David Hazell 1 Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Nice work Jon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 Looking very good, the changes do look right! I see you also have a petrol lawn mower! Many Modlers complain about electrics for planes but then only use electric garden equipment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 2 hours ago, Chris Freeman 3 said: I see you also have a petrol lawn mower! Well its more of a petrol lawn ornament at the moment as its busted. I think the carb has snuffed it but as i have another mower in the shed this one has been sat neglected. I do need to either fix it or throw it though as its in my way and makes the place look like a dump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinFlynn Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 7 hours ago, Jon - Laser Engines said: Well its more of a petrol lawn ornament at the moment as its busted. I think the carb has snuffed it but as i have another mower in the shed this one has been sat neglected. I do need to either fix it or throw it though as its in my way and makes the place look like a dump. What is the biggest Laser engine you sell?...... :-) 360V mower anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 1 hour ago, FlyinFlynn said: What is the biggest Laser engine you sell?...... :-) 360V mower anybody? Would that be a Flymow ? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 Another weekend, another step closer. First, the final wing joining spars were fabricated and installed. The damaged areas were then sheeted to cover up all the chop marks. I decided to glue this sheeting on top of the old sheeting as it will help deal with my dihedral accident and will provide a more solid fix, holding all of the original sheet together These were sanded and then filled to blend them to the original wing profile I then spent many hours tinkering to get the wing square on the fuselage. This also involved tweaks to the tail as the mounts are crooked from the factory. No photos as i was outside and it was cold! With that done i started looking at refitting the wing fairings. To help i removed the flat section that sat on top of the wing as it didnt conform to my new shape. Once trimmed however the fit is excellent I now have to do some checking of things like incidence and make sure all is well before i commit to gluing them on. Until next time... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 Its that time of the week again.. For a change i decided it was a good idea to work on the fuselage and get it to the point where i could hang an engine on the front. This meant beefing up the existing firewall as its only 1/8 thick and full of holes. First i glued a 1/4 ply face on the back and filled the holes with some scrap balsa. This was all sanded smooth and another 1/4 ply former was crafted This was glued in place using screws and clamps to get it on there good and firm. I apparently forgot to take a photo of the engine hung on the front, and moved on to the wing fairings. Again no photos apart from the finished article I then turned my attention to the wing. All my fiddling meant the wing needed new wheel wells cut and the old ones patched. I decided a sheet of thin fibreglass would be the best choice for this so i knocked them up and glued them on I used the undecarriage doors from the kit to help get everything right. I need to work out how to attach these to the legs but one thing at a time! I then decided to add the kit tailwheel and do a preliminary c/g and weight check. To my delight the model balances well, only slightly tail heavy and currently sits at just over 16lbs. Clearly there is a long way to go but that isnt bad considering i have all of the heaviest parts installed already. And it got to sit on its 3 wheels for the first time too As the current weather forecast for next weekend is for 45mph winds i doubt i will be flying so hopefully i can sort out the last of the woodwork bits and start prepping for glass cloth. I just need to tidy up the wing fairing under the belly, the flaps, and make mods so i can get a fuel tank located nicely so hopefully not too much work. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 Another weekly dose of Spitfire. Back to the wings this week with the mission being to blend the wing and fuselage together and sort out the flaps. First i decided to lengthen the flaps on the model so they end in the right place. I also thinned them in width as they are really wide and i wanted them to look a little more realistic. I also added a little material to the trailing edge and sanded it all level. The next task was to straighten the trailing edge as its like a banana. Being only one thin sheet means its pretty wimpy and the little internal ribs were unable to retain it. My solution was to clamp it flat before adding some strips of thin glass sheet on the inside. As the glass will resist stretch it should hold it all flat. I also made some little ply ribs for the end of the flap cutout in the wing to better tie everything together. Next i made some structure to blend the wing and fuselage and added a ply plate for the wing bolts This was then covered in a another sheet of glass sheet and cutouts made for the missing inner flap sections. After much faffing with different designs i went for the very simple approach for these little inner flaps as i am constrained by the existing structure and deviations from scale on the under side. They function well, I just need to detail them and make them look nice. The wing also blends nicely with the fuselage now And finally, with flaps deployed it really looks the part and i am quite pleased with it. I might have a week off next weekend as i have other plans on at least one of the days. I am also hitting the phase of the project where i am annoyed it isnt finished yet and the dreaded glass/paint prep phase is looming near. A week off might be good to recharge the batteries, we will see. