David Hazell 1 Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Good luck Richard. I've all but finished my Leccy Gringo. Can't maiden for a few months yet and I've hardly rushed the build as it is. The kit went together really well. I thank you for taking the time last year to talk through stuff! Fingers crossed you can get the business back in business despite all the hurdles that have cropped up. Skuze my very messy bench! I frequently have to clear it off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B (DB Sport and Scale Ltd) Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Lovely job David. Mine's now looking a lot more 'used' although it has served me well, I blame the engine cutting out on me - twice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwain Dibley. Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Yes, Good to hear from you Richard. Hope you can push thru these uncertain times, I'm sure you will. I love your kits, and appreciate all the hard work you have put in since you took it all on. Here's to many more years of the same. D.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Glad you're surviving Richard. DB has a lot of fans here and we're all rooting for you. I was wondering which one to go for next when all this happened. I was almost tempted to emulate David Hazell and build another one of these I think this was taken in about 2001 - the beard's even whiter and the cap is much paler. But, of course, electically powered. BTW, the PUP is ready to fly (if only) but as I've had to put 1.5kg of church roof in the cowl I'm upgrading the power train to 6S. Things can only get better ... can't they? Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hazell 1 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Posted by Richard B (DB Sport and Scale Ltd) on 06/01/2021 23:46:27: Lovely job David. Mine's now looking a lot more 'used' although it has served me well, I blame the engine cutting out on me - twice Thanks Richard! I made a few mistakes along the way and my finishing technique needs a lot of practice - trying to go round those side cheeks with HK film was a pain - should have sprayed those bits! My model finish was inspired by getting the blue and orange cheap film from HK and then finding a plane that was the same colour - discovered a Hamilton sponsored Red Bull air race plane with similar livery and kinda copied it! I have no idea how well she will fly - I screwed up a few things - cut away the ailerons too soon, and over weighed down when sheeting the top skin on the wing which means my wings are very slightly bowed and the ailerons aren't perfectly flat. Hopefully it can be trimmed out ok ... I also had a beautifully shaped 0.4mm ply turtle deck which was sat waiting to be fitted - still with the shaping bands pulling it tight at the back of my build bench - I absent mindedly chucked something on it and it snapped by the fin groove at the back - argh had to snip it short and plank the last bit! Weight came out at 2.23kg minus battery, so about 2.65kg with. I have some jiggery pokery to do to bring the CofG forward by about 1cm - hopefully a little weight far forward will sort that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hazell 1 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Posted by Geoff S on 06/01/2021 23:59:28: Glad you're surviving Richard. DB has a lot of fans here and we're all rooting for you. I was wondering which one to go for next when all this happened. I was almost tempted to emulate David Hazell and build another one of these I think this was taken in about 2001 - the beard's even whiter and the cap is much paler. But, of course, electically powered. BTW, the PUP is ready to fly (if only) but as I've had to put 1.5kg of church roof in the cowl I'm upgrading the power train to 6S. Things can only get better ... can't they? Geoff Geoff, I think that picture of such a lovely looking plane was what persuaded me to build it! Bravo! I will get her flying this summer, hopefully the mistakes mentioned above can be trimmed out and she won't just get buried in the runway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 All the best Richard - really hope things improve for you soon. GG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Thanks for the update Richard, most reassuring. I will pick up the kits i want as and when there is room in the hangar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Well done Richard for taking the time to post your thoughts 'straight from the horse's mouth' as it were. I have friends that run small businesses many of whom are fraught with worry, and one in particular, who has made his life's work the development of a very high quality small brewery in London, but who is now facing total ruin because of further restrictions on take-away alcohol sales that were previously just keeping him going. He really has nowhere to turn this time around. I sincerely hope that you can tick-over for the time being. The triple whammy of balsa, shipping and Covid that you are having to weather at this time will eventually ease, and we all hope that DB kits can get back on track in the way that you planned, and will expand sales both at home and abroad when all the dust settles. I suppose that 'throwing the towel in' is always a tempting option and several well known British manufacturers and suppliers to our hobby have given in recently and are now but names to be found in old magazine adverts. Our hobby has undergone massive changes over the past decade and very recently - enough to fill many hundreds of pages of discussion threads on this very site and understandably the tone can, unfortunately, get a bit heated from time to time. No excuse of course, however this is really only a reflection of the true passion that many of us have for the hobby. I firmly believe that we can bounce back to an albeit smaller but active aeromodelling world in need of good premium grade, home-grown products such as those from yourself and other small UK firms. Edited By Cuban8 on 07/01/2021 10:33:48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hazell 1 Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Hear, hear Cuban. Edited By David Hazell 1 on 07/01/2021 14:47:28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I didn’t mean to upset anyone with my comment of Stock pile. l had a Ten year break years ago and had loads of planes that at that time were On my wish list to own but life got in the way, When I returned to the hobby I soon was on the hunt for the kits only to find the companies had gone,I managed to talk to a distributor rep who did manage to source the kits laying in various model shops. This was pre internet days. Fingers crossed for for a rapid return to normality. hope to have my vintage SE5A at Wings and Wheels agin this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert baker Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Carlton Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 The only problem with "stock piling" is when it gets to ridiculous levels "I have so many unbuilt kits in my loft that it'd take me 100 years to build them. At this rate they'll have rotted away by the time I get to them. I'll never sell them though!" Directly quoted from another forum... Seems a touch self centered maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 I knew someone who hoarded motorcycles like that. He had upwards of a 100. One of them was a BMW R69s I covetted and he was prepared to sell and I decided I could justify the expense. Then he decided to keep it much to my disappointment. We did manage to persuade hin to part with a very nice 1956 Higgins Lightweight racing pedal trike though and my wife rode many winter miles on it - once I'd taught her how to ride it Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 Posted by Matt Carlton on 08/01/2021 14:35:58: The only problem with "stock piling" is when it gets to ridiculous levels "I have so many unbuilt kits in my loft that it'd take me 100 years to build them. At this rate they'll have rotted away by the time I get to them. I'll never sell them though!" Directly quoted from another forum... Seems a touch self centered maybe. In fairness, if each of my models had a life of 10 years i easily have 200 years worth of model flying in the kits i already have. That said, i do have more than one model airworthy at a time so that is not a completely fair measure. The main holdup on my build's is lack of hangar space and the fact that as it is i have an airworthy fleet of 12 and its almost a full time job keeping them maintained and flown. If i end up with so many models that it actually becomes a job to maintain and fly them then it rather takes the fun out of it so i think 15 airworthy would be an absolute limit for me. But, i do take your point. most of my stock of kits are no longer available (flair, pica, yt etc) so i grabbed them while i could on ebay or similar. I will build them all, it just might take a while. Edited By Jon - Laser Engines on 08/01/2021 14:59:12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Carlton Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 The difference being Jon, that you intend to build them, and you're not just buying then up for the sake of it! My airworthy fleet is limited by finance, space and time. I inevitably have to cannibalise existing models in order to complete new ones! As much as I'd love to convince myself that I'd 'get round to it' with s pile of kits on the shelf, what would happen is a shed full of half a dozen half built kits getting broken, misplaced and eaten by rats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flynn 1 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 I see DB Sports have added a note to the web site saying you can order from 8 February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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