Stearman65 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Didn't get much done today with one thing & another. What I did do was remove the clamps from the joint in the firewall I'd left overnight. Looks like a good bond, only snag the tongues from the firewall are proud of the fuselage sides & soaked in epoxy which may make it difficult to grind flush. Added the servo tray which was a pig & should have been done earlier in the build than what the comic says. Finally I added the 1/8th ? square balsa strut to the underside & tried the balsa bottom skin. That didn't fit correctly with a gap on the L/H side. On investigation, I found one of the former tongues had not entered its cut out correctly. As the cut out was full of glue, I cut off the tongue & loosened the joint between the fuselage stringer, added some aliphatic & clamped it into shape. The bottom skin now fits, but I'll glue it in place tomorrow after making sure there are no more dry joints as they won't be accessible with the skin on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Woke extremely early this morning, so after lots of other items, by the time I got around to the Pilatus, I was knackered. The problem with the cracked fuselage side rose up & bit me when I fitted the next few components. The bottom sheet wouldn't fit because I had fitted one of the U/C blocks the wrong way round, one side has a step to take the balsa bottom. I also found another couple of tongues not engaged fully so I had to compensate. Then to cap it all as I was adding aliphatic to one of the minuscule balsa reinforcements it flirted out of my hand, I know not where, so I made another out of scrap ply. I now had to glue in 2 pieces of 3/16? balsa about 1/2" long named F33, what the comic says doesn't match the numbered parts, so I've called it a draw for today, hope I don't wake screaming about F33! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Got up early to catch the best of the M&S £12 meal deal, also called in Wilco to collect the clamps I'd ordered & the £ shop for some super glue. F33 still remained a mystery, so I blew up the PDF on the PC & re-read the comic. Still a mystery. Unfastened all the clamps that had been on over night. As F33 was in doubt I skipped it & went onto the wing tubes & braces, then fitting the bottom sheet. The comic says glue the stringer to the bottom sheet, which means you can't glue the former tops with the sheet in place. Also the comic says the stringer is F18, it's stamped F19. So while I was pondering I glued the curved sheet over the dash board & hatch back former. Then I put the bottom sheet in place, it fitted where it touched as we say in the North. So clamping into position as I went, I used the new super glue to fix it in place. There are a few gaps that will have to be filled. I removed the clamp from the curved sheet & discovered where F33 goes. I managed with the aid of a pin to install them & called it a draw for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Well it wasn't quite it, went to close the curtains & couldn't resist, gluing the tail block in place. This morning it was time to construct the battery cover. For some reason it's constructed of formers & stringers, might modify that as the original has a metal skin over that bit. Probably sand it down & add a 1mm ply skin. Maybe it's like that to try to lighten the front end as the nose is quite long? Used cyano initially as it isn't a stressed area, but had to resort to aliphatic to ensure the cyano didn't run into the hatch latch. Last bit I did was to fit the hatch latch plate & taped it down to set overnight. I have two rectangles of reinforced balsa left over. I've scoured the comic but can't find any reference, so I'll email World Models to see if they can shed any light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 May be Doublers Or Alternates Are the ply strips bonded to them? Looks Undercarriage or battery bay Edited By Denis Watkins on 27/01/2019 17:45:39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Posted by Denis Watkins on 27/01/2019 17:39:08: May be Doublers Or Alternates Are the ply strips bonded to them? Looks Undercarriage or battery bay Edited By Denis Watkins on 27/01/2019 17:45:39 They don't fit the underside anywhere, and the battery bay cover just needs more stringers, which I have. I've emailed WM see if they come up with something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Had a look at the ARTF Pilatus comic this morning, it's easy to see where the mysterious extra pieces fit, they are the cabin floor, to mount the pilots & cover the servos, will leave them out until the gear is installed. As my Rhinitis is absorbing the £1 shop super glue fumes, I've ordered some odorless stuff & while I was at it, some canopy glue. Also ordered some acrylic paint for the cockpit. Also the guy selling the chisel shaped scalpel blades on ebay & said I could buy 5, I have ordered some mini chisels, so between them I may get the laser cut ply parts out of the next build sheets easier. Back to the model, finished off the battery cover, managed to break a stringer with the new Wilco clamps, knocked a new one up from the scrap balsa left from the Stinson build. Re-fitted the battery