martin collins 1 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Having completed my Foamboard ME109 i thought i would pop this one in before the next foam board build. I have been after one of these for a few years and thanks to the Wanted ads on this forum i finally have one, this is a part built which i hope to finish off in the next few weeks. There are several areas that i could do with some advice on, what glue would be the best to use to attach the moulded plastic parts to the balsa, what would be the best way of finishing it, i was going to use Profilm originally but it probably wont stick to the plastic parts very well? I am going to make the wing tips out of lightweight balsa block to substitute the weight of the plastic ones in the kit, it will otherwise be finished off as the manufacturer intended. The work done by the previous owner looks ok except the elevators which are an odd shape, i will take a straight line from the tip to the inner end to remove the current angled trailing edge. I have heard numerous reports of poor quality fit and `they don`t fly well` with only the odd `my model flew well` attributed to these Aerotech kits, i guess i will find out for myself, i am hoping to use this as a winter flyer as it has fixed gear with decent sized wheels. Please chip in if you have any answers to my build questions or experiences of these kits, i have several others to build and am interested in getting a few more. Sorry the pics have decided to upload the wrong way round despite me turning them on my laptop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Hi Martin, 30 min. epoxy would probably be the best for the plastic to balsa parts, Brian Taylor covered his Valiant with thin card to match the full size panels as there is no awkward curves to negotiate. Brown paper would be an alternative, Profilm would be ok if you can match the colour with paint for the plastics. I have found B&Q can't match a gloss sample very well, matt colours have been ok but the gloss was a mile out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 (edited) What ever the covering is really wants to go over all the plastic parts as well, as you say matching the finish from the balsa parts to the plastic will be difficult if you don`t cover the whole lot in one type of covering. Even if you got a perfect match on the shade of paint the smooth plastic finish of those parts compared to whatever covers the rest of it will create a different sheen on the two different surfaces. Elevators now reshaped with new balsa trailing edges. Edited October 5, 2022 by martin collins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Sorry having your problems Martin, at least the Stuka is in a natural pose as a dive bomber. This is an Aerotech kit I made back in the 1990's it flew very well, it was covered with silver solarfilm rubbed down with 600 wet and dry then rubbed over with prymol etch primer the plastics were lightly sanded with the 600 paper and the final painting was with humbrol enamels and matt varnish. The spinner was later replaced with one of the correct size. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlyBird Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted October 6, 2022 Author Share Posted October 6, 2022 Very nice Eric, no problems with the paint lifting on the covering? I guess if it did you have the silver film underneath to give it that battle worn look! Many thanks for the reply, just the sort of answer i was looking for, and it flew ok 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graff Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Nice to see an Aerotech Valiant! I built one years ago that I covered with 25g glass fibre and epoxy. I used a Saito 52 in mine. It flew amazing and i regret selling it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted October 6, 2022 Author Share Posted October 6, 2022 (edited) Any pictures of yours Graff? As others have mentioned in the past instructions are vague and in some places dimensions are either incorrect or completely missing! The length given to cut the wing for the undercarriage block is 153mm but the block is only 135mm long, a case of transposed numerals? 🙄, lucky i have a number of kits under my belt so have learnt to treble check everything before wielding a knife! There is no measurement given for where the u/c block sits in relation to it`s position from the L/E of the wing, only a rough diagram showing where it sits with no dimension. I will look at a couple of my other models to see how far back it sits on the wing, also according to the diagram for bending the u/c wire the wheel points inwards from the u/c leg whereas it points out on the full size. Parts are being glued so progress is being made, i will cut the holes for the u/c blocks and wing servos tomorrow. Edited October 6, 2022 by martin collins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Logan 1 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 Hi Guys, I have recently acquired an Aerotech Vultee Valiant Kit as posted by Martin Collins. Looks complete but has no plans or building instructions. Would anyone on here have such items? Willing to buy and/or pay for copies. Many thanks in advance, Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 I will get the kit out tomorrow and can scan the instructions for you, i can`t remember if there are plans as such but if there is something there i can get it copied locally for you Graham. Will put the instruction scans up here tomorrow evening and let you know if there is anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris collis Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 Hi Graham, I will be following your build with great interest,have a fw190 to build in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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