Modifying the Top Flite Spitfire I accidentaly bought on ebay.

[dave parnham]

[dave parnham]

Oh gawd what have i done!! 😁

[Jon H]

Which one have you got? the cy?

[RottenRow]

Is that what they call an in-cowl silencer?

 

Stops you hearing your wife moaning when she gets home and finds out what has been delivered…

 

Brian.

[dave parnham]

Yes John CY models problem was i knew nothing of the quality of the kits before i brought it, and ive seen youtube videos of them flying with Evo 54 looks perfectly fine to me The box says 50-80 with recommended 85cc

At the mo without measuring anything im thinking DLE 55 or 65 because i have them.

Also servo torque? im guessing 20-25kg servos nothing too big?

 

Anyway will not hijack your thread 

[Jon H]

what was the span? 92? and how heavy? 25lbs or so? If so your 65cc should be more than fine and even 10kg servos would be fine provided you dont intend to do 3d with it. My 88 inch yellow aircraft spit was 22lbs when it flew in a former life and it had 3kg futaba 148's all round. Must have flown like that for more than a decade with no problems. 

[Eric Robson]

4 hours ago, dave parnham said:

A yellow berka ?

[dave parnham]

96 inch span and about 28lbs i think, yes looking at servos it has one in each tail half and it has  aileron and flaps, certainly wont be doing anything daft with it.

im definately thinking 65

cheers 

HS-5645MG Super Torque MG BB i have a few of these i might test fit 60g each so 120g weight in the tail

Edited June 12, 2023 by dave parnham

[Jon H]

They would be fine. I have a 89 inch p51 to sort out at some point and its likely to be 25-30lbs. I will be using similar stuff when i get it together. 

[andrew exton]

On 12/06/2023 at 09:37, Jon - Laser Engines said:

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 

hi jon 

didn't realise you were on here when you bought the spit , glad she is in good hands & will watch for any progress 

 

cheers

andy

 

 

 

[Jon H]

Hi Andy

 

I didnt realise you were on here either! Im looking forward to getting the model sorted out. I spoke with Mike Booth about a canopy, alas he has none so i need to work on that. I am also looking at my options for the wings and a few other tweaks. 

 

As mentioned before though this is going to be a longer term project as i already have two Spitfires on the go. 

 

Back to the TF rebuild, I think i have decided to save my original paint job for the newcomer, and use a different one on the TF.

 

I have a choice of Seafire Ib and two Spitfire MkV. The first MkV is just simple and fairly generic. Its appealing for that reason, and also JH is my initial and C is the first letter of my nerdy gaming screen name. The Seafire on the other hand is just really nice looking and would be something a little different. 

 

Im pretty sure i have all the paint i need for the MkV and only need the slate grey for the Seafire so no great difficulty there. 

 

The 2nd MkV is nice as its the Shuttleworth based example (now with wintips) and looks ace. 

 

 

 

 

Which to go for.... 🤔

 

 

[dave parnham]

Seafire to be different although the bottom one is lovely 😘

[Jon H]

I just remembered...the new FL Spitfire came with a dummy vokes filter...

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Jon - Laser Engines

[Jon H]

Been a while since an update and there has been no more work done on the TF Spit as my attention shifted onto getting the ugly mustang project finished and getting stuck into my maintenance jobs. 

 

I have however spent some time evaluating the newcomer to get a feeling for its condition, what it needs etc. 

 

To start with i glued the wing together as i was getting annoyed with it being in 3 bits that refused to be one bit despite all my tape and cursing. 

 

 

While this was drying i noticed the extreme washout in the wing. Not much chance of a tipstall here i dont think. 

 

 

I also gave the fuselage a bath as it was a bit grubby and i wanted to see what sort of condition it was in beyond the small areas of damage i knew were there. 

 

Generally its all good and the only work i plan to do for now is to the wing so its not quite as fragile. The veneer is totally shot and i plan to strip it off, then apply thicker glass cloth directly to the foam. On another thread i was asking about what thickness to use and 50-80gsm seemed to be the consensus. To play safe i have ordered up some 100gsm cloth as i would rather deal with an extra bit of weight than structural failure. I will do a few tests on scrap foam and may even double up the layers near the centre section. We will see how the tests go. 