cover, roughly sanded to shape, also managed to sand the F1 tongues protruding from the sides, flush. Next job, fit the metal F1 reinforcement band. Suppose this is for IC use really? Dug out my Minicraft drill, didn't have a 1mm drill bit, so I used 1.5mm. Couldn't find the screws in any of the packs, so dug some out of my stock, not Ideal, but will do. They are covered with the cowl so they wont show. My watchmakers screwdriver set has gone walkabout, so the final spend of the day was a new set. Will start sanding the fuselage tomorrow. Edited By Stearman65 on 28/01/2019 16:24:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Got a reply back from World Models about the mysterious reinforced balsa rectangles that I had already sussed where they are for. This is what they wrote Dear Eric ***** Thank you for your enquiry. May we know which scale is your Pilatus PC-6 Porter (50cc or 0.40)? And would you able to provide a picture showing the 2 balsa reinforced rectangles F16 & F17?. Due to our factory is closed from 27 Jan 2019 to 11 Feb 2019 for Lunar New Year holiday, we will check with them when they are back. With best regards, The World Models. I replied & sent the pictures. It's nice to know they are approachable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Didn't get much done yesterday, managed to locate a set of small screw drivers in the glory hole behind the water tank, along with what I call Vic's box. Vic's box is a plastic tub of screws accrued since we bought our first boat in 1995. Vic was the owner of the boat & inadvertently left the box on board when we took it over. I have kept it with us on 4 different boats & 9 years of boat owning. Vic's box never let us down as I always replenished it whenever I had screws over from a particular task & it didn't this time, I found 6 smaller screws to fix on the metal reinforcement strap. Another diversion was the arrival of the scroll saw I bought from Shep, superb buy best for a long time. On with the motley. After fitting the metal strap, I re-tried the cowl & it fits fine & the strap makes a good fixing for the self tappers that hold it on. I decided the battery cover didn't look right with stringers, so I went on the search for some litho plate, Ebay didn't like Litho Plate on their search engine, & the sources I did find were way over my budget, so I put a request on the forum & I got an offer from Andrew767, thanks Andrew. Next I got out the David plane & took the edges off the joints between the fuselage sides & tops. I soon discovered this wasn't going to be easy. The top grain is at right angles to the sides so I had to be careful when planing then sanding. I could only manage a small radius as there wasn't much meat where the top & sides meet. Unfortunately the antics in Parliament took precedence over building. During a lull in the debate then voting, I checked the wind screen supplied with the kit. I had intended fitting a camera in the cabin when it came to flying it. Unfortunately, it was badly fogged & not fit for photography. World models had replied to my last email, so I replied again telling them about the wind screen, watch this space. Edited By Stearman65 on 30/01/2019 07:34:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Is that not just the protective polythene Eric? On the windscreen Peel back a corner from both sides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Posted by Denis Watkins on 30/01/2019 07:54:51: Is that not just the protective polythene Eric? On the windscreen Peel back a corner from both sides Hi Denis No such luck I'm afraid, it was in a plastic bag with no secondary protection. It's a double convex curve & either the former or the material is duff, hence the poor transparency, maybe they are re-cycling plastic saki bottles? Incidentally, I was sorting out my "micro sized" modelling area to make way for the scroll saw I got from Shep & decided to chuck out the original box for the model. My wife took it to the bin store, when she returned, she had a plastic bag with the side windows in, that was taped to the inside of the box, well spotted M, I thought they hadn't been included. Unfortunately, they suffer from the same affliction, so I won't be using them, they were my second choice to site a camera. They are however easier to replace than the windscreen. Had another look at the model & full sized versions. The model doesn't have the two small side doors & windows the full size has, so the screen differs in shape on the model. What I thought might fix it was to cut out the middle of the original, add a frame & a piece of clear celluloid or whatever, a lot of messing I know, but I have ordered some canopy glue, never seen that before. From what I've read it's white? The full size version front screen has a joint down the centre, so I may get away with cutting out one side. One large model version I saw on Youtube, had a servo operated side door, which when airborne, the pilot opened & a servo operated camera swiveled to take shots at various angles, quite impressive. Obviously my version is much too small, but WM also do a large scale version kit???? Thanks for the suggestion. Regs Eric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Not much progress yesterday, shopping day. Another email from WM this morning re my query about the wind screen.