Foam board ME 109, first foam build, anyone else want to join in?

[martin collins 1]

Yep, still not arrived here either Richard, a clubmate kindly sent me a scan of his copy so i have seen it now. It is the tip of the iceberg, the next BMFA mag is not out for three months now, i think some more foamboard model pics need sending to Andy Sefton and i`m pretty sure some will get pictured in the next issue, he did seem very interested in this form of construction and the cost savings. There are some great ones out there now and i`m sure a few more will be started and completed over the winter months. I`m itching to get back on with my Carvair but been building stuff for Christmas presents, a couple of plastic models and something aviation related from foamboard which i will post a picture of on Christmas day once it has been unwrapped. Any more progress on your Mossie Richard?

[Graham Davies 3]

I have some foamboard craziness planned...

 

[Eric Robson]

Me too, just bought 10 tubes of UHU POR.

Edited December 19, 2022 by Eric Robson

[martin collins 1]

Any previews of what we might see on the Foamboard forum in 23? My next will be the Yokosuka bipe floatplane, i have the floats sitting here waiting for the build to start once the Carvair is finished.

[Eric Robson]

Next in line

[Graham Davies 3]

I'll share my craziness once I've done some feasibility mock ups!

[martin collins 1]

Does that mean if the mock up turns into a muck up we won`t see it 😜 

[Graham Davies 3]

32 minutes ago, martin collins 1 said:

Does that mean if the mock up turns into a muck up we won`t see it 😜 

Maybe! No, I'll spill the beans...

[Bucksboy]

Martin,

I'm having a go at this 109 over the holidays.  Can I ask which motor/ esc you put in this plane please?

[martin collins 1]

Good show Bucksboy, it is a very nice flyer, if you want any advice as you go through the build pm me and i will send you my mobile number or stick a question on here. I originally intended to go with 3s and used an Overlander motor but then switched to 4s as it needed more nose weight and so i went with the heavier battery, i still needed a tad of lead in the nose. The 4s put the Overlander right on the edge of it`s amps but i thought i wouldn`t be using full throttle and the amps would probably unload a bit in the air, even so i ended up smoking the motor and landed dead stick, no issues with the plane it came in nice and slow. I have changed the motor to a Sunnysky x2216 880kv on the 10x5 apc E and a 3000 4s pack. Try and save weight on the rear end, i used a lot of glue from the hot glue gun, it is surprising how much that weighs, if i was doing it again i would use UHU POR or the clear Gorilla glue at the rear which are both much lighter, the advantage of the hot glue is speed of assembly. A good tactic would be to use the Gorilla glue then tack it together with the hot glue to hold it together while the other glue dries or assemble with POR with glue on both parts till it goes touch dry and then assemble and it will hold.  This thread has several of these built including mine. https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/master-series-bf-109-build.65732/   

Don`t forget to add some thin ply braces in on the centre of the spars, this wasn`t mentioned on the plan or in the other build, i only realised after i had put mine together but the joints are all good on mine and the wing is glued to the fuselage as well, it seems to be alright but i haven't pulled it really sharp out of a loop just in case!  You could use a larger motor than mine as the extra weight up front wouldn`t be a problem. Have you got your BMFA magazine yet, there is a bit by Andy Sephton on this 109, my copy is still stuck in the post but someone has messaged me a scan of their copy. At some point next year i will blow the plans up and make a larger one, a club mate is building a Tony Nijhuis Hurricane but using foam board and depron so i would like to do this a similar size for a bit of Battle of Britain action!

Edited December 22, 2022 by martin collins 1

[Graham Davies 3]

Another boarder! Welcome!

 

Ditto what Martin says; keep the rear as light as you can. Think twice before adding anything, and if you can make holes, remove paper etc at the rear end, do so. My (larger) Regianne Re2005 was the same; the CAP232 also.

 

Have fun Bucksboy; you'll love it

 

Graham

[Bucksboy]

Thanks gents, I've read most of the build threads, I'm using UHU Pro rather than a hot glue gun and I've sourced paper free foam board from amazon.  I've also bought the paper covered boards from Hobbycraft.  I'd missed any motor recommendations though, I'll contact Four Max in the New Year for a motor/esc/prop combo.

I'll attack the rear with a hole cutter to remove weight too.  I doubt if I'll getting much free time for a week or two now though!

Thanks for the replies, Happy Christmas all!

[andrew long]

Hi Martin

Saw you article in the BMFA mag and was inspired to build

Do you have any photos of the wing construction or details - number of spars, ribs if any and tips on build matererials (I assume you used the depron for surfaces) etc if no photos. By the way, what glue have you used for the construction and where is it bought from?

I've just been down to Hobbycraft and bought foamboard. Intention is to design and biuld a semi scale sports to get a grip on the construction techniques before building a FW190.

Andrew

[andrew long]

41 minutes ago, andrew long said:

Hi Martin

Saw you article in the BMFA mag and was inspired to build

Do you have any photos of the wing construction or details - number of spars, ribs if any and tips on build matererials (I assume you used the depron for surfaces) etc if no photos. By the way, what glue have you used for the construction and where is it bought from?

I've just been down to Hobbycraft and bought foamboard. Intention is to design and biuld a semi scale sports to get a grip on the construction techniques before building a FW190.