 

In any event the master plan is to advance this model to the same sort of stage as the original TF but with most of the attention being on the wing. The fuselage is fine as is, but the wing will continue to deteriorate unless i get it glassed up. Once that is done and its all stable i will put it away and start again on the TF Spit. I still cant decide on which paint job i want for each model but we will see how all that works out a little down the track. 

 

[Jon H]

Some time ago in a thread far far away i made mention of the fact that i had a pica 5th scale spitfire in the past and, should i see another, i would probably snap it up. 

 

A an eagle eyed Luftwaffe Captain customer spotted my post and thought 'ah the fool, i can clear some shed space by offloading that filthy Spitfire i bought by accident many years ago. i haven't touched it in 10 years and can make room for more Fw190's'.  it was then offered to me for the bargain price of nothing with a brief that its mine and can do anything i want with it. Sell it, fly it, burn it. Even cut it up with a saw (wouldnt be the first time 😉). 

 

Not being able to say no to such things, i now have a 5th 1/5 Spitfire...This time a MkIX

 

 

 

 

Generally its in decent shape, although the canopy has a slight deformity. I have taped it to the fuselage in the hope that it returns to its former self. 

 

 

 

All assembled it looks more or less like a spitfire to me

 

 

But this as as far as its going to go for now. This one is so far on the back burner its fallen down the back of the stove. Due to space constraints at home its going to live here at work and take its place in the long long queue of projects i have to work on.

 

Many thanks to Maurice for his generous donation. Its highly unlikely i will be touching it for some time but i will get to it eventually and do intend to fly it. I plan to give each Spitfire a different engine where possible in relation to its Mk (so the MkI will have a lesser powered engine than a IX, the XIV more again etc) and just have decide which one this is going to get. Need to find a paint job too, but that is for the future. 

 

I have some time off coming up and hope to finish the work on stabilising the FL Spitfire, and then get my repairs out of the way on the Hurricane, other Hurricane, Sea Fury and P39. This will allow me to come full circle back to the TF Spit. I hope to start painting it and my yellow Spit soon so they are ready for next year. I just hope i have decent enough weather to get the work done as i need to do a bunch of it outside and cannot do that if its raining. Fingers crossed...

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Jon - Laser Engines

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

Marutaka / Pica, I think that they are both the same, mine still flying after 30 years with its Enya 90, 4c up front and a lump of brass flywheel in the prop cone as ballast, a lovely flyer.

[Jon H]

Yours is the 64 inch? 

 

I had the 88 inch one before and this new one is 88 as well. I sold the original one as i didnt have a suitable engine for it to replace the saito 180 it was powered with. I wanted to ditch the saito as the exhaust came loose on every flight and it overheated all the time. 

 

Shame though as it looked nice. Hopefully the new one will be even better...eventually. 

 

 

 

EDIT: Checked the date stamps on the photos. Summer 2009. 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by Jon - Laser Engines

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

It's the 64" one.

[Jon H]

Once again its been a while. Repairs on models in service took over and with the TF Spit stabilised work has proceeded on getting the Flying Legends Spitfire (known as Spitfire 3) to the same condition. 

 

As a recap, the veneer on the wing of spitfire 3 was shot and i didnt think i could strip it and replace it without twisting the wing so i have elected to just glass the foam directly. The weight of the veneer is approx 200gsm and i plan to use 2 layers of 100gsm cloth. With resin this will end up a bit heavier than the wood, but as the wood would then be glassed with 24gsm cloth i think it will work out fine. 

 

First i stripped the veneer and made myself some wing tips while i was at it. I then inset some 1/8 balsa sticks to just help keep it rigid while i was faffing about. 