(The World Models <[email protected]> To:ERIC S 31 Jan at 02:57 Dear Eric, Thank you for writing us about your concern. The wind shield is not intended for the camera installation purpose, and we do not make any clear wind shields. Would suggest cutting a small hole on it for the camera lens. Have a good day! Best regards, The World Models MMMMMMMMMMMMM not a very promotional statement. I wonder if that applies to all their range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I have bought quite a few World Models ARTFs over the years:- Piper Pawnee, P51 Mustang, Midget Mustang, Hawker Tempest, Tucano, Minimoa Glider. All have been well produced quality models with blemish free perspex mouldings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Posted by Piers Bowlan on 31/01/2019 14:36:29: I have bought quite a few World Models ARTFs over the years:- Piper Pawnee, P51 Mustang, Midget Mustang, Hawker Tempest, Tucano, Minimoa Glider. All have been well produced quality models with blemish free perspex mouldings. Maybe the kit versions get the dross? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Not a lot to report today, it was the Music quiz in the communal lounge this afternoon, as I run it, that took precedence. The carving set & chisel scalpel blades arrived, looks like the chisels may do the job, time will tell. Had a look at the wing strut parts & knocked up a pair. Got a bit confused when the manual said leave 20mm protruding, but not which end. Used Cyano, as per. Added the hinge blocks to the door, again, confusion with the manual. Found another unidentifiable part, looks like a servo mount, possibly for the throttle on the IC version? More tomorrow, hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 Didn't get anything done yesterday, however, the litho plate arrived so I was mentally working out how to cover the battery cover. This morning I cleared the decks, laid out what I needed & set to covering the battery cover with litho plate. First I made a paper template by taping one edge of a sheet of A4 to the edge of the cover. Then formed the paper around the cover, cutting the hole for the latch. Then making sure the paper was tight around the curves & edges, pencilled a line all around. Then removed the paper & cut out the template on the outside of the lines to give me some wiggle room. Next I cut a piece off the litho, & taped the template to one edge & drew around the template with a pencil. The pencil line wasn't good so I tried again with a T pin & scored the lines. Using a large pair of scissors, I cut out the litho plate. The scissors left a rough edge, so I used my exacto knife handle like a rolling pin to smooth things out, finally cleaning up the edges with a flat needle file. I then clamped the litho to a long edge on the cover & worked it over the cover to get as much pre bend as possible. When I was happy I dribbled cyano into the inside joint between the litho & the balsa cover. When it was set, I worked the litho over the curves of the cover, dribbling cyano into the inside joints between the litho & the balsa stringers, making sure the catch wasn't glued. Eventually, I was happy everything was glued. Removing the clamps, I ground off thexcess litho with the flat file & sandpaper. A few trial fits on the model & the catch engaged, just needs some more tweaking to make it slacker to allow for covering. During the proceeding, the postman deliver some acrylic paint I'd ordered for the cockpit. That's it for today. Thanks again to Andrew767 for the litho, hope you like what I did to it. Edited By Stearman65 on 02/02/2019 14:30:57 Edited By Stearman65 on 02/02/2019 14:32:05 Edited By Stearman65 on 02/02/2019 14:33:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Looking good Eric... Keep going,this is a really interesting thread. Until this, i wasn't aware that the WM planes were available as kits.Something to think about. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 Thanks Andrew, they aren't all available as kits, only this one in two sizes. The large one is available uncovered as an ARTF or as a kit as this one. Correction (and it isn't my PC as I downloaded the PDF manual some time ago) looks like they've pulled the large version. However the manual for the large kit & ARTF are still on the WM site. Scroll down past half way. I actually ticked the inform me when back in stock box, but that's gone too. Regards Eric **LINK** Edited By Stearman65 on 02/02/2019 16:14:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 Supposed to be the day of rest today, had to do a bit though. Did some more tweaking on the battery hatch to get it to fit snugly. Fitting the litho must have distorted it, it fits OK now. Thought I'd try a dry fit of the tail parts, they seem OK, even the hole for the screw holding the tailplane lines up. One thing about them is a puzzle, the trailing edges are rounded, I think they should be an aerofoil shape, if anyone has the ARTF version, can they let me know how theirs is finished. Finally, tried the U/C, I've wondered where the leg that has the shock absorber on the full size fits, thought there may be sockets in the kit. When I