Andrew

Just read all the references to UHU POR so that question is answered.

[ADRIAN BURGE]

Have been building  foamboard models for some time now. Mainly from FliteTest plans. 

I was interested in the Me106 featured in the BMFA mag. Try as I might I cannot locate the plan. It is supposed to be in the forum, I have found all the build details but no plan. 

Have you a link you could post or maybe upload the plan.

[martin collins 1]

Out at the mo Adrian, will post the link when i get home, it is there somewhere. 

[Graham Davies 3]

Afternoon Foamies.

 

I've just started a new foam project that may answer some of your questions. Rather than pollute Martin's excellent thread, I'll start another

 

Graham

[martin collins 1]

Here is the plan download page,   https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?resources/master-series-bf-109.232/   you can get to the build thread for the 109 from here or download the plans by using the download button at the right hand side of the page.

There are two spars per wing, it needs no ribs, the top skin has the inner side paper removed with your heat iron, it loosens the glue holding the paper on. The skin is the `rolled` over a work surface edge to curve it and then glued to the spars and round the edges. Here is a pic showing the spars ready to be glued in, they are made from a the foamboard and are double thickness, you will see the shape on the plan and you remove the hatched area leaving the top paper in place as added strength, i hope that makes sense! The plan doesn`t show them but make a couple of thin ply dihedral braces to strengthen the wings, i didn`t fit one and it seems to be ok but better safe than sorry!

[ADRIAN BURGE]

Martin,

Thanks for the plan link. have downloaded 6 pdf`s

Cannot find any dimensions. Loading into Seif Draw they come out at 60 x 20 ins each pdf which is way to big. Larger than one sheet of foamboard, which is approx. 23 x 33 ins. Thought they might have been the correct size.

The Flitest plans always had a scale ruler on the sheet.

How did you get the correct size.

Adrian

[martin collins 1]

I took the plans i had downloaded to a stick to my local reprographic shop and asked them to print them out and they came out the right size.

 

[ADRIAN BURGE]

Sorted now. Used a CAD program and they seem to be the correct size. 

"2 to a foamboard, 3 boards in total.

Eventually hope to cut on laser.

[ballme1]

Hi Martin, just joined the forum and trying to build a slightly smaller 109. First time using Foam board.

One question I have is how to deal with the wing. I have cut out all the pieces, but can't see how you get to join the leading edges together and trailing edges together. (See photos). I assume these have to be bent with heat to meet ??

Also how does the aileron go together as I have one half cut out, and one half still attached to the wing with slots ?? (see photos). Have I done something wrong ?

I will also have a gap where the spar finishes (see photo)

 

Cheers

Martin

[martin collins 1]

Hi Martin, yes you have done that all correctly, the lower wing aileron piece is discarded, the aileron is in the top wing skin only. Remove the inner paper covering from the top wing skin using your model heat iron, just run it over a bit and it loosens the glue so you can peel it off a bit at a time. Once done go to your kitchen work surface and roll the top skin along its length using the palm of your hands, mostly over the front part of the wing to give it an aerofoil shape, that is how i did it, the more you do it the more it will curve. Some on the forum use a bit of heat from their heat gun to help it but be careful not to over heat and melt. Once you have done that i put glue along the top of the spars and laid the top skin on making sure it met the bottom leading edge and tip for gluing later then put a weight  (i used 6s lipos) on the skin to make sure the skin was in contact with the spar. Once dry i went round and glued the outer edges of the wing, again weight or frog tape the skins together to hold ( remove the frog tape slowly and flat to the wing or it will lift the paper skin). Others use POR as a contact adhesive and coat both surfaces, allow to go touch dry then join, it should hold it all ok providing you have curved the top skin enough, don`t use it like this on the spars as once in contact you can`t move it to adjust position if wrong.  The top skin aileron has a 45` bevel carefully cut on the underside, ideally you want to leave the paper skin intact, on the Flitetest forum builds they then bend the aileron up so it is flat with the wing and run a hot glue gun along the edge then quickly wipe it along to leave a thin but toughened skin over the paper. this should allow it to move in both directions but add strength, this is what i did. If using this method i suggest you practice it on some scrap foam board first so you can do it without getting it in a mess and restricting the aileron movement. Alternative would be some covering material put on the underside hinge line using your heat iron or Mylar type hinges, again experiment on some scrap to see which way suits you. If you have any other questions, please post and i will get back to you. Frog tape (low tack) is available from B&Q and i also use white Gorilla glue, mostly non foaming in my builds, Glue gun use adds weight so keep that to a minimum at the rear of the plane. Don`t forget to add thin ply spars to the centre of the wing spars, these were not mentioned on the plan and so i didn`t add them, my wing joints are all close as is the wing skin to the fuz (it needed a bit of careful sanding to get a nice fit) and the surfaces are all well glued, wing strength has not been a problem but i don`t pull out of loops hard just in case! When i build another i will add the ply braces in that one for peace of mind.

[martin collins 1]

This may help with the bending, various methods, plenty of helpful tutorials on you tube if you put a search in, you will get better with practice and find which method suits you.

 

[ballme1]

Many thanks Martin, for clarifying.