 

 

 

 

Some areas of damaged foam were also replaced

 

 

I then glued some thin fibreglass sheet over the future flap recess

 

 

The eagle eyed may notice a big hole in the wing...yes, well apparently foam is not as resistant to white spirit as i thought. I tested an area, and it was fine, but the next morning i was met with a bit of an issue. No matter though, its all fixed now and lesson learned! 

 

I have also made progress on my paint scheme choices for my fleet of Spitfires. 

 

For those new to the thread, i have 5 1/5 Spitfires in hand with 3 on the go and one not needing attention yet. The final one is a new in box kit and it is in long term snooze as i have my hands full as it is. 

 

So i think my plan is to do the original TF Spitfire in the Seafire colours i posted before

 

Spitfire 3 will be a variation of this 

 

 

 

And the yellow Spitfire XIV will be in the red/silver scheme already proposed on that thread. 

 

That leaves the Pica MkIX. 

 

It will either be this desert scheme 

 

 

Or i might go a bit different and do this civil scheme as i think it looks rather good. 

 

 

 

Place your votes on the Pica Spit paint jobs and in the meanwhile i will finish off adding the layers of glass to the wing of Spitfire 3 so its not falling apart, and then it can be put away allowing work to continue on the TF and Yellow Spits. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jesus Cardin]

On 09/08/2023 at 11:24, Paul De Tourtoulon said:

Marutaka / Pica, I think that they are both the same, mine still flying after 30 years with its Enya 90, 4c up front and a lump of brass flywheel in the prop cone as ballast, a lovely flyer.

 

Sorry, Paul but you are wrong: Marutaka was same kits as Royal, in USA, not Pica. Pica was a totally North American different brand, their models being designed and developed by no other one than Mr. Dave Platt himself.

 

By the way, Jon, I also own an untouched 1/5 Spitifre Kit from some years ago, a kit I purchased in Ebay from Switzerland and it is an original Dave Platt Models Mk-XXII Spitifire. Actually a nice and impressive model! Best luck with yours, which we know you have several Spitifres on the bench....

[andrew exton]

im sure Spit 3 will be worth the hard work when done 

watching with interest 

 

andy

[Jon H]

Bit of a question for the masses and for the mods. 

 

I have been working on Spitfire 3 and am soon to return to the original TF project, but have also started working on my Yellow Spit again as well as it and the TF are likely to be finished together with Spitfire 3 going into hibernation once its robust enough to survive. Now the Yellow Spit has its own thread the moment but it has been un touched in a while. 

 

So my question is do we want/are we able to merge the two threads? Keeping the Yellow Spitfire stuff at the beginning given its chronology, or would it be best to just leave them separated as they are? My worry about a merge is the story of a given model being somewhat lost along the way and it might get very muddled with 4 eventual projects covered under one thread. but is having a thread for each cluttering up the joint? 

 

 

 

 

[kevin b]

No, leave it as it is. It is not difficult to cross reference the threads if somebody wants to and it keeps each model thread tidy.

I only put mine in one thread because I don't start a new model until I have finished with what I am doing with the last one.

👍

[extra slim]

1 hour ago, Jon - Laser Engines said:

Bit of a question for the masses and for the mods. 

 

I have been working on Spitfire 3 and am soon to return to the original TF project, but have also started working on my Yellow Spit again as well as it and the TF are likely to be finished together with Spitfire 3 going into hibernation once its robust enough to survive. Now the Yellow Spit has its own thread the moment but it has been un touched in a while. 

 

So my question is do we want/are we able to merge the two threads? Keeping the Yellow Spitfire stuff at the beginning given its chronology, or would it be best to just leave them separated as they are? My worry about a merge is the story of a given model being somewhat lost along the way and it might get very muddled with 4 eventual projects covered under one thread. but is having a thread for each cluttering up the joint? 

 

 

 

 

I don't think many on here could cope with the excitement of 3 spitfires on one thread!

[Jon H]

7 minutes ago, extra slim said:

I don't think many on here could cope with the excitement of 3 spitfires on one thread!

 

If i do the Pica as well there would be 4 😕

 

But ok, i will leave it all as is.