dry fitted it, it was obvious, it fits through the slotted holes either side. That it for today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 Didn't get much done yesterday, decided to fit the door. Dug out the hinges & screws from the many packets, unfortunately, they are countersunk, would have preferred round head. The holes are pre-drilled in the fuselage side blocks, which again are pre fitted. Used a needle file to start the screws as the holes are miniscule. My new "watch makers" screw driver set was used, but isn't meant for self tappers. The door fits ok with clearance for the covering. I decided not to fit the door latch provided as it was a bit Mickey Mouse, like the hinges. I think neodym magnets will be more suitable. I removed the door & found one of the pre fitted hinge blocks had split, when I looked closely, it had been glued in with the end grain of the ply facing the screws****. I glued the split but may have to cut them out & re-glue them in as the door is the only way in to the cabin, wing fixings, servo connections, servos & receiver. This morning was a doctors appointment for my Wife. This afternoon. I'm getting to the stage where a trip to my LMS Steve Webb's is vital to guarantee continuity. I had found out the elevators & rudder are an aerofoil section, not rounded off as they come, I set to, first making center lines using a tip from the Stinson kit, using pins & a straight edge. I then used my David plane to take off the thickness down to where I could sand them to shape, finally using some 150 grit sand paper on a long block to get the final shape. They just need some tuttying up with 600 wet & dry before covering. That's it for today. Edited By Stearman65 on 05/02/2019 15:27:25 Edited By Stearman65 on 05/02/2019 15:29:38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 Shopping day today, Sainsburys delivery this morning & a guy coming to measure us for new blinds. So couldn't spare much for building time. I needed to fill in the dings & poor joints where the pre cut outer skins met & the crack in the side when I over stretched the ply / balsa laminate. I had bought some Wilco filler someone suggested on here. So I read the instructions, worried about the warnings & opened the pot. It seemed dryish, the comic suggested a little water, but I thought that might do something to the joints. I went ahead & slapped some on, it didn't stick very well to the balsa, so I did the top surface defects & left it to dry. It said 15 minutes but I left it for an hour while I tried the wings on the fuselage, they went on OK. Then I had a go at the filler, I only had worn 150 grit sandpaper & a decorators sponge sanding block, not very successful. Will have to wait until I get some wet & dry & have another go. Steve Webb's calls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Struggling to find things to do before visit to my LMS. The push rod joining mechanism, I wasn't familiar with & had discounted it in favour of one of my own. However, after having a closer look at it, it was better than at first thought. It's composed of 2 plastic mouldings with 3 holes for the push rods, which lie in 3 channels, & the thing is bolted together with 4 miniscule countersunk set screws & 3 countersunk nuts. I noticed in the pictures one of the nuts wasn't seated in it's countersunk recess. I was going to add a dab of glue when it is finally installed. The easiest way to do the job is to assemble the block & push rods outside the model, then feed them in through the hole in the firewall to the snake outers already installed. I'll remove it for covering then re-fit when the servos are in place. The Wilco filler I had left to harden overnight, sanded down OK with the sponge decorators block. Social in the communal lounge this afternoon, so that's it for today, hopefully Steve Webb's tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 Didn't manage to get to Steve Webbs yesterday, the thought of blasting down the M6 in 70mph gusts in our Panda Pop put me off. So short of something to do, went back to my other main hobby, producing Audio Visual shows from the pictures we've taken. This one is the first part of the Pilatus Porter P6 kit build, covering the wings & tail, part two, the fuselage is uploading to YouTube as I write, the link to see or download is- **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stearman65 Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 Posted by Stearman65 on 09/02/2019 13:13:11: Didn't manage to get to Steve Webbs yesterday, the thought of blasting down the M6 in 70mph gusts in our Panda Pop put me off. So short of something to do, went back to my other main hobby, producing Audio Visual shows from the pictures we've taken. This one is the first part of the Pilatus Porter P6 kit build, covering the wings & tail, part two, the fuselage is uploading to YouTube as I write, the link to see or download is- **LINK** This is the link to part 2, building the fuselage. **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew767 Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Coming on really well Eric....I'm enjoying this thread. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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