebuilt my Mk2 WT a year ago after I attempted a nose first vertical landing from about 100' lol. You can see the rebuild HERE. Steve Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 02/10/2017 10:45:35 Oh !......that was messy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Is the battery hatch on the top of the fus or underneath?? I need to swap my Rx out and can't remember Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Posted by cymaz on 03/10/2017 18:30:37: Is the battery hatch on the top of the fus or underneath?? I need to swap my Rx out and can't remember Found it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 Thanks for the replies and advice chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 Posted by Steve Houghton 1 on 03/10/2017 13:10:26: Posted by Tom Thomas on 03/10/2017 03:53:11 Tom - You can't iron covering film directly onto the foam, I think, but it does stick well to laminate film, although I do recommend that you wipe the lam film with Solarfilm Primol first, which gives your covering film a bit of a key. And don't go using any of that 3M77/90 spray glue gunk stuff either, lam film sticks perfectly well to foam wings without it. Steve Hi Steve, I didn't mean straight into the foam, I meant over the top of the colour tape on a low setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Servos tested, horns reinstalled after taping, I've used tiny cable ties secured with a little bit of cyano to ensure they don't part. Also cut out a bit of foam to make sure the clevis's don't rub the sides. First piece of cross weave tape on, I just guessed at the best place to start but it worked out well, Did my best to cover the nose with minimal stick outs of tape and taped the rest Looking at the reccomended throws makes me wince! Because I'm not using a computer tx (Saturn) the only way I can adjust the throws are via the horns. I've got them at the best workable setting but I tell you, I'm going to have to be light and steady on the stick! It's so sensitive to any movement, I miss my DX6i ..... Exponential where are you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share Posted October 5, 2017 Wing double sided taped to the fues, all connections done. I borrowed Ian's great idea of making a foam insert to hold the battery in position and double up as a rx and switch holder, thanks Ian was a great idea! I used a couple of rare earth magnets to hold the hatch shut, works very well. I hope I got the taping correct, one strip of cross weave either side of fues from top to bottom,( as you look at the picture, ) then strips overlapping left to right Top to bottom, then finally three strips on either side on top of each other from front to back I also put a couple of strips on the top of the wing from the nose to tail to reinforce the join between the fues and wing. So, nearly finished! Was a squeeze to get all the wires and the aerials in the fues but I managed it. How you can keep the aerials separate from the leads and bits I don't know? It's impossible in such a small space, I routed one aerial to the nose and the other to the rear. Edited By Tom Thomas on 05/10/2017 03:20:21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 5, 2017 Author Share Posted October 5, 2017 Oh, the foam I used for the insert came from the sanding foam block included in the kit . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Getting somewhere now, I hate this taping lark, not my thing at all. All that's left to do now is finish tarting her up and stick on the fin. I made a start on the top side of the wing, I used solar film on a very low setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton 1 Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 That's a good idea with the switch. I remember chucking my Thing off a big hill, it flew straight and true in the light conditions but then failed to respond once I added some tx input. The model then slowly made a turn to the right and landed itself on the slope side, no damage done. When I checked the switch, which was mounted in the side of the fuse, was in the off position. I must have knocked it off with my thumb on launching. One thing I found with my Thing was that upon landing, sometimes the wind would get underneath the wings and flip it over, causing the fin to come away. So I got around that problem by using rare earth magnets to hold the fin on. Now if it flips over, the fin comes away and it is easy to fit back on within a second or two. Yellow & black is a great colour scheme. Mine is now 6 years old and has been recovered twice, each time in yellow & black. Edited By Steve Houghton 1 on 06/10/2017 08:04:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 6, 2017 Author Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hi Steve, that's a great idea with the fin, so it's never blown off in a gale then? I do like yellow and black, but I'm very disappointed with the colour tape, it's horrible to try to get around curves etc. On the nose I gave up trying to get it looking anywhere near neat! I hope it's as strong and good as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOC Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Posted by Tom Thomas on 06/10/2017 21:58:51: I do like yellow and black, but I'm very disappointed with the colour tape, it's horrible to try to get around curves etc. On the nose I gave up trying to get it looking anywhere near neat! I build a lot of foamies, mainly in depron so tape is the covering. 2 essentials; 1) a new scalpel blade 2) meths When dealing with curves; take the tape out beyond the curve and then run multiple slits in the tape so that you can cover the curve in sections. The adhesive always gets on the blade and ruins it. so you need meths to clean it off at regular intervals. An oil stone on hand will keep the blade sharp. Rob Edited By TigerOC on 06/10/2017 22:14:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Posted by TigerOC on 06/10/2017 22:13:51: Posted by Tom Thomas on 06/10/2017 21:58:51: I do like yellow and black, but I'm very disappointed with the colour tape, it's horrible to try to get around curves etc. On the nose I gave up trying to get it looking anywhere near neat! I build a lot of foamies, mainly in depron so tape is the covering. 2 essentials; 1) a new scalpel blade 2) meths When dealing with curves; take the tape out beyond the curve and then run multiple slits in the tape so that you can cover the curve in sections. The adhesive always gets on the blade and ruins it. so you need meths to clean it off at regular intervals. An oil stone on hand will keep the blade sharp. Rob Edited By TigerOC on 06/10/2017 22:14:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 Hi tiger, I have been making the slits and have loads of blades but the colour tape just doesn't want to stick well. I've warmed it before using I've not stretched it. I'm obviously just not good at taping I suppose, I'm fine using heat film but tape? I just don't know. Maybe I'm looking for perfection when that's not the idea with a Wildthing....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Thomas Posted October 7, 2017 Author Share Posted October 7, 2017 I used the iron to help stick down the wayward tape and it's worked well. So, ironed on some bits to zhuz it up but mainly for orientation purposes. Fitted the balsa sides to the fin, I solar filmed the balsa first to give the double sided tape a better grip on the balsa. Then I cross weave taped the over the joints and finished it with the dreaded colour tape sealed with the iron to make sure it's stuck well. And apart from balancing it it's finished! How have others applied the weights to balance it? There's no room in the battery bay, would using sticky car tyre weights taped to the nose do it? Final pics..... Don't know why they have come out in this silly order but you get the idea. Edited By Tom Thomas on 07/10/2017 03:34:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Houghton 1 Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 I don't know about your Mk3 Thing but the battery bay on my Mk2 is ply lined, so I used stick on tyre weights to balance mine, which stuck very well to the ply. I shouldn't worry too much about the tape not looking great. After a few months of flying and landing in rough vegetation the tape will will get little nicks and tears in it. Mine looked shocking and had to be recovered after two years. The way I've done mine now I don't have that problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Tyre weights will be good if the CG is out. I would tape them on as well . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Jones Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 I pushed the weight forward in the nose before fitting the Rx/Switch module. Pleased you found that idea useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 I just stuck weights onto the front of the 4cell AA receiver battery, they didn't take up much room. Alternatively cut a slot in the nose, hold them in place with a hot glue gun and tape over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 same idea as piers, determine how much lead you need to get it to fly the way you want and then cut a slot with your knife in the nose...push in the lead and put a double bit of tape over... ken Anderson...ne...1..... lead dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hartley Posted October 7, 2017 Share Posted October 7, 2017 Using a standard 4 cell Rx pack pushed all the way down the bay, mine balanced exactly where it should. It flies brilliantly with the balance at that point. I would also say dont forget to put a bit of reflex on the elevator set up as it makes all the difference when you launch it and helps give great handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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