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 Nothing exciting this week. All i did on Friday was plaster the wing and fuselage with filler, and then go to town with various levels of abrasion on Saturday. It still needs another skim in places and i wasnt able to finish as it was raining and i needed to do some work outside with the model rigged. So i added some braces for the wing bolt plate and called it a day. Sunday i went to see my Dad so that was it for this weekend. I do need to do some shopping though as i need P38 filler, lightweight filler, more glass cloth and some resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Getting on nicely, Jon, I am sure the earth worms will appreciate the work and details that you have put into the flaps.😇 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 Another small update this week as Thursday and Friday evening were heavy on the rock music, drinks, and late to bed! Not much to say, but i cut out the pocket for the fuel tank to sit low enough in the wing. I am going to use a 16oz tank but have made provision for a bigger tank should it be needed. On test a 200i ran for 12 minutes on 14oz at very high power so i would expect fuel usage to be lower in flight. 16oz in theory gives plenty of capacity and mens i do not need to buy a tank as i have one in stock. All parts 1/8 real ply and while it was drying i took some time to do a service on a guitar i built during lockdown. New strings, tweak the neck pickup pocket, oil the fretboard and a bit of a polish up. Its no 2 grand Gibson but its alright. I then spent the afternoon reminding myself that i am much better at flying models than playing guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies 3 Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 23 minutes ago, Jon - Laser Engines said: I then spent the afternoon reminding myself that i am much better at flying models than playing guitars. Other way round for me Jon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 2 hours ago, Graham Davies 3 said: Other way round for me Jon! Between us we have it covered! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 its off topic but as its my thread i dont care. What do you play Graham? Acoustic? electric? hard core thrash metal or some blues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies 3 Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 Mostly electric Jon. Blues/ rock, rock, funk. That sort of thing. Did it as a Pro back in the day; just pubs for laughs now... Part of my collection. And we complain about the cost of balsa! Graham 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 oh very nice. Before 2019 i only had a westfield imposter strat and never progressed far teaching myself. But then my new neighbour, a music teacher, got my interest going again after many years of inactivity. Since then i got a little carried away and bought an imposter 335 and a decent but cheap amp (better than my squire 10w!), then through a long and convoluted story got a tanglewood laminate acoustic, then a tanglewood solid spruce top acoustic, and then lockdown hit. being bored and not having room for more planes i built a tele from a kit, then the les paul in the photo, then a hollow body tele with a custom top. Then i got carried away again and bought a mahogany top acoustic aaaand a really cheap glarry strat on ebay for about 60 quid to use as a platform for mods and general fiddling about with things. I might even try and wind my own pickup for a laugh. I have also been attending the local open mic nights and they have helped me a lot as my only previous experience of live performance was at school where any mistakes were met with pointing and laughing. This was very upsetting to 8 year old me and it puts me off any sort of performance more or less to this day. Its only the supportive comments of the really talented guys at the open mic, and a certain amount of ambushing that got me to perform a song a few weeks back. I played, another guy sang. It was awful as it wasnt my guitar i was playing and the string spacing messed me right up, but i am told none of the punters noticed and my engineers brain (its either right or its wrong) is incompatible with music! My first tele actually has achieved fame as my neighbour asked if he could use it in the video for his band's single 'The Wire' as it suited the aesthetic he wanted. I said sure, and he ran me through the storyboard he had made up. Following some beer and conversations about his ideas and cameras i ended up being appointed to shoot the video as i knew more about them than they did. This was a first for me, i usually use cameras for pointing at Spitfires! Anyway i set up all the cameras and shot the footage using their storyboard and some ideas of my own, they then got another friend to edit it together. The end result is quite satisfying considering we shot it all in one day and it was the first music video any of us had ever done. Everyone pitched in ideas and it was a really fun day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies 3 Posted March 28, 2023 Share Posted March 28, 2023 That's a great story Jon. Getting up and performing is deeply personal and you now belong to a very small minority that have had the courage to do so. Well done; I applaud you! The basic fact remains with music, and is similar to this great hobby of ours; if it makes YOU happy, it's right. For me, I have probably now played well over 500 gigs, some big some small, some big and great, some small and terrifying! They have, and still do, give me huge satisfaction. But equally, so does simply playing my guitar. I tend to play every day. Not due to some practice regimen, but simply because I want to. For me, it cures all ills. So, add a guitar to the boot of your car along with a suitable warbird if ever you are Sudbury way! Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 28, 2023 Author Share Posted March 28, 2023 I would play more but my upstairs neighbour is the rudest and most miserable person i think i have met in a while. She wont complain, she will just stomp about like an angry elephant until i stop. I dont have any expectation that i will be the next hendrix. But if i can play some simple songs that i enjoy that's great, and if someone at the open mic wants to sing it then fair enough i may give that more of a go. Now i just need to learn how to change from Fmaj7 to Gsus4 without my little 'lets just mute the A string and forget it' cheat. Then i can add another song to my 'setlist'. It sounds fine with my cheat, but its not right so im gonna try and fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Its been a little while since i did any work on the Spit. With the flying season getting going and a bit of burn out on the project after how ever many weeks back to back on it i decided to give it a little rest. But, with a week off work i wanted to get the model glassed and ready for paint prior to being put away again for a bit. I wanted to get the glass done to protect the model as its so easy to damage the balsa. Not much to report really, just the laborious task of filling, sanding, glassing, trimming, sanding, glassing some more... But, after several days back to back its now all glassed up. I still need to rub it down, prime it and do all that final prep for paint. But its protected and that was all i was after. On the subject of paint.... I did have a paint job all picked out, but as i am clearly an idiot i decided to buy another model in the form of a flying legends 1/5 scale MkI-V Spitfire. This leaves me with 4 Spitfires of 1/5 scale covering MkI-V x2, XVI and XIV. You cant have too many Spitfires right? So i now have to pick which of the two MkI Spits i have on hand will get the no1 choice of paint job. The TF is nearly ready, but despite my efforts its still not 100% a 5th scale and there is a small doubt about its flying qualities after so many mods. It should be fine, but theres a slight question. The new one is closer to 5th scale, but needs large amounts of work to rescue its badly delaminating foam wing, needs retracts, a canopy has to be sourced, and is obviously a larger project than finishing the TF. Once i decide which one gets the no1 paint job, i then have to decide what to do with the other one. I have a nice Seafire scheme available, or i could do it as a MkV instead. I will have a think on it. Not that i am in a rush though as i always intended to shelve the TF rebuild at this point as i have to finish the ugly Mustang rebuild and test fly that monstrosity. Theres is also a mountain of flying models needing small repairs and need the bench clear. I do hope to swing back to the TF so it can paint it and my Yellow Spitfire at the same time as i will have all of the spray gear out and ready to use. In the meanwhile, i will consider my painting choices. Oh and for those keeping score of the abbreviations on Spitfire kit manufacturers we now have TF, FL, FRC, YA, BT, and DB as our full list 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 Hi Jon Nice to see that others have the same problem as me and are also able to justify the problem! This does make me feel better. The spitfires do look good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave parnham Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 looking great though so great progress made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Thanks guys. A friend and i went on a little (nearly 500 mile) trip on Saturday to rescue not 1, not 2, but 3 1/5 Spitfires. One was mine, the FL, and the other two were his (YA). Quite a mission and we are considering starting a charity called warbird rescue to save lost and unloved warbirds in need of a new home. Not sure we will get very far with that. He didnt even tell his mrs he was bringing home two models, let alone how big there were. he had to sneak the 2nd one in under cover of darkness! Anyway i am looking forward to finishing both models. I need to do a full appraisal of the newcomer, work out a care plan and go from there. I might just build a new wing for it out of wood from FRC, RR (oops forgot Richard Rawle from the abbreviation list) or pica plans. We will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 Yes you can't have enough Spitfires, I have three and 'nearly' a fourth last week, a French company selling an arf 90 one with electric retracts new for 249€ ! Too late for my Lazer 90, it's going into a PC-9,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave parnham Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 whilst my wife is blissfully unaware at work i might just be sitting here waiting for UPS to deliver me a ME109 around the 94 inch wingspan mark😇 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 18 minutes ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said: Yes you can't have enough Spitfires Well i have two smaller ones which need to find new homes as i am never going to do anything with them. 55 minutes ago, dave parnham said: deliver me a ME109 So far Spitfires have you outnumbered. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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