Martin McIntosh Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 Now looking at colour schemes. I bought a rather small plastic kit from SMC to get an idea of rivet lines. It promised four schemes but Cuban, Aussie or German were not my cup of tea. I would prefer a standard British naval one, maybe with invasion type stripes but the basic colours are extra dark sea grey and sky. The only place I have found doing these is Fighter Aces but at at least £50 for the basic ones is a bit ott, albeit good paint. Any ideas where I can buy some tins of enamel sufficiently large enough to do this at a more reasonable price? Guild don`t seem to do them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 What do you call heavier duty? I have ordered the 125s which will be a direct replacement for the ones in my Chippy and way powerful enough at one per aileron. I currently have Kst DS 145’s that are 5kg output, so less powerful than the 125’s you have sourced for a good price. I bought a pair of KST x10’s on BMFA classified that are up to 10kg on higher voltages. Haven’t decided yet if I am going to run a pair of lipos or a pair of life batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 13, 2021 Author Share Posted December 13, 2021 Quite a bit more progress. With the fus 2/3 glassed I decided to leave it for a while and continue with the wing and control surfaces to get them sanded, primed and ready for paint which I have added to the lower surfaces and sanded down with wet and dry. Weight of the wing, ailerons and flaps is now 47oz. Next I think will be the top surface rivets which I shall copy from the plastic kit and pictures. Long job ahead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 47oz: Is that including the retracts, servos and wheels? My complete wing is about 4kg ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 13, 2021 Author Share Posted December 13, 2021 I wish. No, that is the bare wing etc which I think is quite light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 14, 2021 Author Share Posted December 14, 2021 Been drawing out the panel/rivet lines on the wing upper surface which took much longer than actually adding the rivets. The small plastic kit I bought to copy from turned out to be hopelessly inaccurate so guesstimated from an internet pic instead. Next is to mask round the LE and TE then paint it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ellis AUS Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 Martin The Sea Fury plan you are building from was designed using the drawings I have attached. I have scanned them at a high resolution. John 1823928049_SMSeaFury.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 Interesting, thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 The wing is now fully painted with Korean War i/d stripes added and the tip lights fitted, just some details on the flaps and ailerons to do then I can add the satin fuel proofer. Back to the fus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 24, 2021 Author Share Posted December 24, 2021 Realised that the full size are actually glossy so now that the decals have been added I decided to do the wing lower surface plus all the bits and pieces with a couple of coats of slightly thinned Sadolin gloss floor varnish (similar to TufKote). Not entirely happy with the result so far because it is the first warbird I have done in gloss so the wing top may be done in Rustins satin first then some gloss over the top which would make that coat much easier to see where I have applied it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted December 29, 2021 Author Share Posted December 29, 2021 Just finished the fus glassing and waiting for it to fully harden. The wing is ready, including hinges, to fit the gear bar a final coat of gloss varnish on the top surface. Undecided as yet as to whether a JR Matchbox will be an advantage on the u/c which has three servos but with an extra connector it would simplify adding a separate battery pack. If I do not use it I can easily make each leg retract retract at a different rate but there are ways round that. Still pondering and messing with the set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 1, 2022 Author Share Posted January 1, 2022 Decided to use the Matchbox which is very easy to set up and will sit on top of the wing, plugged into one of a pair of multi connectors. Still keeping a watchful eye on the weight. The bare painted wing is 3.5 lb and with six MG servos plus retracts and wheels, all linked up and working, less doors, is exactly 5 lb so I am very happy with that, leaving me with 13 lb to play with if a 180 is to power it. Now for an awful lot of fus sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 I thought that I had the landing gear sorted a long time ago but when I tried it all again I had a wheel jamming on the well so have spent all of today sorting it out. Just some flats to file on the legs and the alloy doors to make and work out how to fit but I shall probably test fly it before then. Some pics of the wing which only requires a final gloss coat on the top surface. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 (edited) Have you a picture of the wheels down to see what sort of forward rake you have on them ?. Ps, pdf won't open for me,,, Edited January 2, 2022 by Paul De Tourtoulon pdf won't open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 2, 2022 Author Share Posted January 2, 2022 Hi Paul, I did not take one but here we go. The ink mark on the piece of balsa is the suggested cg so I should be OK. The rake angle is governed by what is shown on the plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 2, 2022 Share Posted January 2, 2022 Thanks I have a Marutaka spitfire and it is difficult taking off as the gear is quite far back, I am installing retracts in another Spitfire wing this week, so maybe I will wait till you have flown yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 I have built four Spits. The first was 44" TN one in which I fitted retracts in a straight position. This did not work out well but with a new wing with the correct rake forward it is very good. On a Spit. you need quite an angle relative to the wing chord centre line so that the sweep back causes them to come as close to the LE as possible in the down position. This is critical and not always easy to attain. Some larger versions need very careful elevator input on take off and if flaps are used it is best to retract them at the moment of touch down or they can tip the model on its nose. The SF has a much lower aspect ratio so I expect it to be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) I am also a Spitfire nutcase, my Marutaka one is my forth, and the wing that I am preparing will be my fifth ,,, you can't have too many Spitfires,,,? My Marutaka Enya .90 4c needs a slow engine input with full up elevator to get it rolling so that the prop doesn't strike the runway, and taxing is a nightmare,,, Edited January 3, 2022 by Paul De Tourtoulon take off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 Now got some riveting done and the light grey base coat applied and flatted ready for masking the upper surface dark grey. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 Been bashing on with it. Fus stripes now painted on and the lettering and roundels added ready for the clear lacquer when the canopy and little man have been fitted. The pics show it at its current stage for weighing and a cg check. The tank, batteries and remaining servos have been simply stuffed in the front for this. Motor is angled to make the carb align with the tank centre. Obviously quite a few bits to add such as linkages but the weight as you see it is 13.5 lb, triple checked, and the cg is currently very slightly in front of the planned position, so quite relieved. If there is enough prop showing it should be no problem for the 180. Hoping for sub 15 lb in the end.? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 Jon, you have been following this so do you think that I shall require some baffles round the motor? Does yours have any please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 Jon H., any chance of a reply to the above question please because I shall need to consider any baffles before cutting more from the cowl? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I put a baffle in both my P47 and Sea Fury cowls. 1.5-2mm ply disc with a 2-3mm clearance around the engine and metal strips behind to keep the airflow close to the fins. I haven’t run the twin yet but the 180 in the P47 runs beautifully and certainly doesn’t overheat, even though I spend most of each flight between half and full throttle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 Nick, the front of my cowl is as yet uncut other than the prop driver hole. Being home made it does not have the inward curvature round the spinner. A 5" one arrived from AliExpress yesterday, pointed but all I could get for now. Thinking of cutting a 5" or slightly larger hole to allow airflow but the gap between the backplate and cowl is only 3mm. I am reluctant at the moment to cut a slot in line with the fins because I do not want too much air coming in. Other than exposing the silencer outlet I have not cut it further as yet. Now got the elevators and rudder hinged and tubes to run the pull pull cables through (I know, not very scale). The rud/ele servos will sit above the tank with the main batteries along side them. Unfortunately I mismeasured the tank clearance and am about to lower it. Original idea was to have the batteries either side of the tank but the fit was a bit tight, hence the measurement error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Somerville Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 I used closed loop for my rudder and wheel steering and with little litho shrouds you can barely notice them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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